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. ( )

Set in 1972, this is the story that Todd tells of his short friendship with a boy/man called Rat during the summer of the great flood. Todd lives on the outskirts of New York city where the flood plain and suburbia collide. Todd is 14 and lives with his parents and slowly-turning senile Grandmother in a motel complex and his hobby is writing. One day, while riding home along the banks of the river he discovers a stray puppy. He picks it up but unfortunately a cement truck spooks it, it bites him and then it gets hit by the truck. As it lies squealing in pain on the road, that Rat appears and tells him to put it out of his misery.
Later, their paths cross again and Rat offers Todd a job at the Drive-In where he works - picking up rubbish and collecting tickets. Todd soon discovers that Rat keeps his cards close to his chest - he knows that Rat was in Vietnam and that his mother is a dope-fiend but that is all he knows - not even Rat's real name. While he tries to put the pieces together to figure out his friend, there is something more sinister happening in the background - a body has been washed up murdered in the river, a menacing drunk has terrified his senile grandmother and then driven his car through the motel, Todd has found a cap in the river that seems to belong to Rat's mysterious Uncle who has disappeared,and how can Rat have been a soldier when he seems not much older than Todd himself? To top this all off, the weather has become more menacing with violent winds and rising water levels.
This mystery novel has great twists and turns and looks at the treatment of the soldiers who came back from the Vietnam War as well as how some boys as young as 13 were able to enlist and serve. I particularly liked how Tedd Arnold writes how Todd discovers what his opinion of the war is. p.120 "Yesterday I had told Rat I didn't know how I felt about the war. But last night, trying to fall asleep, I realized - I did have an opinion. It must have formed without my even knowing. Of course I didn't like the war. But beyond that? All the news over the years - the protests, the body counts, the burning villages - had gradually piled up on me. "

I like this book for its complex characters, unusual setting (place and time) and most of all, its unpredictability. ( )

At 14, Todd is largely unaffected by the Vietnam War being fought so far away from his New Jersey life where he works at the family motel and spends his free time entertaining himself and his friends with his writing. With a bit of encouragement from his English teacher about his writing potential, Todd becomes more aware of the many “stories” all around him. He eventually meets Rat, who is just slightly older than Todd, but who has already served time in Vietnam.

Todd is fascinated with Rat, and as they share experiences and conversation, Todd begins to suspect that Rat may be involved in the mysterious murder of a dead man found in the river. The story is engaging and engrossing with the descriptive elements, as well as the action. Todd’s consciousness of bigger issues, like the war and family abuse and neglect, grows as the truth begins to unfold. ( )

Todd is an aspiring writer and the events that he is part of during 1972 certainly lend themselves to his stories. During an incident that haunts Todd when a stray dog he had tried to protect gets struck by a truck, his path crosses with a slightly older boy named Rat. To say Rat has had a difficult life would be an understatement. He has abusive, often absent parents and a mom who arranged for him to serve in Vietnam when he was just 14! Todd is interested in Rat and wants to really understand this mysterious kid who seems to somehow be linked with a dead body found in the river.
This book, with its short chapters and layered storytelling, was a quick read that was as much an exploration of character and story telling as it was a mystery. ( )