River Rats - Hardcover

Stevermer, Caroline

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152008950 ISBN 13: 9780152008956

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1992

Synopsis

A coming-of-age-story that takes place on a post-nuclear-war Mississippi River chronicles the travels of the River Rats, a teenage rock band performing for food and fuel as they navigate the poisoned waters of the river in an ancient paddlewheeler.

About this title

About the Author

CAROLINE STEVERMER has written several books for adults and one other fantasy novel for young readers, River Rats. Ms. Stevermer also lives in Minneapolis.

Reviews

Grade 7-12-- Some years after the ``Flash'' (a global disaster caused by a bomb, germ warfare, or chemical weapons) transforms the Mississippi into a polluted, ravaged wasteland lined by violent families and outcast tribes of homeless boys, six teenage orphans restore an old paddle wheel steamboat and ride up and down the river hauling freight, delivering mail, and putting on impromptu rock concerts in return for food and clothing. The River Rats, as they call themselves, break their vow never to take on passengers when they save a man named King who is fleeing from the unsavory Lester family. King tells them that the Lesters are after him because he knows where a cache of guns is hidden. Forced ashore by the family, the River Rats find that King had actually been hiding something even more valuable than guns--water and other survival gear. Narrated by Tomcat, one of the River Rats, the story moves quickly, although readers may want more detail about the origin of the disaster and the society that evolves from it. Tomcat's observations are sharp, providing a rounded view of the other characters. But the upbeat ending, although appealing to young readers' values of justice, sugarcoats the dismal future this crew faces. --Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In this futuristic fable, almost a generation has passed since the Apocalypse poisoned the Mississippi River and destroyed a united society. On board the restored paddleboat River Rat , Tomcat and his friends travel up and down the polluted waters, bartering news, mail and music for fuel and food. Orphans all, these children escaped school, slavery and other assorted evils and now enjoy a free and easy life on the river. They don't take passengers but, encountering a man hunted by a group of rednecks, find themselves changing their rules and getting into big trouble. The rednecks commandeer the ship, and the children set off in search of the most frightening treasure of their time--firearms. Calling to mind such widely disparate writers as Mark Twain, Andre Norton and Peter Dickinson, Stevermer ( The Serpent's Egg ) paints a realistic ruin of society. In the tradition of good speculative fiction she offers up an appealing landscape for adventure, yet her unwavering interest in the individuals who live there distinguishes the novel from mere space opera. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Again the call of ``Mark Twain!'' rings out from a stately riverboat, this time as it paddles the toxic Mississippi in a wry post-apocalyptic novel. Some years after ``The Flash'' and a subsequent round of devastating plagues, six orphans convert an old floating museum into a working steamer and set up a regular route to deliver news, mail, and cargo to the few isolated settlements left along the river. Their troubles begin when they pick up King, an aging fugitive; suddenly they can't seem to shake a gang of relentless pursuers. Eventually, King reluctantly admits that he knows where some guns are hidden--a ticket to power in this time of bows and arrows. The intriguing premise and well-built cast deserve more work on details. There's little physical description here, and no sense of how the different communities have learned to cope; characters' pasts remain unexplored, and the wonderful fact that the River Rats have gathered storage batteries and made themselves into the world's last rock band gets disappointingly little play. Not up to David Brin's Postman (1986); still, a sturdy, not overearnest sf adventure. (Fiction. 11-13) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152008950
• ISBN 13: 9780152008956
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 214