Excellent. Worthy of the Edgar award. Teen read. ( )

Rat Life, the 2008 winner of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery, is set in a small town in New York. The main character, an eighth grader named Todd, is an aspiring writer who works for his parents at the motel they own and operate. While trying to help a lost dog avoid getting hit by a cement truck, Todd is bitten and has possibly contracted rabies. It is during this suspenseful incident that Todd meets Rat, a boy a bit older than himself who is an isolated loner. Rat lives on the outskirts of town behind a drive-through movie theater. Rat convinces Todd to take a part-time job at the drive-in. While working together, Rat and Todd begin to form a friendship - of sorts - one with boundaries, as Rat has painful secrets that effect him deeply, and he's unwilling to share. When a dead body is found in the river, Todd becomes intrigued by the mystery; shortly before the body was discovered he found a baseball cap in nearly the same location on the riverbank. The police are unable to identify the body and have no clues as to killer's identity. But, Todd might.

Todd gradually learns more about his friend Rat and ultimately pieces together a connection between Rat's drug addicted mother, his abusive father, and the murder victim before the police are able to. In the intense climax to the novel, Todd confronts Rat at his home while the river has broken it's bank and a flash flood is encroaching on the small town. In a quick series of events, Todd arrives at Rat's home to discover the door wide open, and a dead man laying just inside. After Rat unexpectedly points a gun on Todd, both boys are swept away by the flood waters. Rat is knocked unconscious and Todd struggles to hold both of their heads above water while they are swept along with the raging torrent. Almost to the point of exhaustion, Todd is able to grab onto the edge of a stone bridge and hold his and Rat's faces out of the water while it pounds against them. Just as he is overcome with weakness and about to let go, Todd hears a voice behind him and the boys are rescued by a man in a small boat and taken to the hospital. At the hospital, the boys unravel the mystery of the two murders and Rat's connection to both victims. ( )

Historical fiction mystery -- main character meets weird guy named Rat who has just returned from Vietnam. Dead man shows up in river. Todd thinks maybe Rat killed him. Nitty gritty life from poor give Todd lots of things to write about in his English class.

Good for list. ( )

Todd is a writer, and it is his writing that pulls the reader into the story right away as he struggles to find the right first line to start his tale. Rat Life grips the reader from the very beginning and doesn't let go until the end. When Todd meets Rat, there is just enough mystic behind Rat's character to make you ask - where did he come from, how old is he, and what's his story. Rat Life is hard to put down, and has a very satisfying but unexpected conclusion. ( )

I can see how this won the Best Young Adult Edgar Award in 2008. The writing is tight; the type of craftsmanship that makes writing look easy. The mystery is not all that mysterious but then it's not meant to be. The star here are the three-dimensional characters and the intertwining relationships.Arnold, known primarily for his picture books, turns 180 degrees with this tale; it's dark and oft-times presents disturbing images. While geared toward a young adult audience, this is not Harry Potter. It is a clever, well drawn slice of life with characters that will stick with the reader throughout the journey. ( )