Zen and the Art of Faking It

I'm reading this along with my 12 year old 7th grade son for his summer reading. He has ADHD and would much rather play video games, or anything else, other than read a book. I picked this for him out of the list of possible books in hopes that he would find it funny and it would keep him interested. I wasn't particularly looking forward to reading a book designed for middle schoolers but I've been pleasantly surprised! My son and I are both enjoying this book. We read two chapters a day and then when we are both done we compare notes about what we read and talk about what we enjoyed about it. My son actually didn't mind reading the book after he read the first two chapters. We are about 1/4 of the way through the book now and he actually has gone from "not bad" after his daily reads to "pretty good". I even look forward to seeing what happens next and love the main characters wit and sarcastic sense of humor. If you are like me, looking for a summer reading book for your child that hates to read, I'd highly recommend giving this one a try!!!

I taught this book to a mixed class of thirteen to sixteen year old students in a charter school for discipline challenges. They loved it. Not only does it reveal a nicely painted range of teenagers, with all their passion and angst and idiocy, but it also provides a surprisingly adroit introduction to Zen. I am sending copies to my teenage grandkids so they can maybe see into my zazen practice. And I enjoyed the hell out of this book.

I had to get this book for my dauther but i ended up reading it since she told me it was good, and yes.. it is!

Same title but the cover is not what is displayed that disappointed me so 4 stars

I'm always searching for quality books for YA and not sure how I happened about Jordan Sonnenblick's books, but I like his clear, CLEAN writing. Boy it's tough being at a new school every year, dealing with a father's inability to take responsbility for himself and family,and most of all trying to fit in. San Lin takes on the role of the Buddist culture of Zen. He studies up on the subject and gets the whole school behind his theories, even the girl of his dreams, Woody who has her own issues. Lots of good reviews, so I won't repeat the story, but excellent book and it will be added to my church library very soon.

Great book I just wish there was another in the series I want to know what happens next but overall great book

Fantastic until the last couple of chapters, which didn't fit with anything else before them. It felt like that part had been edited by propaganda specialists hired by the current dictatorship. All YA lit is canted that way but when the central theme is Zen, I hoped for a more cohesive ending.

I'm really enjoying this author! He captures the awkward phase of middle school perfectly. This book is about a new student going through a tough time with his family. He decides to change his identity, fools the whole school, and starts a revolution. Things are going well with him until his mother blows his cover. Then, he takes what he learned, uses it, and tries to make amends.

I cannot use enough words to describe this book. Jordan Sonnenblick has wonderfully and beautifully created this book so that it is a heart warming but tragic and humorous book. I definitely recommend this book if you like tragidies, comedies and maybe even a little bit of romance. I recommend this book for ages 10+. Overall great book. Jemijimjams