Christopher Pike's Sati

I grew up reading Pike's YA murder mysteries, so this read was quite different. The story explores a woman who claims to be God, which is odd in and of itself. Sati holds meetings throughout the novel where the reader is exposed to Mike, the MC, and a decent-sized cast of other characters, all enthralled by what she has to say for herself with many of those same characters challenging her. This is not a "just accept what she says, it must be true" story as Mike and a majority of the characters carry much doubt. Once she starts to explain herself, you realize there is more going on here. Sati wants everyone to know what it means to experience the 'inner self'. The Reverend and the land lady (I believe), both Christians, use scripture to challenge Sati. This part stood out to me as a Christian as Pike delicately handles those challenges, not by degrading the Bible but by highlighting its truths, at least some of the time. Around half of what Sati says stems from a New Age/ Eastern philosophy belief system, which contradicts who God is in some ways, but in others seems right on target. Essentially, the story delves deeply into the question of who God is. Mike seems to reflect the author's own struggle to discover the Truth. An interesting read with a style of writing that has always been incredible--Pike finding ways to make magical the simplest of everyday things. I did not agree with the concept and with most of the reasoning (there is no hell, for instance), but for fiction, for striving to understand what is real and who God is, it made for an interesting read.