Nothing

Teller, Janne. (2010). Nothing. Atheneum Books. Pierre Anthon is the main character who is a 7^th grader that decides that nothing matters and promptly leaves school to sit in a plum tree in Denmark. He then continues to preach and taunt his peers who are still attending school with his revelation that nothing matters.  The peers set out to prove him wrong by creating a pile of meaning. As they try to define what is most meaningful the pile grows and it gets horrific maybe because what they dig up does have meaning like a dead sibling or a dog. Most disturbing was a rag with the blood and semen from a girl losing her virginity to boys in what sounds like rape. Adults are clueless and when they are cued into what is going on it gets even crazier. A museum buys the pile for a lot of money which Pierre then points out that it was all meaningless with how quick they sold out. This book gets compared to Lord of the Flies so it possibly could be a side by side comparison but I am hesitant on the overall quality of the book. This is for older kids despite the main character being in 7^th grade. It is just brutal in some parts and disturbing in others.  There is a pastor here in North Texas that offers some good quotes even if I do not agree with his methodology. He says, "You have to act your way into feelings not feel your way into actions." Pastor Keith Kraft. That is the point of growing up, learning how to control emotions and feelings. These kids have no control over their feelings and their actions are equally out of control. It is all part of the emotional development.