God of Beer

Rating:
Summary: An endearing, artful work
Review: A highly enjoyable novel for adults young and not-so-young alike, Keizer's cast of rural characters moves the story forward with a sincerity that is at once moving and compelling. A must-read novel from a sterling author.

Rating:
Summary: Needs work
Review: Poorly done. Read Publisher Weekly's review from above, they are right on, but a little too nice. It's amazing what gets past editors' desks - the dialogue is so cheesy, even young adults should be insulted.

Rating:
Summary: Review of "God of Beer"
Review: The book "God of Beer" is an accurate portrayal of what takes place in a small town where teenage kids have nothing to do and turn to underage drinking as a way to pass the time. It starts with a teacher asking what God would have to come to their town as in order to reach the kids and realize he is there. The main character, Kyle Nelson, answered that God would have to come as beer. This angers the teacher as he had asked the question in comparison to Gandhi saying that God would have to come as bread to India because all the people are starving and they wouldn't realize that God was there unless he came as something they needed. The teacher thinks that it is wrong to compare beer to bread, but a debate ensues that since the kids have all the basic things in life they would be more relatable towards beer than bread. A group of kids forms a group in order to try and raise awareness about drinking and also lower the drinking age to 18. They have parties where they serve unmarked cans to people and most are sodas but some are beers. They do this to show that people can still have a good time without drinking. One member of the group, and probably the most popular of them all, is killed in a car accident after she drove her boyfriend home. She wasn't drunk but he could barely stand walk to the car. He was distracting her from driving which caused for the accident. This is where I think the book is fairly weak. The focus of the first hundred or so pages is all about the club and trying to improve conditions so that people won't have to drink to pass the time and when a member of their club is killed because of someone that is drunk, they completely forget about it. I can see them doing this for a while but the book goes on to explain what happens to each one of them in the upcoming year and it seems they don't care about underage drinking anymore. Most of them have said that they won't drink until they are 21 but they don't try to keep other kids from drinking like they did before. The whole focus of the books shifts because of the death, which is very accurate to what teenagers do if someone dies, but at some point I think that they wouldn't just give up on the club since they have been even more affected by drinking. Garret Keizer does a fantastic job writing this book and I recommend it to anyone because it is written so well but I personally did not enjoy this entire book.

Rating:
Summary: Review of "God of Beer"
Review: The book "God of Beer" is an accurate portrayal of what takes place in a small town where teenage kids have nothing to do and turn to underage drinking as a way to pass the time. It starts with a teacher asking what God would have to come to their town as in order to reach the kids and realize he is there. The main character, Kyle Nelson, answered that God would have to come as beer. This angers the teacher as he had asked the question in comparison to Gandhi saying that God would have to come as bread to India because all the people are starving and they wouldn't realize that God was there unless he came as something they needed. The teacher thinks that it is wrong to compare beer to bread, but a debate ensues that since the kids have all the basic things in life they would be more relatable towards beer than bread. A group of kids forms a group in order to try and raise awareness about drinking and also lower the drinking age to 18. They have parties where they serve unmarked cans to people and most are sodas but some are beers. They do this to show that people can still have a good time without drinking. One member of the group, and probably the most popular of them all, is killed in a car accident after she drove her boyfriend home. She wasn't drunk but he could barely stand walk to the car. He was distracting her from driving which caused for the accident. This is where I think the book is fairly weak. The focus of the first hundred or so pages is all about the club and trying to improve conditions so that people won't have to drink to pass the time and when a member of their club is killed because of someone that is drunk, they completely forget about it. I can see them doing this for a while but the book goes on to explain what happens to each one of them in the upcoming year and it seems they don't care about underage drinking anymore. Most of them have said that they won't drink until they are 21 but they don't try to keep other kids from drinking like they did before. The whole focus of the books shifts because of the death, which is very accurate to what teenagers do if someone dies, but at some point I think that they wouldn't just give up on the club since they have been even more affected by drinking. Garret Keizer does a fantastic job writing this book and I recommend it to anyone because it is written so well but I personally did not enjoy this entire book.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful read for teens
Review: This book poses a very interesting question for teens who are thinking about issues dealing with the meaning of life, their faith, and their values. The teens in the book are challenged to consider the following: Gandhi stated that the only meaningful way God could come to the poor in India was as food. What form would God have to take to be meaningful to teens living in middle-class North America? The youth in the story decide the answer is "beer." I have used this book with a group of youth to pose the same question to them and it generated interesting discussion. On the literary side, the story is a quick read, throws in all the stuff teens will relate to and depicts teenagers in a sensitive but honest light.

