Rash

Author: Pete Hautman
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse
ISBN: 987-0-689-86904-4
Year Published: 2006
No. Pages: 249
Genre: Science Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Jon



It is the year 2074. French fries are illegal. Football is banned. In this United Safer States of America violent sports, body piercings, and consumption of alcohol are all now illegal. These laws have been created for so called “safety reasons” and disobeying them could result in being forced into work camps or prison factories. More and more people need to be arrested so that the government can keep a stable supply of workers in these camps.

Bono Fredrick Marsten is a typical teenager who once ran track at school, bogged down in safety equipment. He is now serving three years after breaking five laws. Two counts of verbal assault, two counts of self-neglect, and one count of attempted destruction. He is sentenced to 3 years of hard labor in a MacDonald 's factory where he works 16 hours a day. Factory 3-8-7 has none of the safety standards, he's grown to know. The factory is surrounded by a tall fence beyond which live the ravenous man eating polar bears. The wardens run an illegal football team and the team that wins the Tundra Bowl will be treated to an early release. So will Bo join the team or become polar bear chow?

I enjoyed this novel because Hautman does such a great job in the development of his characters. Bo was a well thought-out character that I could relate to because we both catch onto things quickly and we're both into sports. What also helped me to relate to Bo was that this novel is written in a first person narrative so I was able to dive into Bo's thoughts and feelings. Another character that I enjoyed is Rhino, a heavy set teen who's actions added humour to the novel. The only way Rhino can achieve freedom is to lose 200 pounds. The government now finds being overweight to be a safety concern so they turned it into another reckless law. What I found ironic was punishing an overweight teen to lose weight while working at a MacDonald's factory.

The suspense in this book is really powerful. It kept me reading from start to finish making this book impossible to put down. I liked how Hautman had cliffhangers at the end of most chapters making me think about what was going to happen next and driving me to read on. The action was also a big part of this is novel because events are unpredictable so you never know what's going to happen next. I thought about the novel long after as the themes were thought-provoking.

I like how Hautman made his version of the future so real. A theme if this novel is safety vs freedom and this is applicable to present day. I notice that at my school there are more and more rules created to govern us and keep us safe. It has even been suggested that we should even bring helmets tobogganing. Things that were once fun, lose there appeal with so many safety precautions. What's interesting is that kids are punished in these camps for “illegal” behavior and then are encouraged to disregard them. The novel examines the questions: When does safety interfere with freedom? When does government overrule free will?

I rated this novel a nine point five out of ten and recommend this novel to anyone with craving for an action-packed sporty novel.