Hey Donnie Darlings! Welcome to my stop on the My Buddhist Christmas Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. Click here to follow along with the full schedule.
My Buddhist Christmas
Release Date: 9/8/15
Source: Copy for review
Synopsis
It's not surprising that sixteen year old Chris Jones has no idea where he fits in...
After all, he's a Buddhist kid in America - during the Christmas season. Add in the fact he plays guitar in a punk rock band called The Dharma Bhumz, and his life is one giant paradox. Caught between the principles of his religion and the influence of his hard-partying bandmates, Chris is in a constant struggle for balance.
An upcoming talent show is his chance to shine - fail spectacularly...
It's already hard enough preparing for the show, since his friends are more interested in getting high than practicing. And now Chris has to worry about impressing pretty Mary Simpson. To make matters even worse, Mary's parents are fundamentalist Christians, a few steps above his family on the social ladder, and they firmly believe Chris isn't good enough for their precious daughter.
Conflicted about his friends, lying to his family, and still mourning a devastating loss, Chris wonders if being an American Buddhist guitar wizard wanna-be is worth it.
Or does any of it even matter anymore?
I've been fascinated by Buddhism as soon as we learned about the religion in high school. I took a few classes on it in college, and I don't think I've come across a book where the main character is Buddhist, so I jumped at the chance to read MY BUDDHIST CHRISTMAS. I really wanted to see what it would be like around Christmastime for someone who isn't Christian.
Most of my family are Christian. We celebrate Christmas with all of the traditions that go along with it. While I've tried to imagine how people of the Jewish or Islamic faiths must feel living in the U.S. around Christmastime, I've never thought about Buddhists, so this book called to me, begging to be read!
There aren't too many young adult novels with a male lead character, especially one with a good head on his shoulders like Chris. He's so likable, and I could relate with him in some ways - feeling like you're too uptight and missing out on fun when what your friends are doing doesn't feel quite right to you, wanting to do something you love to do, and just navigating through the pressures of being a teenager and a high school student. And his loss...I could identify with his grief.
I felt protective of him, especially when the parents of the girl he likes didn't think he was good enough for her. I did think Mary invited him a bit soon to meet her parents, though. I mean, they hang out one time after school, and then she invites him to a pre-Christmas dinner the next week to meet them! I don't think I would have said no either if it was someone I had a crush on...I'm pretty bad at saying no...but with Christmas coming up, I thought it was pretty brave of Chris to take that challenge on. That's another reason I felt so protective of him.
And wow, Chris's band mates annoyed me. I couldn't believe how they kept putting off practicing their music. Surely there had to be some better girls or guys to be in the talent show with?? They seemed to know nothing about Chris, nor did they try to know anything him. Yep, I was definitely feeling protective of Chris.
MY BUDDHIST CHRISTMAS does an excellent job of showing what it's like to be Buddhist, better than any textbook I've ever read or could ever hope to read. That's exactly what I was looking for when I dove into Chris's story. Though it isn't quite Halloween yet, it was a perfect book to get a head start on some holiday reading. I love reading books that take place around Christmas, and I love learning about Buddhism, so it was a win-win for me. You won't learn the entire religion in one book, but you'll be able to understand it in a practical way of what it might be like to live day to day as a Buddhist. Five stars for MY BUDDHIST CHRISTMAS all the way! :D
About the Author
My first novel will be available on September 8th, 2015. It's a Young Adult fiction story called: My Buddhist Christmas.
Connect with the Author
Blog Tour organized by:
My Buddhist Christmas has a lot going for it. You are right, this is a great time of year for sharing this.
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
It's a great read for this time of year! I loved it! :D
DeleteToo bad we didn't know each other in high school. I was crazy about Buddhism the moment I learned about it. My family called me grasshopper for a while. I guess my interest wasn't secret. I had to add this one to my TBR shelf. Come on. Music, buddhism, YA? I hope you're doing well. We haven't chatted in forever!
ReplyDeleteThat would have been awesome to go to high school together! Can you imagine how much hell we would've raised? lol This was a really awesome book, and I can't wait for you to read it! :) I'm emailing you - it's been forever, which is way too long! :)
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