Rats Saw God

Rating:
Summary: UGGGGGGG!
Review: I read this book for a high school book club, and I could not stand it! I thought it was pathetic and discusting! I thought maybe by the end it would get better. Wrong! I hardly finished it I felt so sick. Don't give it to your teenager to read!

Rating:
Summary: A Good Book Once You Get Into It
Review: I must first start out by saying that I was really surprised by the ending. Argh! I really don't like Dub! I thought that the book was well written, but I think that the author put to much wit into the character (so much that it was sometimes annoying). I also thought that Steve was too hard to get into and I was confused by the character because there were so many. However, the story was really good and I think that a lot of teenagers will be able to relate to Steve's life, problems, and feelings. If you see it in the library or are thinking of getting it, I think you should give it a try.

Rating:
Summary: My New Favorite Book
Review: I have to say, I have read many a teenage angst book, but this is the only one that has left a lasting impression on me. You will not be able to put this book down. It is short and to the point enough to hold attention but well written enough to describe everything in vivid, tear jerking detail. The book is about Steve, an astronaut's son living in California with his mother. he has left behind Houston, a place that pained him. There he found his first kiss (as a sophmore) and ultimately a real relationship, as well as several friends in a club whose purpose is to not have a purpose. He struggles with popularity, drugs, and grades, among other things, to find...whatever he finds. Trust me, it's a short book (I read it in a night) but will have you thinking about it for years.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written and funny
Review: "Rats Saw God" is the very humorous tale of teenager Steve York's life. One English credit short of graduating from high school, Steve is asked by his guidance councelor to write 100 pages on any subject he chooses. After some consideration, he decides to write an autobiography covering his high school years. Alternating back and forth between his current situation in San Diego and his Freshman-Junior years in Clear Lake, Texas; the book tells the tale of Steve's parents' divorce, being sent to live with his famous astronaut father, his dadaist art club, and his first and most memorable romance with Wanda "Dub" Varner. "Rats Saw God" is written with a wonderful, modern voice and very likeable characters. The only complaint I have with this book is how quickly the last few pages (covering the time after Steve's graduation) were wrapped up.

Rating:
Summary: one of best books ever
Review: (e-mail me at [e-mail])

this book was one of the best books ever written. rob thomas is an awesome writer. this book tells a lot about the life of a non-mainstream teenager. if you like this book try reading sattelite down and slave day by rob thomas and hard love by ellen wittlinger.

Rating:
Summary: Great 1st novel from the premier voice of YA literature
Review: Steve has a problem, he's flunking out of school, he just lost his girlfriend and his father (a famous astronaut) is on his back {again}...so to right the ship Steve's counselor asks him to write a 100- page paper about his life, but when Steve starts to write about his life he starts to find out a lot about himself, maybe too much!

A great look at the social intricacies of high school from the "trendy girls," to the "it's better to burn out than fade away" philosophy running rampant in today's teenagers. Steve is just raging full of potential, but he harbors the modern day slacker mentality...the mixture is wonderful and it makes this book work on all levels. By the end of the book, you'll stop wondering about that funky title and you'll be glad you picked this book up!

Be sure to pick up Thomas' other books, to include _Slave Day_, _Satellite Down_, and _Green Thumb_.

Rating:
Summary: This is the best book ever written
Review: This is the best book ever written. No writer perfectlycaptures teenage angst better than Rob Thomas. Every teen should havethe opportunity to read such a fine piece of literature.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: A laughing, crying, jaw-dropping and ultimately realistic view of a teenage guy. Ladies, if you ever wanted access to a guy's brain (and who hasn't) give this one a try. Exciting, convoluted, complicated and sophisticated, my favorite YA of the year (I'm a juv. services librarian). Wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: excellent and compelling, realatible to all
Review: This book in the minimum amout of words is described as - relevent- I loved this book and have read it many times. It was originally recomende to me by friend but since then i continue to read every now and then for fun. i belive this book is so good because it is relevent to all teens and their struggles through life. the way the parents is delt with is great in that it does show what life after divorce is like. in this time and day i belive many teens have gone through similar expeirances, mabye toned down a bit but similar none the less in that there are those times when you have only one thing on your mind and that is a realtion ship. also this book helped me to discover a new art form that is excellent and intriuging in it's self.

Rating:
Summary: Dadism Be Damned (by G.O.D.)
Review: Steven York is a delinquent high school senior who has been given a chance to graduate with his class if he writes 100 pages about anything for his counselor. This preditable mechanism is the method Rob Thomas uses to examine the past, present and future of an intelligent young man soured by life and cynical about "the system" in Rats Saw God. In his book, Thomas makes a play to identify with a younger generation by focusion on the psuchology of students immersed in the American high school system. This style was unimpressive overall. Secondary characters seemed like cookie-cutter siloettes, stereotypical, predictable, and little developed. Cleamed by critics top be a clear loook into this country's youth, Thomas' novel seems only to follow a limited plot and a simgle narrow-minded character. In retrospect, we can see the trials that Steve, the main character, endured and how he grew as a person by the time he had to leave for college. Thomas must get points for shear enertainment value. In place of advanced character study, he has the consisten cynical humor of Steve's furst person narrative. Employing a weighty vocabulary and jokes that seem lame at times, Steve mangaes to poke fun at everything from anti-establishment non-comformists to buying condoms at a convenience store. Aside from the occasional laugh, little else redeems the time requred to trudge through a plot that loosely dodges between conflicted settings. Few surprises came out of the pages Steve turns in to DeMouy, his counsellor, which serve as the body of the text. We see all the necessary details to predict any sweeping changes in the status quo. Little is done to enlighten the reader about the human spirit or understand some previously ignored element of the psyche. I cannot say I truly enjoyed more than the first twenty pages.