I picked this book up at my library's book sale. I thought the idea of a teenager making up a religion that worshiped a water tower was hilarious, but though funny, the book had a surprising amount of depth. The author pretty much describes the birth of almost any religion or cult. There must be the charismatic idea man, a true believer to follow, and several others to join on a lark or just to be included in something. There was even a split in the new religion so there were Water Tower Protestants! :)

There were several interesting aspects to the interpersonal relationships that the author explores during the novel. The sibling-like relationship between Shin and Jason is one that all brothers and sisters will appreciate--they always irritate you and push buttons, but you like them anyway. Jason's father is the hyper-religious element who pushes Jason toward the church which ends up pushing him away, as pushing teenagers toward anyone tends to. There were some observations about religion that resonated with me. Jason observes that most people don't believe every single thing that their religion says. When Jason is questioned on whether he truly believed everything that he was saying he points out that many church-goers go home and commit the sins that they were just warned not to do!

I was pleasantly surprised with how much science there was in this book. There was some mathematical calculating, some gastropod biology, and other snippets of information that would be great for my students, but the religious aspect makes this a risky book to recommend to students. :)
I liked the protagonist's voice. He was very funny and had an active fantasy life. It was entertaining.

One of the most poignant portions for me was when Jason was pondering how nice it must be to have such true belief in something. He is envious of the people in is life that have a sincere belief in God and have something to believe in. I've felt that before, but then I got over it. :)

Genre: philosophy, teenage angst
Summary: Jason Bock and his friends create a new religion worshiping the town's water tower. It's all fun and games until it gets out of control. Jason and his friends climb the tower late one night and Henry breaks into the tower and they all go swimming in the town's drinking water. They lose their flashlight and have to struggle to find the ladder out and when they get out, Henry falls off the roof, only to land on the catwalk breaking his femur. Jason is arrested and his super strict father gives him all sort of Catholic literature to get him back on the path. Jason's friend, Shin, becomes obsessed with the new religion, ending up being committed to a psych ward. At the end, Jason is no better off than when the book began.
Response: This book could have been very interesting and thought-provoking. At times, I paused to think, but most of the time, I just wondered why the author even bothered to write this book. I didn't expect Jason to have a spiritual conversion, but at the same time, I would have liked to see him have some sort of growing experience. As it stands, he was no better off at the end of the book than he was at the very beginning, kind of a let down, really.

Jason is a 15-year-old who is dissatisfied with the religion presented to him. While he really is apathetic most of the time, he decides to have some fun and create his own religion, Chutengodianism, a religion that worships the town's local water tower. Jason soon gathers a small group of disciples, and while he's largely goofing off, he watches as the other members take Chutengodianism too far and in different directions. In the process he learns more about himself and more about religion and spirituality, even though he never comes to a solid conclusion for himself.

This book was different from others I've read. It made me think and try to figure out what the author was saying about religion and spirituality. I think that many teenagers could relate to Jason in his uncertainty about belief, but if this book is to have a positive effect, it should be read by more mature readers. I definitely wouldn't call this book a favorite, but I didn't think it was so bad.

Every now and then I find a nice little book like this. I minored in religious studies, so I really appreciate a quick, religion-related read such as Godless. I found the premise fresh, but believable, and the main character more likable than I'd expected. Took me about two hours to read. Definitely recommend it.

Godless is a story about a boy named Jason Bock who is having a hard time accepting his parent's belief in Catholicism. He attends church and group meetings for youth, but has a hard time believing in God. He decides, as a joke, to make his own religion and god. He argues that anything can be made a god, and decides to declare the water tower of his town as his god. He gets some of his friends, and a girl he likes, interested in this religion and they make up titles and commandments like any other religion has. Unbeknownst to Jason, at first, his friend Shin ends up taking the religion a little too seriously.

