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.

Spacer and Rat - Margaret Bechard

Genres: Science Fiction
Recommended Grades: 6-10

I have never really considered myself a fan of science fiction. It is kind of strange because I really like the fantasy genre, which is like a cousin of sci-fi. I also like sci-fi movies - the Star Wars films are favorites of mine, and I have very fond childhood memories of movies like Short Circuit and Batteries not Included. My guess as to why I am not a fan of science fiction is because I have not read enough of it. I've come to this conclusion because when I think of the few science fiction books I have read, I usually love them. Spacer and Rat by Margaret Bechard is no different.

Due to pollution and lack of resources Earth has become almost uninhabitable. For generations humans have been fleeing Earth and have set up colonies on space stations created from hollowed out asteroids. Jack is a spacer, a space-born human, living on the space station Freedom. He is an apprentice barkeep at a tavern frequented by Earthie space toursists. Life for Jack isn't great but will soon get better when he leaves Freedom station and moves to Liberty station and starts a new job. In the meantime Jack just wants to stay out of trouble and celebrate Perehelion with his friends. But staying out of trouble becomes tough when Jack meets Kit. Kit is a rat, an Earthie child illegally stowing away on the space station. Jack knows he should turn Kit over to the authorities but for some reason he feels bad for her. Little does Jack know that Kit is carrying something rare, something that people want, something that people will try to take with force. Before Jack knows it he is caught up in a dangerous chase, one that will alter his life forever.

Spacer and Rat is a really good book. As I said before I am not a huge fan of sci-fi but this book was easy for me to get into. Believable characters in an easy-to-imagine setting with an action-packed plot make this book a page turner. I think this book is a good book for younger teens, particularly boys and those that enjoy science fiction.

Scryed, Vol. 1 - Yosuke Kuroda

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Recommended Ages: 16+
DRP: n/a

As my three readers may have noticed, the length of time between my posts has been growing steadily – I’ve only finished 3 books in the last 5 weeks. What that told me was that I needed some lighter reading, something that I could read quickly, kind of like an easy victory to get me back in the swing of things. Well, I’ve had a student hounding me about reading the first volume of this manga called Scryed (pronounced ess-cry-ed), written by Yosuke Kuroda. I’m not totally up-to-speed with manga (I’ve read only one other title, Naruto) or anime, but apparently Scryed is a popular television show. I’m not sure which came first, the show or the book, but I digress…

So I read Scryed, Vol. 1. Despite my inexperience reading manga, I was able to follow the storyline pretty well. That is saying a lot, because this story is kind of whacked. Twenty two years prior to the book, there was some sort of seismic activity that essentially left an area of Japan entirely surrounded by huge cliffs, completely isolated from the rest of the world. The area inside these cliffs is known as the Lost Ground, and its isolation soon left it lawless. In addition to the change in geography, the seismic activity also affected some people, leaving them with the ability to alter the environment around them. These people became known as Alter Users. The Alter Users' abilities left them very powerful. As it is in the real world, some use this power for good and others for evil.

Vol. 1 of Scryed lays down this back story and also introduces us to some characters. The main character is Kazuma Torisuna, an Alter User also known as “the Treasoner.” Kazuma is one of those characters that exemplify the grey area between good and evil. He battles a couple of the evil Alter Users that have become powerful within the Lost Ground, but he also fights with “HOLY,” a police force attempting to bring law back to the Lost Ground. This seems to be the central theme of Vol. 1 – people can be good and evil, and sometimes the people we think are one are actually the other.

All in all I enjoyed reading Scryed, Vol. 1. As I said, I needed a quick read and I got one. For inexperienced manga readers, it may feel a bit weird that the book is read from “back” to “front” and from right to left, but I found I got used to it quickly. I would recommend this book to older kids that like manga as well reluctant readers that enjoy action and science fiction. Scryed is rated OT (Older Teen, 16+) and I feel this is an appropriate rating. The story and illustrations are fairly violent. There is also a character that is scantily clad – not nude, mind you, but almost there. For these reasons I would try to persuade younger readers that other books may be of more interest to them.

Black Juice - Margo Lanagan

Genres: Short Story, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Realistic Fiction
Grades 7 & up

Twisted. Weird. Random. Just a few words that describe the short stories found in Black Juice by Margo Lanagan. I couldn’t really find a common theme amongst the ten stories contained in the book, by one thing they did have in common is that they were all interesting and well written. One favorite of mine was ‘Singing my Sister Down,’ the story of a girl being executed for murder and her family that has come to witness the execution. What is interesting about that story is the way the execution is carried out – the girl is forced to stand in the middle of a tar pit while she slowly sinks to her death. Another great story is ‘Red Nose Day’ the story of two assassins sent to a clown convention to kill as many clowns as possible.

Not all of the stories involve death or murder. There are stories about elephant trainers and accordion-playing cult leaders. There are stories about lost brides and angels. At about 20 pages each, the stories will be quick reads for many. I would recommend this book to good readers, particularly those that enjoy science fiction, fantasy or horror. I say “good” readers because these stories are not easy to read – often I would get about halfway through a story before I really understood what was going on. That said, readers patient enough to give this collection of stories a chance will be handsomely rewarded with some great reading.