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Review: Zen and the Art of Faking It

Zen and the Art of Faking It Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fantastic middle grade book! It didn't even necessarily feel like a middle grade book besides the main cast being middle schoolers. It never felt like the author was condescending or looking down on his readers by making the language super simple, which is something that often irks me with middle grade. That said, I listened to the audiobook, so it is possible that any less sophisticated language went unnoticed when spoken.

Zen and the Art of Faking It is about an eighth grade boy named San Lee, and his decision to reinvent himself as a Buddhist Zen Master at his new school. Lots of Buddhist knowledge and enlightenment is to be found here (but don't worry, it's not about trying to convert anyone or anything). Being able to experience both the antics that ensue and learning about San's home life and what motivated him to make such a decision were interesting and engaging. The tone of the book was kept light throughout even during conflict, enforced by San's lighthearted and humorous personality.

All of the characters felt multidimensional, even if at first they seem like they'll just be a cliché. I particularly enjoyed Peter's character, someone who you would initially characterise as the 2-dimensional "bully" but then realise he's human just like everyone else. I think it can be up for interpretation whether or not he was an actual bully, but my vote goes towards no. (view spoiler) I quite like how his character was handled.

This book had the "character does something bad/gets caught up in their lies and is now all alone and friendless" cliché, unfortunately. I very much noticed it but it didn't actually bother me too much because it was at the end and didn't last too long. Also at this point I'm starting to think it's an unavoidable staple in the contemporary genre. It did make the ending and resolution feel too rushed though, which was unfortunate because it would have otherwise been wrapped up quite nicely. (view spoiler) There was also the insta-love cliché which I just went along with, because there comes a point where you've seen a cliché so many times that you don't even get mad anymore, you just accept that that's the way things are going to be and you move on. San's crush was a quite likable character though, so it really wasn't hard getting behind it.

The audiobook was good. Nothing super special but definitely not bad. The only thing is that it was sometimes confusing to tell if what San was saying was internal monologue or external dialogue because the narrator didn't differentiate his voice between the two.

Overall this was a great middle grade book that was super enjoyable. It was not without its flaws but I'm definitely happy to have read it.


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