Misdirected

Gr 6–10—Ben's parents believe that private schools provide better educations, so, despite being part of a nonreligious family, he has always attended a Catholic school. The summer before his sophomore year, the family relocates and the teen is enrolled in Christian Heritage Academy. He is used to prayers and theology classes, but his former school had a diverse student body from a variety of religions. He is totally unprepared for the fundamentalist Christian beliefs that define every student and aspect of life at the Academy. Ben tries to be respectful but refuses to lie about his own beliefs, admitting that he is an atheist, inadvertently turning himself into the school pariah. Only his new girlfriend, Tess, who must sneak time with him because of her disapproving family, makes his life bearable. Ben deals by focusing on maintaining a high GPA, believing college will be his ticket out of the narrow-minded town. He is tasked with supporting creationism over evolution, and he's unwilling to sacrifice scientific evidence to what he believes. When his well-documented paper receives an F and he is subsequently physically accosted by the school bully, his frustration boils over into a tirade of expletives and Christian-bashing aimed at students and teachers. Realizing afterward that his behavior displayed the same level of intolerance as theirs, he struggles to find a way to make amends. Berman tackles religious intolerance from an unexpected angle that will hit close to home for many and spark interesting discussion.—Cary Frostick, formerly at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA