I think my favorite thing about this book was the fact that when I was halfway through, I got to see Rob Thomas in the flesh talking (I know y’all are tired of me talking about ATBF, but it was just so awesome) about this book. He don’t give away any spoilers, but he did talk about certain elements of the book that I actually understood since I was familiar with the characters and the main points of the plot.
My brief plot synopsis
Rats Saw GOD follows a boy named Steve York who used to be a grade A, top of the class, squeaky clean and innocent kid. After being forced to live with his father whom he refers to as “the astronaut,” he finds an interesting group of friends who form a club called GOD, Grace Order of Dadaists. He becomes best friends with a guy named Doug and falls head over heels for a girl named Dub.ย Dub is Steve’s first experience with love, and things are great for awhile.
During his senior year, Steve moves in with his mom, her new husband, and his sister. He’s a pothead and needs just one English credit to graduate. His counselor gives him the opportunity to write a 100-page paper about anything he likes. Steve chooses to write about all of the events leading up to where he is now. By writing this paper, he faces the things he was trying to run away from and finally starts becoming the person he’s always wanted to be. The book is told in both present and past tense, with the past depicting the things he is writing in his paper in order to graduate.
My thoughts
This book didn’t live up to the high expectations I had for it, but it’s my bad for grouping Rob Thomas with just his fantastic Veronica Mars series. This book was a little out of my element as far as reading choices go, because I am used to reading books that have a female protagonist. I really liked Rob’s telling of this story and I liked how the character developed throughout, but I think the main thing lacking for me personally was a connection with the main character. I mean, my parents are divorced like his, but beyond that, I didn’t feel similar to Steve at all. I actually felt a better connection with his sister, Sarah, who was bubbly, believed in love, liked to have fun, and was less naive than people thought she was.
Because this book was published in the mid-90’s, it had a lot of references in it that some of the younger generation might not get, such as floppy discs. I nearly laughed at this when I read it. I loved that about the book though, all of the 90’s references. I am a 90’s girl at heart. Also, Dub had relatives who live in Shreveport, so it’s always a pleasant surprise when someone of Rob’s stature knows what and where Shreveport is. He is from Austin though, so a drive to Shreveport isn’t too too far (I would know).
I also like the rawness and honesty of the book. Even though I couldn’t personally connect with the main character, I think there are a lot of people who are young adults, namely males, that can relate to him fairly well. Overall, I’d give the book a 3.5 out of 5.
Rats Saw GOD talks about several topics that many adults think is taboo, but I think young adults (and maybe even a few adults) will enjoy the honest voice in the novel.
