Buddha Boy

Jinsen is the new "weird" kid at school who Justin is stuck with as a partner for a class project.  But the boys become friends despite Jinsen's oddness.  Justin is embarrassed at first to have to work with Jinsen but through Jinsen's art, they become friends.  But the other kids at school pick on Jinsen because he is different and Jinsen doesn't fight back and Justin can't understand why.  As Jinsen teaches Justin about Buddhism, he begins to understand more about his new friend and his way of life. 

Karma means that what you do today, and why you do it, makes you who you are forever: as if you wre clay, and every thought and action left a mark in that clay, bent it, shaped it, even ruined it ... but with karma there are no excuses, no explanations, no I-didn't-really-mean-it-so-can-I-have-some-more-clay.  Karma takes everything you do very, very seriously. p.13

Buddha Boy is a short little book packed with a great message. It's about understanding people who are different from you.  It's about a boy with a troubled past and a boy who befriends him despite his own reluctance.  The writing is choppy like how a teenage boy would write or speak, but I liked Justin and Jinsen.  There is a lot about karma in the beginning of each chapter.  I think it's good though that it was short because I doubt the concept could be drawn out any more.