Buddha Boy by Kathe Koja

Bibliographic Information

Koja, K. (2004). Buddha Boy. New York, NY: Speak. ISBN: 0142402095

Plot Summary

Buddha Boy details the budding friendship of Justin, middle-man of the social hierarchy, and Jinsen, self-proclaimed Buddist and non-conformist. Jinsen suffers bullying at the hands of McManus, the king of the high school, but bears it with transcendental patience. Justin learns a deeper appreciation for art and life through Jinsen's tutelage.

Review

This book emphasizes the importance of friends' opinions to tweens and teens. Justin is afraid of what his friend Megan will say about his friendship with Jinsen, so he ostracizes him like everyone else. Eventually, he realizes that buying into public opinion about who to be friends with is stupid, even if it means losing one of his more socially acceptable friends.