I think this book deals with a lot of important aspects of a teenager's life, and could help parents be aware of the questions that their children may have. I think it promotes having an open mind towards others and the religions they have, although those who believe in God may think this book is inappropriate as it "propagates" a disbelief in God. I don't agree, and would suggest this book to any teenager with questions.

Content Warnings:

- Slight violence
- Disdain for religion
- Disobedience to authority
- Small amount of profanity

Very interesting book about a boy who is tired of religion being forced on him, so he starts his own religion about a water tower. He does it as a joke, as a statement, but one friend ends up getting hurt, one takes things too far and becomes a fanatic about it and ends up in the insane asylum, another takes it to the other extreme and ends up in jail. In the end, his thought process is correct. Any religion is correct according to the faith of its worshippers. "you can believe in something if you intend to, you wont believe in something you don't intend to"

This book would go under a drama/religion genre, and the theme is trying to find something to believe in.
Jason (main character) decides he no longer wishes to be Catholic like his parents and decides to create his own religion, Chutengodianism, a.k.a to worship the town's water tower. Along the way he find followers: Shin, his best friend, Dan, the Preacher's son, Henry the bully, and Magda, the some what practical one. Later on their religion begins to grow and soon enough they're able to come up with their own set of commandments as well as their own Sabbath, which includes climbing the water tower and taking a little swim. Throughout the book Jason learns the meaning of how strong one's hold on religion is. This book is filled with funny parts as well as some writing that will make the reader stop and think about what is being said.
What I really liked about this book was the why the author was able to write about such a taboo topic, noting believing in a religion. In some parts the tone of the charters would be serious and then comical. The mood of the story would change from time to time. In the beginning it was very carefree and humorous and at the end you find the charter surrounded in a hectic situation where he really understands what the effects of religion are on people. In the end, I really didn't think the conflict was resolved, but more understood by the charter. The author left me feeling like there was more to the story then was actually written.

The pacing of Pete Hautman's "Godless" leaves much to be desired. Reading the novel felt like a rollercoaster going backwards, and not in a fun way. That said, the content itself is pretty solid. I feel that Hautman captures a faith crisis quite well, if "faith crisis" can describe Jason's actions. However, I do not think that the book would have appealed to me nearly as much when I was younger. Why? It asks so many questions, but refuses to give any possible answers. The novel seems to touch on many really interesting topics, but the only one it really dives into is religion. The ending is fairly open-ended, which worked for Spinelli's "Stargirl", but makes Hautman's "Godless" fall flat.
Jason's father dropped the idea of converting his son to a religion at the end of the book because Jason claims to be an atheist/states that though his journey will be long and hard, "It's my road." This combined with the idea that all of Jason's friends were heavily influenced by him to participate in the religion and blame him for the trouble they were in also lessen my opinion of the book. There is no character development, except maybe for the main character. The conflict between Jason and his father being resolved over a few words made no sense, Jason surely said the same words to his father many times beforehand. I enjoyed parts of the novel- the first half felt like it was setting up a really interesting book. And the book is interesting, but not for me.

Wow. It's been awhile since I've been on GoodReads. I wasn't really keeping up with GR since school ended last year... *sweatdrop*
But with the new 7th graders looking eagerly for books they'll enjoy, and in addition to this amazing new book I read, well, I just had to review this one.
Let me start out truthfully. Usually I don't read books with those little golden or silver seals on them. I like discovering new books that no one has read yet, and help make it worthy of a seal. But from the minute I read the synopsis of Godless, I was hooked.
I myself am agonistic-going-on-atheistic like the main character from Godless, Jason Bock. He goes to church, and TPO, but he doesn't believe a word of it. But one day while collecting snails with his friend Shin, after a forceful blow in the face by Henry Stagg, he asks himself: What if the water tower in his tiny town is God?
I know, crazy sounding, right? But think about it. What makes life on Earth possible? Water. Where does the water from the city come from? Water towers. Even the idea seems a little far-fetched he recruits a group of worshippers of the new religion - Chutengodianism - including Henry Stagg himself.
One Tuesday, he five Chutengodians have their first Midnight Mass - on top of the tower itself. And when standing on top of a 150-foot structure in the dead of night isn't dangerous enough, things get even worse. Deadly even. How? Hey, I can't tell you that much, can I?
All in all, Godless was an amazing, definate 5-star book. Probably one of the best I've read in a while. This book has brought me back from my bad-book slump I've been in lately. And it can be enjoyed by anyone, especially you new 7th graders, my fellow 8th graders, and every grade beyond; and still beyond that.

