The Gospel According to Larry

by Janet Tashjian
Genre: Nonfiction...
Age group: 12+
Rating: *****(5 stars)

There's this website. It's called The Gospel According to Larry. It's run by a person, Larry, who is, at least for the moment, hiding his identity. He writes "sermons" about anti-consumerism, and the site is growing more and more popular by the day.
Josh Swenson is 17 years old. His mom is dead, and the girl he's in love with is dating a jerk. And, he just so happens to be Larry.
He is the one behind the "sermons." He's the person who's been writing the blog. But nobody knows except for him. People have tried and are trying to figure out Larry's identity, but none of them have succeeded yet.
Until one day, someone starts posting comments on The Gospel According to Larry. This person is determined to weasel out the true identity of Larry, and expose him for all the world to see. And the problem is, whoever it is is coming pretty close.
Josh still has to protect Larry's identity, and in the end he has to make a choice. But it isn't easy.

Based on what I read, this book is a true story. That is probably one of the main reasons I love it so much. It's mind-blowing to see how the story unfolds, and even more mind-blowing to know that it really happened. Suddenly, all of these crazy things are happening, just because of one website.
Larry's philosophies are also very interesting. They are very thoughtful and really give you a lot to think about. It's also interesting the way he writes them--rather than super-formal and stuffy, he puts real voice into them.
Overall, this story was very real and honest, and that is the other main reason why it was really great. Even though the content is amazing and sometimes sounds crazy, the way it is told makes it sound very real, like it could happen to you. Of course, it did actually happen, so maybe that has something to do with it. But overall, this was a great read. I recommend it to everybody.