Spiritual+or+Religious

By Irshad Manji** Jan. 09. 240p. St. Martin's Press, $13.95 (0-312-32700-5) Islam is an extremely complex religion that has only grown more so with the countless differing meanings people have taken from the Quran, the one and only holy book of Islam. In __The Trouble With Islam Today__, Manji focuses on the basic underlying messages of the Quran. She explains how terrorists form the twisted ideas inside their heads, such as you must kill all infidels. She also talks about why others have an automatically negative view of Islam and, in a sense, why it deserves that because of the way Islam is today. She is calling out to all Muslims, saying that they must realize and recognize their many faults. If this happens it will hopefully lead to much needed reform in the faith of Islam. The book itself is a little hard to follow at times. When she gives examples from history to support her arguments, too many events and dates are being explained all at one time. At points, I was not sure what exactly in history was being analyzed. Also, it seems as though there are bits and pieces of the different topics thrown in at random spots in the book. The points that she makes for one subject should be in the realm that the others are in. Despite this, I appreciate her honest opinions. Many times, Muslims aren't willing to dig deep into their faith and find rhyme and reason to the scriptures. Irshad Manji pointed out both the good and bad of Islam, or the way Islam is today. There is definitely a level of maturity that any reader should be at in order to get the most out of this book. This book is good for ages sixteen and up because of the complexity of the issues. However, the most critical characteristic one must possess to read this book is a sense of open-mindedness. You cannot be too quick to judge when reading this or it will ruin the experience. __The Trouble With Islam Today__ focuses a lot on women's rights and status so it points more toward females. However, it is an extremely interesting and engaging read for anyone looking to learn about Islam. -Hannah R.
 * The Trouble With Islam Today

2007. 248p. Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (978-1-4169-0899-9) Author Alex Sanchez presents his readers and fans with yet another heartwarming story about the craziness of teenage love, and the importance of acceptance. Paul and Angie have been steadily dating since they were kids in middle school. Both devout Christians, they go to bible study together, church choir together and to Church on Sundays together. They are each other’s first love and best friend. Paul's first day of senior year is thrown off track when he meets the first openly gay student at their school, and is shocked when he tries to sit with him at lunch. Manuel, who is also a Christian, befriends Paul and Angie and tries, day after day, to get Paul to understand that being gay and Christian is okay, all the while enduring brutal harassment from ignorant classmates. Every single day, hateful students terrorize and humiliate Manuel just because he is proud of who he is, while teachers turn a blind eye. Manuel teaches Paul how the bible never explicitly states that homosexuality is a sin, and how certain biblical stories have been interpreted to mean that. He believes that the bible states that violence is wrong, not homosexuality. Paul is beginning to believe Manuel and finally realizing what is true. He finds himself beginning to question his sexuality, but praying to God to take away his “sinful” feelings, by writing them down in his God Box. The God Box is a crafted, wooden chest were one can place high priority prayers in the hope that God will pay special attention to them. Manuel's breath-taking smile, kind heart, and different interpretations of the bible make Paul realize who he really is. Unfortunately, Paul's beliefs are tested when a vicious hate crime is committed by a classmate, and one of his friends becomes terribly hurt. Sanchez depicts the truth about sexuality and religion. Many gay people, teens and adults alike, are faced with the interpretations of the Holy Bible, and how society believes that homosexuality is wrong. Also, many gay teens and adults are finding, and have found refuge in the anti-violence teachings of the bible. Many believe this novel should be read in schools. Not only do I think this novel is entertaining and informational, but I think accepting homosexuality and other differences needs to be taught to students between the ages of twelve and sixteen, and this book is an excellent way for teens to better understand the struggle of closeted/religious homosexuals. I believe novels like this should be read within schools’ classrooms to prevent homophobia and discrimination at a young age, and help rid America of bigotry and hate. __The God Box__ can really offer a fresh perspective for young readers, and it tells a story about how belief in one’s self can over power hate. Amanda S.
 * The God Box**
 * By Alex Sanchez**