Finally was able to read this after having it on my list for a long time. Managed to snag a copy at a library book sale.

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Wish I had read this kind of book when I was younger, it’s very well written to get into the mind of a teenager struggling with his place in the world, how to treat friends, his family, and where he belongs.

“You have to believe in it, to understand it.” Like zero, gravity, wind, or a religion.

This book is weird don’t get me wrong but it has to be weird in order to placate what it is trying to say. What is it trying to say? Something along the lines of: everyone has a different definition of a god, the history of religion isn’t that concrete, and pushing your children into something they don’t want to do can back fire.

Our main character develops some unlikely friendships with a girl he likes and the local bully, seemingly forgetting about his nerdy lanky friend. As a way to get back at his Sunday school teacher he creates a fake “religion”, one of his very screw loose friends ends up taking it seriously. Giving the reader a moment to reflect on how believing in something so deeply can make you crazy because it keeps you from taking a step back. While everyone plays it off as a joke and knows it’s a joke, the bully takes it too far and ends up getting hurt at the water tower.

The nerdy friend fully believes that the water tower is talking to him and proceeds to go into it in the middle of a thunderstorm, leaving the main character to come save him.

Every character seemed to have something to gain from the made up religion. The main character wanted an escape, the nerd wanted to be brave and important, the bully wanted to have fun, the girl wanted to be involved and kept in the loop to not be forgotten, and the “average” friend wanted… to get away from his religious parents.

The book ends with the main character reflecting on his decisions. How his made up story ended up influencing a lot of people, splitting them, hurting them, and losing them. Just like any religion today. He feels alone but knows that it’s the best path for him, and that at least he doesn’t have to pretend to be something he’s not. He also reflects that what came to be was natural, and that a lot of what happened was inevitable or could’ve been far worse. It’s fairly bittersweet but believable and relatable.

tI chose to read this book because it was outside of my comfort zone. Sadly, there are many teens and young adults who rebel against their parents, and this book plays with the psychology behind it. I would recommend this book to my friend Blair, a Psych major, who wants to work with children who have gone or are going through dramatic or transitional experiences. He would find the different psychological responses from the characters interesting.
tIf I were to use this book in a future classroom, I would use it as a part of a religious tolerance unit in a 9th grade class. I am hesitant of using this book in younger classrooms because of suggestive themes and ideologies in the book. But with older students, I’d have them share a little bit about what faith they as an individual have and their reasons behind it. Then have an open discussion about “Godless” and what happened to the teens in this story and what beliefs they had and what their motives were for rebelling.
Warnings
t-Violence

Godless by Pete Hautman is an engrossing book that I suggest young adults read. Currently, religion is a very controversial subject which is presented extremely well in this book. It has a thought-provoking theme that revealed the brutal truth of religions in our world. In addition, the theme is very captivating and really gets the reader to contemplate. Its set the intriguing tone of the plot where the protagonist, Jason, decided to make his own "religion" with a few buddies of his. As Jason and his friend go through this unique experience, they all build this bond that leaves them with unforgettable experiences. However, the repercussions of their experiences hit and it was all downhill from there. Finally, like I have said before, this book gets the readers to ponder and leaves them with feelings of uncertainty and bewilderment. It gives a sneak peek at the real world and applies common situations to it. For readers that have troubles with beliefs, I highly recommend this book for it gives you an important moral to grasp in life that can potentially change a person's life. So read this book and you'll be glued to it, no doubt!