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50books_poc2009-09-02 12:59 am
kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com) wrote in 50books_poc2009-09-02 12:59 am
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The God Box by Alex Sanchez
Title: The God Box
Author: Alex Sanchez
Number of Pages: 248 pages
My Rating: 5/5
Paul is a Christian teen who has been dating his best friend Angie since middle school, but while he loves her, he feels no attraction towards her. Every night he prays that God will make him attracted to girls and take away his feelings about guys. Then he meets Manuel, who is a Christian and gay and sees nothing contradictory about that. As Paul and Manuel become closer, he starts to question what he's been taught about the evils of homosexuality.
I won't lie. This book is as subtle as a brick and Manuel is unbelievably wise and perfect for a teenager, but I loved it to death. I don't really consider myself a Christian anymore (and I was never this sort of actively-Christian Christian myself), but this is how I grew up and Sanchez portrays the conservative Christian community perfectly. Reading this felt so familiar to me. The Christians in this book aren't parodies; they're real people, and I loved that the story wasn't about choosing between being a Christian and being gay, but about being a gay Christian.
Author: Alex Sanchez
Number of Pages: 248 pages
My Rating: 5/5
Paul is a Christian teen who has been dating his best friend Angie since middle school, but while he loves her, he feels no attraction towards her. Every night he prays that God will make him attracted to girls and take away his feelings about guys. Then he meets Manuel, who is a Christian and gay and sees nothing contradictory about that. As Paul and Manuel become closer, he starts to question what he's been taught about the evils of homosexuality.
I won't lie. This book is as subtle as a brick and Manuel is unbelievably wise and perfect for a teenager, but I loved it to death. I don't really consider myself a Christian anymore (and I was never this sort of actively-Christian Christian myself), but this is how I grew up and Sanchez portrays the conservative Christian community perfectly. Reading this felt so familiar to me. The Christians in this book aren't parodies; they're real people, and I loved that the story wasn't about choosing between being a Christian and being gay, but about being a gay Christian.
no subject
But yeah, it was good in a lot of ways. Aside from Manuel and Abuelita, who were a little to saintly and perfect, the characterisations were really believable (especially Paul, which is good since he's the main character!), and even Manuel and Abuelita I loved despite raising my eyebrow to them on more than one occasion. And I really liked that Angie was Paul's best friend first and stayed his best friend after they broke up. She wasn't some cardboard girlfriend. She was a real person.