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    Zen and the Art of Faking It
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    Zen and the Art of Faking It
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    Zen and the Art of Faking It
    Audiobook5 hours

    Zen and the Art of Faking It

    Written by Jordan Sonnenblick

    Narrated by Mike Chamberlain

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    When eighth-grader San Lee moves to a new town and a new school for the umpteenth time, he doesn't try to make new friends or be a loner or play cool. Instead he sits back and devises a plan to be totally different. When he accidentally answers too many questions in World History on Zen (only because he just had Ancient Religions two schools ago) all heads turn and San has his answer: he's a Zen Master. And just when he thinks everyone (including the cute girl he can't stop thinking about) is on to him, everyone believes him . . . in a major Zen way.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateDec 23, 2008
    ISBN9780739371541
    Unavailable
    Zen and the Art of Faking It
    Author

    Jordan Sonnenblick

    Jordan Sonnenblick is the author of the acclaimed teen novels Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Notes from the Midnight Driver, and Zen and the Art of Faking it. In addition to being a writer, he’s a middle-school English teacher and would never penalize one of his students for bringing an imaginary friend to school. Jordan lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with his wife and their two children. If he’s ever had an imaginary friend, he’s not telling! You can visit him on the Web at www.jordansonnenblick.com.

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    Reviews for Zen and the Art of Faking It

    4/5

    159 ratings23 reviews

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    • 4/5
      San Lee has moved to a new town due to changes in his family's circumstances. He wants to find a niche, and stand out, and claims to be a zen buddhist.
    • 5/5
      Ok, I'd been reading a lot of children's and YA lately, so I was getting a little burnt out when I picked this up. Or so I thought. I laughed out loud several times over the first pp, and then as the story got more intense, but was still funny, I loved it even more. The ending was just a teeny-tiny bit cliched, but still, wow, I now have a new favorite author. Sorry this isn't a more helpful review but it's a quick read, worth your time if you're at all interested, so go ahead, check it out.
    • 4/5
      Fun book, though not laugh-out-loud hilarious. Good for fans of books like Carter Finally Gets It.

