Misdirected: A Novel - Hardcover

Berman, Ali

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1609805739 ISBN 13: 9781609805739

Publisher: Triangle Square, 2014

Synopsis

Misdirected is the story of fifteen-year-old Ben, who moves to a small conservative Colorado town where his atheism seems to be the only thing about him that matters to everyone. His classmates bully him for not fitting in, his teachers don’t understand him, and with his brother serving in Iraq and his sister away at college with problems of her own, Ben is left on his own to figure things out. Being a teen is tricky to navigate when you’re an outsider, and Ben struggles to find his place without compromising who he is. He rebels against his teachers, he argues with his classmates, and he rejects what others believe, bringing the reader with him on his enlightening journey as he learns the value of challenging accepted beliefs—including his own.

About this title

About the Author

ALI BERMAN is the author of Choosing a Good Life: Lessons from People Who Have Found Their Place in the World. Her writing has appeared in Unsaid Literary Journal, Elimae, Used Furniture Review and Puerto del Sol, among others. She works as a humane educator for HEART, teaching children about issues affecting people, animals, and the environment. Berman resides in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two cats. Misdirected is her first novel.

From School Library Journal

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Triangle Square
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1609805739
• ISBN 13: 9781609805739
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288