God Of Beer

God Of Beer

YA fiction
There are times I see a book I read from a very different
perspective than the writer of the jacket blurb. This was certainly
the case with Garret Keizer's God Of Beer. I agree that it's a
testimony to "the dangerous force of ideas and the searing power of
friendship". I also see it as beautifully descriptive of the forces
acting upon and decisions made by small town high school seniors on
the verge of the biggest transition in their young lives. Among
others you get to know:
*Kyle, the narrator, who resists pressures to go to college and get
out of his hometown and gets along with just about everyone;
*Quaker Oats, his brilliant best friend, who often operates in the
ephemeral world of intelligence and intellectual curiosity;
*Diana, who sees Kyle as a brother despite his crush on her and who is
known not only for her basketball achievements, but for her tender
mentoring of younger girls on the team;
*David who excels at hunting and fishing, and struggles, much to his
chagrin, with the most basic of math;
*Condor, California transplant for whom David exemplifies all that he
despises about their small New England town...
Together they face a number of crises, some stemming from their
previous actions. Both plot and characters are poignantly credible.
I highly recommend this book to discriminating fans of the reality
fiction genre.
On a personal note, two quotes almost bookending the story remind me
of my mentor, Dr. Betsy Webb, and how she encourages me. Both are
about basketball and taking foul shots. however, both could equally
apply to acting on ideas and following dreams. The first is, "Just
take your shots, babe, and if they go in, great, and if not, you're
great just the same." Don't we all need to hear that? The second is,
"They belong to you, and you should just take them and let everybody
else worry about whether or not they go in." Sweet!
A great big shout out goes out to Betsy and all her superintendent
colleagues as we go through one of their most challenging times of the
year: budget season.
And all you other peeps: have you hugged or at least shaken hands
with a school superintendent recently. They deserve lotsa good
vibes. Just saying.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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