      3.5 stars
    • 4/5
      San Lee is an adopted Chinese kid trying to fit in to Middle School in the small town of Harrisonville, PA. His family has traveled around quite a bit and San tries to make it by becoming whatever personna will fit in... a surfer dude in California, a bible-thumper in Alabama. What will he be in this little town in Pennsylvania? When the social studies teacher introduces a chapter on Zen Buddhism, something he happened to cover previously in Texas, San gets an idea. Instead of blending in with everyone, he decides to stick out... by being a Zen "master". With a few well-researched quotes and his worn-out sandals, he "meditates" each morning on the rock in front of the school, hoping to impress a certain guitar-playing girl in his class. Will his charade be discovered? Read and see! Light-hearted, this is a good book for middle schoolers. 264 pages.
    • 5/5
      I thought this was an excellent book. It moves along with likable characters. I liked the Thoreau and the Buddhism. Even the supporting cast of teachers and librarian add so much to the story. Honesty and identity.
    • 4/5
      San Lee uses his moves to new cities as an opportunity to reinvent himself. Currently he is the resident expert on Zen Buddhism - but not really as his description of the local library and librarian are hysterical. A lot of laugh out loud moments in this one.
    • 4/5
      Thirteen-year-old San Lee is always moving to a new town and having to go to a new school, so he is looking for a way to stand out when he moves this time. His knowledge of Zen Buddhism, which he picked up in one of the schools he attended, provides not only the answer to his popularity at his new school, but also the need to quickly become a convincing Zen master.This is a funny book, but it's also frustrating because you never know when San is going to be outed as a fake. He spouts wisdom and advice that always seems just right for any situation in which he finds himself. I really enjoyed this novel. It was light and easy as well as entertaining. I liked the characters, which always helps me get into a book more easily.
    • 4/5
      i didnt think that this book was going to be a good book. i gave this book a chance and i ended up liking it in the end. i give this book a four out of five stars
    • 4/5
      Teens will relate to San in this laugh out novel as he uncovers his true self while dealing with the pressures of fitting in. The novel reads in first person, directly reading San's thoughts as he tries to make sense of the new school, the issues with his family and his crush. His humorous and quick-witt comments will engage the reader and also brings up self identity and social issues relatable to teens. Some racial issues are introduced in the novel, San is a Chinese adopted by white parents, but are not delved into, most likely by the nature of the book. Recommended to 7th grade and up.
    • 4/5
      Cute teen fiction about a boy who accidentally presents himself as a zen master... and then tries to keep faking it rather than admit to the mistaken impression. Normally this sort of constant deception for no good reason just irritates me in adult fiction, but presented with teenagers it seems a bit more believable and I can't deny that the story was pretty fun and filled with random zen tidbits as Zack learns enough to get by.
    • 4/5
      San Lee has moved to a new town due to changes in his family's circumstances. He wants to find a niche, and stand out, and claims to be a zen buddhist.
    • 4/5
      How do you cope with the bad things that happen in your life, especially when you are starting a new school in 8th grade? Good book that a lot of us can identify with.
    • 4/5
      Jordan Sonnenblick is one of my new favorite young adult authors. He has a wonderful way of capturing everyday life during the awkward years of middle or high school in a humorous and entertaining way. He manages to incorporate valuable lessons in his works, without coming across as lecturing or preachy. In Zen and the Art of Faking It, Sonnenblick introduces readers to San Lee, the new boy in a Pennsylvania middle school who takes on the persona of a Buddhist Zen Master even though he is adopted and everything he has learned about his Chinese heritage has come from library books. Add in a guitar playing girl with a host of family problems and a basketball team convinced that Zen is the answer to winning games and San's life as the new kid instantly becomes a complicated mess. Tackling the common pre-teen theme of "finding oneself", Sonnenblick once again delivers an honest and fun story filled with fully-realized, well-drawn characters and Zen and the Art of Faking It is overall a charming and delightful novel.
    • 4/5
      After his father is throw in jail for fraud, San Lee and his mother move to a small town in Pennsylvania. San gets over his head when he tries to pose as a Zen Buddhist Master, in an effort to fit in at his new junior high and win the heart of his new found love Woody; a beautiful guitar picking songstress, who fills the cafeteria’s air with “capitalist machine” destroying protest songs. Unfortunately for San, his well researched, fake identity actually works and the entire school embraces a Zen fad that captures the spirit of unlikely students. San is thrust into a role as the student’s guru, however, someone in the school is on to San and is secretly dropping notes into his locker in an attempt to crumble his conscience and force him to reveal the truth. I enjoyed this book for its raw and wry sense of humor that I did not expect to be found in a teen fiction novel. There are some really insightful lessons on Zen Buddhism and Buddhism in general which I found to provide great insights for any age, let alone teens. However, this book does not to push any beliefs on teens. Rather, it simply touches on alternative values and thoughts, echoing the reminder that there is more to life than possessions and earthly attachments. If there is going to be a new fad based on the popularity of reading a teen fiction book, I would hope that they are based on Jordan Sonneblick’s Zen and the Art of Faking It. It would be nice to see teens competing in a popularity contest for who can be the most mindful and charitable person at their junior high school.
    • 4/5
      San and his parents have moved around a lot. Each time they move, he reinvents himself. Now, with his dad in prison, he and his mom move to Pennsylvania, where San, adopted from China, falls into the role of Zen master. As he fakes his way through his new zen identity, he meets and begins to like Woody, a girl who plays guitar for money at lunch. Will his whole lie unravel and come back on him, or can he fake it long enough to get the girl?
    • 5/5
      San Lee is an Chinese boy who has been moving from state to state (and from school to school) with his adoptive Caucasian parents. Now with his father in prison, he and his mother have moved once again. It is winter in Pennsylvania and San goes to school coatless and in sandals because his mom can't afford winter clothes for him. He is dubbed Buddha Boy by the other kids and so begins his journey to find out who he really is.
    • 4/5
      This was a lovely little volume, and age-appropriate. There was tween romance but nothing sexual, and no drugs, alcohol or profanity that I can remember. The conflict between San and his mom, and his incarcerated dad, was very well handled. Zen And The Art Of Faking It could also probably inspire kids to get interested in Zen Buddhism. I thought the ending was a bit rushed, though.
    • 3/5
      San Lee, habitual new kid in town, is once again grappling with which identity to assume. He's been identified as skater, Bible-thumper, prep, and macho pretend-jock in the past. Current happenings flow him naturally into fake Zen master, and who is he to complain? He's very Zen-like, that is, until things crumble down on top of him and force out the truth. He's essentially becoming everything he hates about his father, but all it takes is a few steps in the right direction to start turning things around. The writing style lends itself to a quick read, and the author offers quite an honest portrayal of teen emotions, self-conflict and relationships.
    • 3/5
      In this humorous book for middle schooolers, Sun pretends to be a zen master at his new school in order to impress Woody, his fold-singing dream girl. instead he learns about zen while digging himself deeper and deeper into trouble. He is also dealing with the incarceration of his dad, his mom struggling to make ends meet, and learning how to shoot baskets. Although I didn't love it, I can see middle school boys enjoying this book.
    • 4/5
      When San Lee moves to a new (very small) town in Pennsylvania, he takes the opportunity to reinvent himself, leaving out the bits of his past he doesn't care for - like his father being in prison. His Social Studies class begins looking at Buddhism, which he has already learned about at another school. San notices that with his Asian heritage, the other kids seem to assume he is Zen Buddhist....and that impresses a pretty girl called Woody. To continue impressing Woody, San takes to the library and reads all he can to continue to fake being a 'zen master'. Soon he has the whole school on board for a 'zen' movement, including the basketball team's B squad. The book is a pretty easy read - not really a page turner, but interesting enough to make you want to find out what happens and keeps you asking "when is it all going to fall apart?"Lessons on love, honesty, and being yourself - which is not necessarily a direct correlation with who your parents are - are well told. The story is enjoyable and particularly middle school aged boys should like it.
    • 4/5
      San Lee is an eigth grader in a new school after his father goes to prison for fraud. On his first day he meets a very interesting (and cute) girl named Woody and discovers that his social studies class is studying eastern religions. Having studied it in his previous school, San seems like an expert. Deciding to reinvent himself, San becomes a "Zen "master. It is all fake though . . . or is it? Once again, Sonnenblick captures middle school with humor and sensitivity.
    • 5/5
      San Lee is new to the school and looking for his niche. After going through the pros and cons of a number of different possible identities, he becomes an accidental Zen master. He falls in love with Woody, a folk-singer beauty that he is paired up with for the social studies project. I REALLY liked the characters in this book. All of them, even the adults, were really interesting and managed to have depth. The book was written with a great sense of humor and heart.
    • 5/5
      Whenever eighth-grader San Lee moves to a new town and a new school he reinvents himself by trying to fit in or "do as the Romans do" But this time, he doesn't try to make new friends or be a loner or be cool. Instead he sits back and devises a plan to be totally different. When he accidentally answers too many questions in World History on Zen (only because he just had Ancient Religions two schools ago) all heads turn and believe he is a Zen Master. Just when he thinks everyone (including the cute girl he can't stop thinking about) is on to him, everyone believes him . . . in a major Zen way. It's his mother who actually blows the whole thing on him!