The Alchemist By Paul Coelho 2002. 177p. HarperCollins, 5.99 (978-0-00715566-8) Every journey begins with a personal desire, with a fighting chance to become a reality. In this novel, a shepherd boy from Spain dreams of someday traveling the world. While wandering with his sheep, he meets a king who tells him to follow the omens, and from that day forward he is on a journey to find his awaited treasure. He makes his way to an oasis where he has an encounter with an alchemist. The alchemist teaches the boy important lessons, and leads him on an exciting journey to his treasure. This book brings one on a spiritual journey in a new world. The central theme of this book is following "omens", which is accepting and following the destiny that is planned for you. This theme is tested and explored through the novel in many different aspects. I also feel this novel could be considered a coming of age, or bildungsroman story. The boy goes from being an inexperienced child who tends to sheep, to being a well traveled and highly experienced alchemist. He also, while at the oasis, met the love of his life, Fatima. Fatima lived at the oasis her whole life, she met the shepherd boy at the well one day, and ever since they meet there to talk everyday. At first, the boy is reluctant to leave the oasis, where Fatima lives, because he is afraid that something might happen to him while in the unknown dessert. The desert was especially dangerous because there were deadly tribal wars going on in at the time. Fatima understood his hesitation towards leaving, but she told him that women of the desert are suppose to let their men go, and wait patiently for their return. During the shepherd's journey with the alchemist, he was taught to "become one with nature", which is the embracing, and flowing with the soul of the world. Over time he gains great control over his "powers" with nature. Through becoming intact with nature, he learns a lot about the world around him. Not only dose he have a new understanding of his surroundings, he also learns about his inner being. He learned how to listen to his heart, and understand how he was feeling. The alchemist seemed to bring out the full potential in the boy. Over all, a spiritual nature is the most valued quality in alchemy.The boy's spirit, along with much guidance, brought him on his once-in-a-lifetime adventure. He was told how very few people follow the omens to their destiny, but those who do has the world on there side, wanting them to succeed. I would recommend this book for audiences of middle school, and up. This is not a gender specific story, but rather one that transcends gender and is forever timeless. Caroline M.

Eat, Pray, Love By Elizabeth Gilbert 2006. 334p. Penguin Books, $15.00 (978-0-143-03841-2). Elizabeth Gilbert has everything she ever wanted: a successful job, a nice house, a good husband, but she feels she is lacking something important. She, for no clear reason, begins to feel like her life is empty and she is alone. As Gilbert went on like this her marriage fell apart and she became severely depressed. To heal herself and repair her shattered life, Gilbert took a year to travel to Italy, India , and Indonesia to find spiritual rebirth, and happiness. In her book, she studies languages, discovers religions, tries foreign cuisine, and practices the seldom used art of relaxation. __Eat, Pray, Love__ explores the lacking of inner peace and worldly understanding that occurs within so many Americans. Gilbert writes with eloquence and rhythm as she recounts her numerous adventures and discoveries on her trip. This book was somewhat similar to the novel we read in class, __Life of Pi__. Like Pi, Gilbert finds consolation and guidance from praying to gods of different religions. The reader can really imagine and feel the pain, sorrow, joy, and forgiveness Gilbert feels throughout those emotionally tumultuous years. The memoir is interestingly organized. Gilbert uses 108 chapters, broken into 3 sections, one for each country, to symbolize the Indian custom of praying with a 108 bead holy necklace. Using this method shows just how much Gilbert really gained from her travels. She embraces the beauty the world beholds while regaining her trust in a higher power. The reader finds herself wanting Gilbert to succeed and be happy with herself. This book is an excellent read for mature high school students. It is, at points, difficult to comprehend the subtle metamorphosis Gilbert is undergoing throughout her journey. But, all-in-all, __Eat Pray Love__ teaches the important lesson of forgiveness and understanding. Gilbert also urges the reader to follow their hearts and never hold back. This book could definitely be a beneficial read to students in high school. ~Kathleen G.

**Life of Pi.** By Yann Martel. 2001. 319p. Harcourt. $25.00 (0-15-100811-6) Before disaster strikes, Pi Patel lives his average teenage life in Pondicherry, India at his father’s zoo. He has a deep respect for the zoo and it’s animals, and connects with them quite closely. Yet when Pi, his family, and some animal friends, are set sail for their new home in Canada, tribulations start to surface. The old creaky ship they are on named the //Tsimtsum// sinks just four days after departure, and Pi is the only person to get in the lifeboat accompanied by a dying zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a tiger. As one animal devours another, Pi is forced to create and live on a raft attached to the side of the boat. Soon, it is only him and the tiger, known to Pi as Richard Parker, who remain alive on a thirty-foot boat in the largest ocean in the world. The deeply spiritual boy is able to live through astonishing conditions as he catches food for both the tiger and himself, visits an island full of meerkats and man-eating vegetation, and still manages to keep sane during very distressing, lonely times onboard a small boat with an animal that could easily massacre him. The story also includes vivid descriptions of Pi’s survival such as cutting open turtles and fish as well as his various ways of getting water. This truly remarkable and faith-based story is full of several maturing themes as Pi tries to find his place in life through his religion and the events he experiences in the Pacific. The book teaches several valuable lessons such as individuality, trust, and faith in others. Mr. Martel may have written this book to show how much faith one boy could have in terrifying circumstances that many people cannot even grasp in everyday life. Or his objective may have been to make readers more passionate about God. The book is beautifully written with only a few minor upsets such as the fast-forwarding to Pi’s adult life from time to time, or the long confusing story of how Pi got his name. The vocabulary is appropriate for most early high school-aged adolescents, but may be confusing at times as this book was originally published in Canada, and some words are not spelled in traditional American English. //Life of Pi// will take some on a likeable path with faith and religion deeply immersed in it. For others, it may be dislikeable because of the repetitive process that Pi lives everyday onboard the lifeboat. The story would be an excellent read for religious groups, maturing teens, international-based classes, people interested in animals, or for those just looking for a good bildungsroman. This powerful tale of a castaway teenager will touch many deeply, and is a must-read for those lost in the ever confusing days of growing up in modern society. Stetson M.

