Hautman, Pete. Godless

Hautman, Pete. Godless. Simon & Schuster, 2004 [0-689-86278-4]
I am not sure what I think about this book, but it is definitely an interesting read. Jason who is fed up with his parent's religion invents a new god - the water tower in his town. He also is having trouble with a thug and his gang in town. Jason gathers a small group of followers for his religion. He has always wanted to get up on top of the water tower and when Jason sees Henry (the thug) on top of the tower, the only way he can learn to get up there is to let Henry into the religion (now called Chutengodians.) After a couple of trips to the top of the tower, Jason starts to realize this his religion is getting out of control. One of the group, a not-so-stable boy is more serious about the religion than Jason and the police are not too excited about kids climbing up on top of the water tower. Can Jason control his religion (and its followers) in this 198 page book before the whole mess spins out of control? This book will not have a huge audience but the ones who like it, will really like it. If you like this one, check out "Mr. Was" by the same author.