A title that caught my eye: RATS SAW GOD

I didn't buy this book for myself; I bought it for a student. He was struggling to find a book that he wanted to read, and I was struggling recommending titles for him. I can't remember the name of the series he enjoyed in middle school, but he described how he enjoyed them so much that he read the entire series. I knew then that we had something we could work with. 

Using whatshouldIreadnext.com, we were able to enter in the title of his beloved series, and Rob Thomas' novel appeared in the results, along with another book. He chose to read the other text when it arrived, and I wanted to know more about this quirkily titled text. 

Meet Steve York. His dad is an astronaut, and his parents are recently divorced. Over the course of the novel, you find out that Steve is coping with said parents' divorce, and his grades have plummeted. Writing this novel is his counselor's last-ditch effort to grant him the necessary credit that he needs to graduate. 

The book resonated with me because it told the story of so many of my own students. They are more than just the kids I teach; they are people. And those people have busy lives with so many forces pushing and pulling them. Like Steve, so many of them have so much potential, but there are obstacles they must overcome--and want to overcome--in order to succeed.