Thursday, January 8, 2015

Rats Saw God

A book that you read in one day.


Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas is a coming of age story about a young man named Steve York. He was a straight A student with a small group of friends and a girlfriend he was completely in love with. But somewhere along the way things went bad and he finds himself in the guidance office stoned, alone, and barely passing. When it is brought to his attention that he is one credit shy of graduating with his class he is given the option of writing a 100 page story to make up for it. Through this project he finds himself reliving the events that led him from a hopeful high school freshman to a distraught senior.

Rob Thomas does an amazing job with this book. I loved everything about it. The characters are believable and real, even to the point where you kinda love them all just because they are people, you can't hate everyone for no reason. There is no clear antagonist in the story because Steve feels apathy for everyone, even his father whom he seems so determined to hate, he just can't work up a good enough reason to do so. The plot is completely real, as well. When you are in high school you feel like everything is IT, the center of the universe, the end of the world. Steve has this egocentric mentality, but it doesn't drive you crazy and make you want to bash him over the head with his own book, because it just is. That's how he is supposed to be at that age, and it is perfectly written as normal.

Then you have the tone of the novel. You know something big went down to make this kid go from taking a final on the last of his junior year in Texas to moving across the country for his senior year of high school. Yet the book is humorous. It's wonderfully written and hopeful, even though the kid telling the story already knows how things turn out, because he is true to the story and writes things as he remembers them. Meanwhile he is slowly building his life back up and making it work. So even through the tough bits and the shocking bits, I found myself laughing often. 

I recommend everyone read this book. Everyone! It didn't make me miss high school or even be glad that I am no longer in that drama. No, instead it allowed me to relate to another person. Simple as that. It was a beautiful story wonderfully written that I think anyone can enjoy. I look forward to discussing it with my husband as soon as he gets a chance to read it. So until then, have you read it? What did you think? Let me know!

2015 Reading Challenge

A New Year means a new reading challenge! Of course if you are on Goodreads, as I am, you have already been hit with the chance to commit to the challenge by entering the numer of books you want to read this year. Have you picked a number yet? 
At the beginning of the year I found a list on Pinterest and went ahead and pinned it to look at as soon as I could finish the book I had started back at Halloween time when I had time to read and thought I could finish a book. Of course, then came NaNoWriMo, the holidays, moving time, and the book got put on hold. Which was a shame, because it was such a great read! So I finally finished it yesterday and looked at the pin I had set aside. The list is long (well, 52 can be long when you haven't been reading enough lately) but I am determined to finish this year!
So, I am going to post my list here. Maybe you can join me in the list, or you have one of your own? And as I read the books, and review of course, I will let you know which list item the book covers. I really look forward to the diversity that is this list!
Take a look at the list. Do you have suggestions for books? Because I can use your help in finding some! Thanks!

*NOTE* Some books could cross of multiple items, but I am looking for the challenge, so each book will only stand for one list item. Except for trilogy which will have three books, obviously.

A book with more than 500 pages
A classic romance
A book that became a movie
A book published this year
A book with a number in the title
A book written by someone under 30
A book with nonhuman characters
A funny book
A book by a female author
A mystery or thriller
A book with a one-word title
A book of short stories
A book set in a different country
A nonfiction book
A popular author's first book
A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet
A book a friend recommended 
A Pulitzer Prize winning book
A book based on a true story
A book at the bottom of your to-read list
A book your mom loves
A book that scares you
A book more than 100 years old
A book based entirely on its cover
A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't 
A memoir
A book you can finish in a day
A book with antonyms in the title
A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
A book that came out the year you were born
A book with bad reviews
A trilogy
A book from your childhood
A book with a love triangle
A book set in the future
A book set in high school
A book with a color in the title
A book that made you cry
A book with magic
A graphic novel
A book by an author you've never read before
A book you own but have not read
A book that takes place in your hometown
A book originally written in a different language
A book set during Christmas
A book written by an author with your same initials
A play
A banned book
A book based on or turned into a TV show
A book you started but never finished