Rash - Pete Hautman

Genres: Science Fiction
Grades 7 & Up

I was thinking about something today. You know that room at the doctor's office - the room they put you in after you have already waited in the waiting room? The room where the nurse takes your pulse and blood pressure then gives you a thin robe to wear? The 8' x 10' room that you sit in, mostly naked, waiting for the doctor for 45 minutes? Do you know that room? Today I was sitting in that room, my butt hanging out of the aforementioned robe, for 45 minutes, waiting for the doctor and I was thinking to myself:

"This pretty much blows."

I put my clothes on and left without seeing the doctor. I was pretty frustrated.

I hopped into my truck and headed off to my next destination. It was warm so I was looking forward to rolling the windows down and having the breeze flowing through my thick, luscious head of hair. I ended up getting stuck in traffic. Standstill. No breeze through my hair. No next destination. And I was thinking to myself:

"This pretty much blows."

After the traffic jam, after the next destination, I started heading home. I was thinking about how awful it was sitting mostly naked in the doctors office for 45 minutes, and how terrible it was sitting in traffic with no breeze flowing through my hair. Then I said to myself:

"Shuddup!!"

Get a grip man. I could have been in a hospital waiting room for 45 minutes waiting to hear news about a loved one that was in an accident. Or I could have been sitting in traffic in Baghdad, no breeze through my hair, hoping no one would blow me up before I got to my next destination. I guess, all things considered, my morning was not that bad after all.

What does this have to do with Rash by Pete Hautman? I'll tie it all together before the end. Trust me.

Our country is much different in 2076. About 20% of all adults are in jail, most due to the combination of harsh safety rules and the "3 Strikes and You're Out" law. The jails are huge factories run by corporations like McDonald's and Coke - the prisoners make up the bulk of the nation's industrial work force. It hadn't always been that way but in 2033 Congress passed the Child Safety Act. This law guaranteed that every person would live to be 100 years old. This was accomplished mainly through a series of regulations that restricted all risky activities and required the use of safety gear like walking helmets. High school track athletes wear more equipment then our current football players do, and football was banned outright.

Bo Marsten is a 16 year old kid. He's not a bad guy but he has hit a bit of a tough streak. His father is in jail for road rage - that's where Bo gets his anger problem from. He is failing his Artificial Intelligence class because he can't get his AI Bork to work. About the only things he has going for him are track and his girlfriend Maddy - that is until Bo's arch rival Karlohs Mink beats him in the race and steals Maddy away from him. Bo blows his top and pops Karlohs in the face.

That punch was Bo's third strike and he is sent to work at a McDonald's owned pizza factory/juvenile detention center in northern Canada. Conditions for Bo at the factory are not great - he works 16 hour days and eats only pizza. Life isn't bad for all the inmates though - a group of guys known as the "Goldshirts" eat better food, have better working assignments and are not constantly hassled by Hammer, the head guard. It turns out that Hammer is a former pro football player and the Goldshirts are his attempt to build a football team. Bo is invited to join due to his speed and he soon starts enjoying the special treatment the Goldshirts get. Bo soon realizes that this special treatment comes at a cost, namely the abuse his body takes during the football practices and games. Miraculously Bo's AI Bork finds Bo and and mentions that he may be able to get Bo out of prison. With a new found hope, Bo begins to ponder what he would do with his life if he were given another chance.

This book was much like my morning. The super safety-conscious society of the future is very unsettling - much like sitting mostly naked in a doctor's office. And much like a trip stalled by traffic this book had me really excited at the beginning but somewhere along the line the story got bogged down and ultimately I wasn't left satisfied at its conclusion. This book felt like a short story that was way too long or a novel that was way too short. All that said, Rash by Pete Hautman is not the last book I would recommend to someone. It is not the greatest story but some may enjoy it, particularly fans of dystopian SciFi and kids that like football. See how I tied that all together.