Godless (novel)

Godless, a young adult novel by Pete Hautman, was published in 2004 by Simon & Schuster. It won the annual U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Godless tells the story of Jason Bock, a fifteen-year-old boy, who questions his father's Catholic religion. Jason invents his own religion, "Chutengodianism". Jason and his fellow "Chutengodians" worship the water tower, dubbed Ten-Legged One. While Jason does not really believe the Ten-Legged One is God, his friend, Shin, does. Jason does not see the consequences of his seemingly obvious jest.

Godless sparks religious controversy as many parents question the motivation behind the story. Pete Hautman responds to this controversy on his webpage.