Rating:
Summary: Learning Lessons from the God of Beer
Review: With a flair for the dramatic, Garrett Keizer's "God of Beer" details the struggles of a diverse group of high school friends and their hopes of rescuing their rural Vermont community from drowning in alcoholism. Using a plotline filled with the twists and turns that reflect the nature of everyday high school life, Keizer explores a difficult subject in a highly realistic and painfully straightforward manner with elements of truth and authenticity imbedded within it.
The story finds its beginnings in the voice of Kyle, the likeable but in his own words average high school senior who holds no real dreams or ambitious for the future. Sparked by his own comment that beer is the governing force of the community in Salmon Falls, Kyle and his friends, smart and witty Quaker Oats, and beautiful basketball star Diana, decide as part of a social studies project to form a social protest group to fight against this disturbing trend. On the suggestion of Quaker Oats, they form a group called SUDS, or Students Undermining a Drunken Society. SUDS mission is threefold, to "lower the drinking age, raise the drinker's awareness, and destroy the non-drinker's stigma." Invigorated with their idea, the group plans staged drinking parties where the police are intentionally called and where students receive mystery drinks of either soda or beer so no label can be assessed to the person holding the drink.
Things seem to be going well at first, but the plot thickens with the introduction of polar opposite characters David, a self-conscience backwoods country boy who still finds himself in high school at age 21, and Condor, a transfer student from California with a short fuse and a large chip on his shoulder. Kyle becomes caught in a hopeless balancing act, trying to keep David and Condor away from each other while at the same time struggling to understand and explain his love for Diana, who, in typical high school fashion has fallen for the outsider Condor. Things go from bad to worse as the SUDS group's ideas receive criticism on all sides, from Kyle's mother all the way up to the police themselves. Shortly thereafter, everything turns completely south when, after one of the local drinking parties, a sober Diana is killed in a car accident while taking the drunken Conrad home.
Left to pick up the pieces, the SUDS group quickly dissolves and the town goes into mourning. Kyle blames himself and struggles to maintain a perspective on life, turning to some longstanding friends for elderly advice. David goes into a rage, entering a local minimart and smashing all the beer because "they killed my friend." Quaker Oats, the pacifist, follows David's lead when, during a court session to try and determine who was at fault for Diana's death, he smashes beer bottles right on the court benches and winds up in jail for three days. With Condor lying crippled in the hospital bed, the community holds a touching memorial service to remember and relive one of the town's greatest young heroines, but the experience is so painful that Kyle wonders if it was even worth the tine
With not much left to go on, the plot maneuvers its way through a series of awkward moments during which Kyle continues to come to grips with Diana's death. After making peace with Condor before the recovered victim returned home to California, Kyle begins to get ready to assume the typical life of a man in Salmon Falls; working at the plastics factory during the day, and drinking off the long day at the bar come nightfall. However, because of the recent events, Kyle nobly but predictably refuses to fall into the trap of the latter, and provides some hope in the story that he may try and attempt college in a year or two when the factory life grows old. The book concludes with Kyle's transformation complete, as he puts away a full beer bottle and vows not to open it until his age allows him to.
Keizer makes a valiant effort to push an often ignored subject into the spotlight, and the backdrop he creates to the story in little Salmon Falls Vermont provides the perfect opportunity for him to do so. His creation of a variety of contrasting characters also provides promise of an intriguing story, but unfortunately he comes up short in not giving these characters a real purpose or direction with a weak plot line that often leaves the reader wondering where the story will go next. In addition, the student's once vibrant hopes of transforming their community quickly dissolve, and while their intentions may have been good at the outset; the inability to make any significant change by the novel's conclusion leaves a realistic yet almost hopeless impression about the state of drinking in the high school setting. Yet, Keizer must be applauded in tackling this issue and not being afraid to show the harsh realities of drinking. Although the accident and its corresponding response are predictable and almost glamorized, Keizer never lets the novel become washed in sympathy and remorse. Instead, he does a solid job of representing the high school society accurately, offering insights into a highly complex world swirling with emotions and anxieties.
Keizer does his best work in taking these various thoughts, fears, and actions and showing how they all fit together to contribute to the drinking problem that teenagers face. His ability to portray this struggle in real life color instead of painting the traditional black and white picture on the subject makes this book a success and worth a read.