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Rotters

by Daniel Kraus (Goodreads Author), Kirby Heyborne

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 · rating details · 1,104 ratings · 395 reviews

Grave-robbing. What kind of monster would do such a thing? It's true that Leonardo da Vinci did it, Shakespeare wrote about it, and the resurrection men of nineteenth-century Scotland practically made it an art. But none of this matters to Joey Crouch, a sixteen-year-old straight-A student living in Chicago with his single mom. For the most part, Joey's life is about playi...more

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Published April 5th 2011 by Listening Library (Audio)

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Jun 10, 2013 Emilija rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, favorites, so-good-can-t-form-words, six-stars, want-to-marry-and-make-babies-with, creepy-gore-demented, 2012-favourites, stand-alone, cover-lust

Rotters.

That one world says so much. So much meaning in that one little word.

I've been meaning to review this book for a really long time, but because I didn't (still don't) have the right amount of time I couldn't do it as fast as I wanted to.

Rotters has literally changed the way I see things. My perspective on life has shifted, thanks to this book. Of course I'm not talking about the grave digging part, I'm talking about the Rottters part. Only those who have read the book will know what Rotte...more Rotters.

That one world says so much. So much meaning in that one little word.

I've been meaning to review this book for a really long time, but because I didn't (still don't) have the right amount of time I couldn't do it as fast as I wanted to.

Rotters has literally changed the way I see things. My perspective on life has shifted, thanks to this book. Of course I'm not talking about the grave digging part, I'm talking about the Rottters part. Only those who have read the book will know what Rotters are.

I could relate to Joey a lot. The bullying at school part and the moving to live to a different place part and (in a way) losing a parent part. So basically everything. Except the grave digging. I found Joey endearing even though he frustrated me. At the beginning he made things worse for himself. He didn't try to get help from anyone, he didn't tell any of his teachers what was going on and how things are at home.

The emotions/things I felt when reading this book were; sadness, suffocation, frustration, anger and the constant emotion was depression. It was always there. I was either depressed and angry or depressed and frustrated or depressed and suffocated by the unfairness of the way things are happening to Joey. This boo is really heavy. It weighs you down. For the first half of the book Joey was not just experiencing and dealing with his unexpected sad life, but he was dragging me down with him. He was selfish and didn't want to suffer on his own. It wasn't fair on me and as much as I'd love to hate him for it, I can't. Because that is the kind of thing I'm looking for in a book - to make me feel what the character is feeling and make me sympathize and love the character regardless.

In the second half of the book, Joey was finally kind enough to release me from the death grip he had on my throat and I was finally able to breathe again. I was able to read about his life without having a lump in my throat or having to put the book down after a page to process what was happening because at times it was too much. I was able to enjoy the beauty of the book and what his father was doing because he wanted that too. He found beauty in grave digging, he enjoyed it, it became a part of him, he couldn't live without his instrument - the Root and he shared it with me. He shared his experience and took me along with him. And because of that, I look at grave digging differently. Not the grave digging in real life - the grave digging in the book. Because I'm sure that if grave diggers do actually exist today, they wouldn't do it like Joey, Harnett (Joey's dad) or Boggs do. In theory grave digging is wrong and vile and just plain fucked up, but it doesn't have to be that way. I was there with Joey. I learned that grave digging can be something else entirely.

This book is just stunning. The writing, the story, the plot - all of it - it's beautiful. Joey's revenge? Mouth-watering. I re-read the pages of his revenge several times because I couldn't get over how phenomenal it was. I loved it.

I don't want to say anything about the plot because I feel like saying absolutely anything that isn't mentioned in the synopsis will spoil it for you. No really, there are so many things that happened and I feel like telling you even a small snippet of a scene - even from the beginning - will spoil it for people who haven't read the book. If you are going to read this book, before you open the first page just take a few minutes to mentally prepare yourself of what's to come. This ride ain't easy.

There really is nothing more I'd like to say. This book is depressing, but beautiful nonetheless.

