ASYLUM FOR NIGHTFACE by Bruce Brooks

Asylum For Nightface
Bruce Brooks
Harper Trophy
Young Adult
ISBN: 0064472140

Fourteen-year-old Zimmerman has found God, whom he worships in the kitchen, because this room is the most private place in the house. Unfortunately, his wealthy parents, who do not cook and only use disposable tableware, have not subscribed to their son's religion, which includes all of nature.

When Zimmerman's parents return from a vacation in Jamaica, he finds that they have joined a religious cult. Then the kitchen becomes the place of worship for them as well, and Zimmerman is no longer alone. His parents give up drinking alcohol, have new friends, and do not seem to understand Zimmerman's quiet worshipping.

Zimmerman has a hero in Drake Jones, creator of novel-length superhero tales that include holograms and transparencies. When Drake was a fifth grader, he showed the comics to his father, a printer, and they come up with the idea of printing trading cards featuring characters from Drake's cast of heroes and evildoers. These become "Kollektible Kards." But now the adult Drake has disappeared.

Zimmerman also has a picture of his God looking like an Arab. He tells Mary and Janey, his friends, "Jesus was born about fifty miles from where a group of Arabs were photographed." Of course his God looks like an Arab. His friends don't understand; they are too used to the pictures of the fair-skinned, light-haired Jesus.

When his parents and the cult decide that Zimmerman is a boy saint because of his goodness --- the perfect poster child for their religion --- Zimmerman decides he must find asylum somewhere. The path he chooses will shock everyone.

ASYLUM FOR NIGHTFACE is a look at love, acceptance, and the search for asylum. Brooks's storytelling talents and imaginative details make ASYLUM FOR NIGHTFACE worth reading.

--- Reviewed by Audrey Marie Danielson