David v. God

by Mary E. Pearson

So what do you do when your biology field trip takes a little detour--to heaven? If you're David James, the class clown, you demand an audience with God and challenge him to a debate. The prize? A ticket back to life. But David doesn't have a clue how a debate actually works, and so he teams up with Marie, a nerdy classmate who happens to be president of the Speech and Debate Club. Their efforts seem thwarted at every step, but David sticks it out with Marie and wonders, Will a goof-off have what it takes to beat God? •A wildly funny and action-packed debut novel •A contemporary novel with an odd assortment of characters in an even odder setting--heaven.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Mary E. Pearson is the International and NYT bestselling and award-winning author of multiple novels including her adult debut novel, The Courting of Bristol Keats, about a woman from a small town who is unexpectedly plunged into a world of gods, fae, and monsters.

Her other books include The Remnant Chronicles—The Kiss of Deception, The Heart of Betrayal, and The Beauty of Darkness—and its spin-off duology Dance of Thieves and Vow of Thieves. Mary's awards and honors include the Golden Kite for fiction, ALA Best Books, NYPL Best Books, IRA Choice Books, YALSA Teens Top Ten, Arkansas and South Carolina Young Adult Book Awards, and her science-fiction novel, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, was an Andre Norton Award Finalist. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages world-wide.

As a child she loved reading about and living in fantasy worlds. They were a portal to possibility that provided both escape and power. These days she loves writing about those worlds for the same reasons. She totally believes in magic, because, as one of her characters once whispered to her, “What is magic, but what we don’t yet understand?”

When she is not creating dangerous fantasy worlds, she enjoys the relatively safe pleasures of travel, gardening, friends, and family. Visit Mary on Instagram @maryepearson for book news and updates.

Reviews

[natercopia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't hate this book nor do I like this book. It was a boring book overall, but wasn't boring in a bad sort of way, more like confusing. The story was more focus on the relationship between David (a high school jock) and Marie (a nerd). How they resolve their conflicting issues of the typical high school stereotypes between high school popular kids and nerds after they got involved in an accident. The debate he had with god was quickly dismissed in the story despite the title of the book. I thought that the debate was supposed to be the huge portion of the story. Funny thing was that David was more interested in debating with Marie rather than God. I felt that the two teenagers squabbled more with each other than the scene David had with god. Maybe they should change the title to David v. Marie or High school Jock vs the nerdy girl or something. Book titles can fool you sometimes and David v.God is one of them.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended by my son after he found it on the shelf in the library. He and I both enjoyed the story of a boy debating God over returning to Earth after an accident sent the boy to heaven.

[LeAnne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strong voice with many uplifting ideas communicated with humor, but the theology is not what one would call orthodox. Heaven is a sort of celestial theme park with all the time in the world. Everyone gets there eventually. First novel.

[Sagengestalt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es passiert nichts, aber auch wirklich gar nichts interessantes in diesem Buch. Die Idee ist zwar recht witzig, aber die Umsetzung ziemlich schlecht.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it - it was fun and offered an entertaining view of God and heaven