Stevermer, Caroline - River Rats

[oyceter]

Life after the Flash, a nuclear, apocalyptic-type disaster (or something), is tough, particularly if you're a band of kids on board a paddle wheeler on the Mississippi. Tomcat and his fellow River Rats come and go, performing at towns and delivering mail for food and other goods. One day, they rescue King from the river, and in doing so, unleash a whole world of trouble on themselves.

I felt like I should have liked this book more than I did. There's nothing in particular that I disliked about it; I just read it when I was down and over a period of weeks, so I often forgot what happened before I picked it up again. As such, the narrative felt very disjointed, and I didn't have a very good sense of who the characters were. Mostly I kept comparing the book to other books (The Postman for the post-apocalyptic delivering of mail and the intrusion of pre-apocalyptic technology and War for the Oaks for the music elements). I dunno. I don't think it's very fair of me to write up the book right now, because I strongly suspect that my mood had something to do with the emotional disconnect.

Anyhow, I'll keep it instead of selling it and hope that a reread makes me like it more.

Comments

[veejane.livejournal.com]

I foudn it pretty lame, myself. Partly, I was never won over by the narrative voice (I was only partially ever won over by Twain's version), and partly, it was just too much for my OTT-o-meter.

Post-apoc Missouri, okay. But post-apoc Missouri and decrepit rock gods? Please.

[oyceter]

Hee!

I find I have a hard time connecting to descriptions of music in books, as a general rule... I think while I like music, it's not quite as essential to me as it is to some people.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I've never finished it, for nebulous reasons. I keep it too because I always think one day I'll pick it up and love it.

[oyceter]

Yeah... some day....

Then again, I didn't adore Howl's Moving Castle the first time I read it, so keeping books around is a good thing.

[cofax7]

I love that book. I keep pushing it on people as the best post-apocalyptic riverboat rock-and-roll YA novel ever. But I can see how it might be a tough sell.

[oyceter]

I love your description of it! I think one of my problems was that I just don't connect to music in the same way, and so reading descriptions of music always sort of baffles me in books.