OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "RAT" by Priscilla B Shuler.]

Can you imagine living on the streets as a young child with no parents or anyone to provide for you? You'd need to steal just to survive.

Most of us are unlikely to relate to this. For Rat, this is all too familiar. In fact, he didn't even have a name or know how old he was. All this changed when fate ripped his feet from under him. Well, not exactly fate. Ms. Abigail was the one to pull him from an alley. She then gave him a roof over his head, a job, and a name – Rat.

Before long, years have passed and Rat has moved to the sea. As an adult, he became First Mate Ryan Alexander Trenton aboard the Narcissus. He was content with life aboard the ship but was kidnapped after docking in San Francisco. Luckily, a native tribe helped free him. Yet, there's more. Of course, I cannot give away all of the book, but it is these twists and turns that foreshadow the remainder of his life. You'll have to read Rat by Priscilla Shuler to uncover the rest.

For starters, the author appeared to try and provide details on Rat's/Ryan's whole life. This was both good and bad in my opinion. I liked it because many books I've read have covered a small portion of the time. As a reader, I don't often get to see what happened before or after the story. In this scenario, I was able to get more background information on the characters and see what happened to them.

On the other hand, it felt like the author tried to cram Rat's whole life into just under two-hundred pages. The author would provide glimpses of events then skip over months or years. I got brief details then was whisked away.

Another related dislike was that I felt like much of the book was told to me, instead of living through the characters. It felt as though the author was narrating a tale.

In addition to only narrating, there were parts that were difficult to read and stilted. For example, the dialogue later in the book was very formal, and unlike how people generally speak. There were also some odd phrasing and mixed tenses.

With all that said, I would give this book 2 out of 4 stars. The above reasons influenced my rating of the book, as well as grammatical errors I found. I believe this book could truly be exceptional but it needs more work. As it stands, those who like historical fiction, specifically based in the 1800s United States, may enjoy this book. Those who enjoy rags-to-riches stories may also like this as, in essence, it is a rags-to-riches tale of a boy with no prospects and family creating his own.

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RAT
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I totally agree with you on your observations of the book. A book like this should be steady in it's narration. It makes reading process very enjoyable and understandable. Lovely review.

It sounds interesting however I prefer books where I get to live through the lives of the main character. I might give it a try as doesn't seem that bad.

I agree. I think this could really be a great book. Unfortunately, it needs more work to get there. The story itself was interesting and I'm excited to see what could be done to improve it, if the author goes this route.

I hope the author revises this book as it has great potential and I find the plot truly intriguing. thanks for the review!

it needs work. The story itself was interesting

thanks for the review

The summary makes me envisage for more of the book, nice review

The title and cover of this book attracted me to read the review, but it seems the content was not well executed. Thanks for your honest review. Good job!

It sounds like this book has real potential! Perhaps with a second look, the author can shape it to be the great read that it should be. Thanks for the thorough and honest review.

The story of a little boy living all alone on the streets sounds very sad but intriguing. Though I don't like it when the story is "told", and not "shown", as the famous writers' advice goes. Thank you for the review.