Young Adults- Buddha Boy

Buddha Boy is a young adult novel that tells a story about a young high school teenager, Michael Martin.  He enters a new school, Edward Rucher High School, where he is surrounded by wealthy white kids. The problem??? He is not white, not rich and considered the new "weird" kid.  Isn't high school grand?  Teenagers can be so welcoming, kind and non judgmental (I hope you sensed the severe sarcasm in that last statement).  

The story is told through the voice of Justin.  Justin is considered an outcast himself.    He watches as the new weird kid is teased, mocked and called "Buddha Boy" by the rich white kids in his school. He wears oversized tie-dyed dragon t-shirts, shaves his head and is always smiling.  He is intrigued by this new student.  He looks like a monk with his shaved head and seems to be unphased by the school bullies.  Who is this weirdo?! Justin learns that the new kid's name is Jinsen.  Later in the story we learn that "Buddha Boy" has a past and was actually given the name Jinsen by his Buddhist teacher.  The name means fountain of God. The boys are assigned to work together on a school assignment, and Justin feels a connection to Jinsen.  He is fascinated by Jinsen's ability to remain calm and unphased by the bullies, but it really angers Justin when the students are cruel to his new friend.  How does this not bother Jinsen?   

As the story unfolds, we learn about Jinsen's past.  Jinsen was actually an unkind person himself.  He was just as mean as the bullies at their high school, or maybe even worse.  Jinsen reveals that his parents died, and he was catatonic from grief.  So much grief, that it made him weak and unable to move. His therapist, Kim, helped him discover his love for art and also taught him about Buddhism.  This is where the name Jinsen was given to him.  Even though he is treated so unkindly, Jinsen never condemns the bullies or looks down on them.  Justin is in awe of Jinsen's ability to be forgiving and nonjudgmental.  Justin begins to question his own beliefs.  Being friends with an outcast is not particularly easy.  Justin has to decide if he can continue to be friends with the weird kid, or if he wants to fit in with the other kids at school.  

At 117 pages, this wonderful novel about diversity, loss, and acceptance is a quick read that you won't want to put down.  It is suitable for middle school and high school students alike.  

This novel is told through flashbacks by Justin. Students could create a timeline of events to help retell the events of Jinsen's life.  This book would also be a great book to have students create character traits lists.  Teachers Pay Teachers have wonderful resources for this novel to help enhance student comprehension.  

  Follow this link to access these wonderful resources for your classroom:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:buddha%20boy