** Untouchables  ** 2003.295p. Scribner.26$. (0-7432-7079-7)  __Untouchables__ is the story of a couple named Damu and Sonu who struggle to free themselves from the Indian class system. The couple belongs to an oppressed social class called the Dalites, or Untouchables. This class has no education, the worse jobs, and little human rights. The story starts out when Damu is ordered to guard the body of a dead wealthy woman until the police can find the family she belongs to. Soon, things go terribly wrong and Damu has a head on confrontation with a fauzdar, or police officer, who abuses Damu so much he snaps and decides to leave his village and join his mother in the city of Mumbai, in search of a better life. After months of struggles, Damu and his wife had finally succeeded in establishing a substantial living, or so it seemed. Suddenly, they found themselves in the middle of a revolution. The Dalites united and were beginning a nonviolent, but disruptive, struggle to free themselves of the Indian class system. Damu, against his wife’s wishes, decides to join this rebellion. Despite many setbacks, financial and spiritual, Damu manages to free himself and his family from the Dalite class. The theme of this book is that anyone, no matter were they were born or how much money they make, can become something better if they try hard enough. The story is engrossing inspiring and interesting, but it has its faults. The main problem is the writing style. The story, which is a translation of Damu and Sonu’s journals, is written entirely in first person, and is constantly switching points of view between the couple; this combined with frequent flash backs and fast forwards in time make the story hard to follow. In addition, the author uses many Indian terms and phrases that Americans are not familiar with; I found it hard to get engrossed in the story when I constantly had to flip to the book’s glossary to find out what a word meant. I suggest this story to people looking to be inspired, Damu’s unflinching perseverance through numerous and frequent setbacks could be a great motivational tool. It also might be a useful tool for a teacher trying to explain India’s culture. You should avoid letting young children read this book because of it’s accurate, yet disturbing depiction of the life of a Dalite. One such incident when Damu recalls his entire village fights over a dead rotten cow corpse because they were hungry. While this allows the reader to understand the struggles of an Untouchable, it also may be too mature for some readers. Kevin H.
 * By Narendra Jadhav **

By Farah Ahmedi. 2005. 256p. Simon & Schuster Inc. $29.95. (1-4169-0670-3).   This book is about a young girl whose name is Farah. She is born in Afghanistan, during the bombing of the Soviets and the creation of the Taliban. She then gets severely injured from an accident in her younger years, right before losing most of her family. Farah and her ill mother try to travel and live in America, but there is a long difficult process they need to go through in order to escape from the war in Afghanistan. It is also hard because Farah was not born into the wealthiest family and her mother and she need more money to survive. This book has a good flow of events from when Farah is a toddler to becoming a teenager. There are many ups and downs through the book but that does not stop Farah’s plans and dreams in hopes of trying to get to America. This story is written for older teens and adults because of some historical events going on in the world. This book also talks about the Islam religion so young teen might not be familiar with these topics. Farah prays to Allah or God to help her with her struggles in her life. Since the major characters are the girl, Farah, and her mother, females could enjoy and relate to this book more than males. This is an autobiography, and the author has many challenging conflicts, which help her learn what life is truly about: who you are with makes a huge difference. She also learns what other people are going through in the world, and it is not just herself and her mom. This was an interesting but brilliant autobiography to read. This book did change my view of other poorer countries and lifestyles that are not as wealthy or “up-to-date” as the United States. This story also changed my view of the different procedures and obstacles that have to be taken care of with medical treatment verses the United States. For example, the Middle East does not have as many “high technologies” as the United States, which is shown and influenced in the book. The Middle East does not really care about sanitation or making the patients happy in a hospital. The doctors and nurses just want to get the job done quickly and as less stressful as possible. In the United States, they help Farah and her mom with their illnesses and injuries a lot better than the Middle East. Overall, there are hardly any dislikes as the novel. Every page got more and more interesting, even at the very end of the book. There are some depressing parts, but people can relate to them and some people actually live like Farah in the world. __The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky,__ by Farah Ahmedi, was an outstanding autobiography. - Kelley C
 * The Story of my Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky. **