Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

River Rats
River Rats
River Rats
Ebook224 pages2 hours

River Rats

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

“Calling to mind such widely disparate writers as Mark Twain, Andre Norton and Peter Dickinson, Stevermer paints a realistic ruin of society.” —Publishers Weekly
 
The award-winning author of the Scholarly Magic series delivers the thrilling adventure of a crew of young kids working their way through a post-apocalyptic world on a steamboat they call home . . .
 
No one knows for sure what caused the Flash. They just know that nothing has been the same since. Cities have been destroyed by pestilence, riots, and fires. The paddleboat River Rat, once a museum, was turned into an orphanage. But a dangerous storm forced the children to flee with the boat to safer waters, making it theirs for good.
 
Since then, Tomcat, Toby, Esteban, Lindy, Spike, and Jake have traveled, bartered, and performed their way up and down the Mississippi River. One rule that has served them well: no passengers. But after watching a man on shore being pursued by a vicious pack of locals, the group has no choice but to save him.
 
At every stop, the boat is met by the man’s tireless hunters. They want what the fugitive knows: the location of a bunker filled with guns. A currency more valuable than gold . . . and one that the crew of the River Rat might well pay for—with their lives.
 
“An unusual, compelling futuristic novel . . . wry, sharp, lively, and perceptive.” —The Horn Book (starred review)
 
“Too good to miss.” —Booklist
 
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 15, 2022
ISBN9781504074049
River Rats
Author

Caroline Stevermer

Caroline Stevermer (b. 1955) is best known for her historical fantasy novels. She published her first book, The Alchemist, in 1981, and soon began collaborating with fellow Minnesotan Patricia C. Wrede to create a magical version of Regency England. They published the epistolary novel Sorcery and Cecelia in 1988, and returned to the series with The Grand Tour (2004) and The Mislaid Magician (2006). Stevermer’s other novels include The Duke and the Veil, The Serpent’s Egg, A College of Magics, A Scholar of Magics, River Rats, Magic Below Stairs, and her most recent, The Glass Magician.

Read more from Caroline Stevermer

Related to River Rats

Related ebooks

YA Science Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for River Rats

Rating: 3.7285714457142856 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

35 ratings2 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Straight-forward post-apocalyptic, kids on a riverboat adventure. Not very deep, but fun.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    After the Flash, a group of young people appropriate a working model of an old time Mississippi paddlewheeler and survive by delivering mail and making music up and down the river. Superstition dictates that passengers are bad luck, so everyone on board must work their way. When the group pulls an old man fleeing hounds and cudgel-waving "Lesters" out of the murky river water, they begin an adventure which all of them might not survive. Stevermer's tone is reminiscent of her work in the Bordertown anthology The Essential Bordertown -- in fact, although missing the fantasy element present in Bordertown, Stevermer's characters would fit right in among the Bordertown kids. (There's even an allusion to "Stick Wizard," one of the numbers performed by the River Rat's crew.) Stressing independence, teamwork, honor and trust, and the importance of depending on your friends, this is a great short novel which reads fairly quickly.

Book preview

River Rats - Caroline Stevermer

ndbook_preview_excerpt.html[۲qϣðX&IY\1<v8~GE?ӗ839gQ{f@wWWeee54M8\߾ ۿL%o§7_埾u.Є"ݽO˹ ŭbƷS9LE{\K9ojj碝_ۢb9-̈́pA O{,oB4?N#EG9nfؔC1ǧe?fu8yƔCTqR`vC]oE9܋[OkG5m #}(0ʩz**覢9)<*S(Tt3,ʮ8|w60 1X¤o/묲YO~Yp*cu痩HYW~+)oL_K?^Җm4.nI.ӭo\{Z ߗϸѾ 3}ˡhCX|ny l/r׸>C}Oe%/q.>-팹.xF+nqz-[M2TS{('dP|ߕʮ fa.L `߀ Umn7ػh̳h{@ 2/܍?hm7"p_C2ґktkq|smgRߟvw _4'pI. tظk;J2!DLj;yI`ZӴ-b]y v 0{H}sΥ&fӀoڸk#0r/. Víwy"Fnm[ 0r[qfdSV=q7#⁐C)̬9Q@JQ?B'9cr.<46lB\/DѴiHMju J:5T_DڗY˛F\[^aKc=~ڢgOZ0I۞gT|f@9S@җ`W[M߾\G])6$ 6Y.9#$bR c' * S_/|`uv>嘻{PU*7әPſ/H^n^l"[ ^W\.=o_&T]^mpa9aшyП-G(f3wvf0reޔLdZ75)LG8=d#>#ERnq㈅|1Nn?h̿Lw-űLql3J!;6d\A˙rrXo`;_ & Ur|;?E7(a2< ={T9{l ]F8)o*ka1fGVkfǡ`bخ;k .d+$.[(k A `T5UvgeQM 7aO Ƣ7Dyz h8+_|U84-\et 6t0xseX ƄOu/aR_3Rh` ,yr)%! w?>&MySJe2͢Mlh P pFmnt  XfyT>_j0 2_cXYСD4jC2\K<|*~,vs20e^PD$L0'-u٣!l q*9w"{;zE`y Ȑ-u%ONb, EcYY.HhXڭnMΠ6,ɪ=+%UON4,@,:8qҙ],F(nK=6Y䵧L*$ÜZ}OVQ=;з0.йDrv2~0a8U8a"e>}#XR- TQ@*b7邼]gSŲîI@3ESqJ3n&[`Xl V>q.{01aNv1V{kyѶsm EnG$ + sudh_浖^!l|L .({Ta?RfkK-xA(q_-!!Zr7B* f4m i?M?{u,fk]3 U ɯ-䈒"v]tp:Ԣdy]Fյ\? FԾ~/5k7\67pYlX)]+:q_~2r͎'!Nq`HE-ϳXR%Bf5=镼 Y2UCPZHy`D"g%g]X];E3-uro ߵ ﱔls-XS.k$$mx.u[ꚐC6 OTbV &H.$֯ cΞțðzߐ۩d(Qz?%Ձ~m8ZQ)h04Mk=IV-.NF,^׌_l!Pu^U} H[H*T2c r!>cG)jiu؂|Wj\?$Hp !O)9w+\E0|SqG~[d`ߢVd'mt^{Z;"In5-LYm@#qW!vCg켭W&RVG LGuTEP3s5g2ʏu62y VAgm'<5ٯd)exKB s4{Hl$kپk-f~MesL312p:'{οt7"'2QGL/[X,-Ӹ8syǎ F`tGYǍ |"a?Z[jvHb^u5 Rzh8f7Q?f#!Cvn=&bjKwE?oԒ踱FO{-rT{,%˷?@VO< o3#:m95UN_RN[+wѹ1Iz#"&=r;yF%f|HDښKB}*YظS<]kGyscDĺ;RfPyS/D5}熏v&)>׫v0O}yߞ'\/oܲsg9-||0%7$Ju r /tt> |!]QN j}iJvQ[eoILv mvXy c>#!lפV}مx`yʣNϡgejCw"c؜a&f/J^bW4T.STtK(~ccZ޻ "{i Umπѐx*N0 }gdNTd A
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1