Rats Saw God / by Rob Thomas

.
Semi-local author Rob Thomas has published several YA novels over the past decade. This, his first, chronicles teenager Steve York at multiple times during high school.

Steve's last day of eighth grade is turned on its head when his parents announce their impending divorce. The untimely schism ultimately places his mother and sister in San Diego leaving him in Houston to live with his repressive (and somewhat despotic) father--"The Astronaut".

Facilitating things the best he can amidst unfamiliar surroundings, Steve carves out his new existence; gradually making friends and learning to survive his homelife simultaneously. His saving grace appears in the form of Wanda "Dub" Varner, with whom a steady-crush morphs into love by the end of freshman year. Until its bitter end his junior year, the reader is let in on all the relationship's details through segmented entries describing the 'then' blissful romance and his 'now' emotionally-reduced, drug-addled life after the break-up.

Though Thomas' later books were less well-received, Rats Saw God will find an audience with its drenched-in-sarcasm attitude and gritty realism. The 'then and now' style really fleshes out Steve's personality and relationships; displaying how both compliment each other and play off his actions. Generation X & Y'ers of the 80's/90's period will identify with the book's cultural aspects.

The Poison Apples

The Poison Apples

by Lily Archer

(YP FIC ARCHER)

Three girls meet at an elite boarding school and find they have one thing in common: wicked step-mothers. The girls join forces and form the Poison Apple club as a way to regain control of their lives. What initially begins as a simple desire for revenge eventually evolves into deep friendships between the three girls.

The three girls featured in this story are each quite different, but equally entertaining: a cocky shopaholic from Los Angeles, a silent almost-Goth girl from New York, and a super-smart small town girl with a passion for the Oxford English Dictionary. The stories about how each girl "aquired" a step-mother are quite sad, ranging from the death of a mother, to mothers having nervous break downs. The step-mothers get all the blame from the girls, but it is clear that many of the problems the girls face can be attributed to the fathers, the mothers, and, even to some extent, the girls themselves. Considering that the title of the book relates to the step-mothers, the women themselves feature very little in the story. Instead the story centers on the girls. They must first learn to be friends to each other, no small task. Then, with the emotional strength gained through these new friendships, they must face and accept their new family situations.

The author could easily have gone the route of hijinx and manipulation a la Parent Trap, instead she focused on the emotional aspects of the changes in the girls lives. This was an emotionally gripping book, and days after I've finished reading, I still can't stop thinking about it.