The ending. I only have one word - YES.
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Feb 06, 2011 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. *2/6/11 - After a lot of thought and a lot of discussion, I'm adding a star. Here's why: The book was supposed to be disturbing, and it did its job, a little too well, I think. I like dark lit, but this one went further than what I was prepared for! The kind of horror I like is the supernatural stuff. The stuff that doesn't exist. The stuff that scares me in a not-fun-anymore way is the darkness that comes from real people, and shows/movies/books that portray that particular brand of darkness fr...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Jessi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, teen, audiobook

This was just a fucked up story. And I don't mean that in a bad way. It harkens back to classic horror which relies not on blood and guts but on general creepiness to freak you out. There's no magic or super powers or monsters. Just people. Really weird people. It has a very odd narrator. Joey goes through many situations that the general public could identify with (bullying, the death of a parent, the hardships of friendship) but he never, ever reacts in a way that I understand. It's like he an...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Clare K. R. rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, library

I wanted to like this book. I am a horror fan. But I couldn't get to the horror part, if there was one (I'm not convinced grave robbing is horrific). The prologue was confusing--which is OK, I don't mind being confused in a prologue as long as the rest of the book clears it up. But it doesn't. There was never any explanation (okay, in the 68 pages I read) as to why Joey seemed to know or believe his mother was going to die before she did. Then the only character I liked was Boris, and he was qui...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Craig rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow, what an amazing book. I haven't been so thoroughly engrossed (in all senses of that word) in a book in some time. This is supposedly a young adult novel, though the sensibility is quite a bit older than that, I'd say. It follows the adventures of young Joey Crouch when he is forced, upon the accidental death of his mother, to move from his safe, comfortable life in Chicago, to live with his estranged father in a small Iowa town. His father is distant and uncomfortable and often gone for day...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Tenaya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After finishing this book, I was left with a different way of thinking about mortality and family ties. I learned more about death, decomposition of the human body and grave robbing than I ever wanted to, yet I was still incredibly excited over having read about it all.

Sixteen-year-old Joey Crouch is sent to live with the father he never knew after the passing of his mother, and soon becomes tied up in an all new school environment, where he is an outcast and even earns the nick-name "Crotch."...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Rebecca Synk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: realistic-ya

So I just put this on my realistic fiction shelf, but in some ways I think this might be the most unrealistic book I ever came across. This book is about a teenage boy who has fallen into the weird and frightening world of grave robbing. Joey's mother is killed and he is sent to live with his father, whose "occupation" is robbing graves. Joey is not accepted into his new high school, he is continually bullied by students and teachers alike. This is the catalyst that makes him force his father to...more So I just put this on my realistic fiction shelf, but in some ways I think this might be the most unrealistic book I ever came across. This book is about a teenage boy who has fallen into the weird and frightening world of grave robbing. Joey's mother is killed and he is sent to live with his father, whose "occupation" is robbing graves. Joey is not accepted into his new high school, he is continually bullied by students and teachers alike. This is the catalyst that makes him force his father to train him in the "art" of grave digging. Even the Diggers have a code of ethics and standards that must be followed so that their secrets will stay hidden from the rest of society, but one renegade Digger is on the loose and threatens the Digger way of life.

This book was absolutely fascinating and disturbing. It ultimately is a tale of survival in the worse of circumstances. It is not for the timid or easily grossed out. However the development of Joey and his journey kept you enthralled until the end. You are waiting for that moment of redemption and hope to arrive in any small way because you come to understand and feel for Joey.

There were a lot of unbelievable plot points, but three stuck out to me.(Spoiler Alerts) 1. The villan, hangs on to life for an unbelievable amount of time. Baby/Boggs,is already mentally unstable and on drugs that are slowly killing him and then he is hit by a car and survives? 2. There were a lot of crimes committed in this book, and not just the grave robbing, but abuse, vandalism, car theft, etc. and the cops never ever show up. Its not like they show up and the the criminals escape, but they are not present at all. 3. Joey seems to choose life among the dead pretty quickly, I know he is desperate for somewhere to belong and he feels like he has no other options, but digging up decomposing bodies is not an easy thing to do. He never even considers running away (not a great option, but one I would find more likely). Yet at the same time (Spoiler alert), he leaves the life of a digger behind relatively quickly without much help. This kind of trauma would need consoling of some kind and time to heal. (less)

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Feb 19, 2013 Kat rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first half of the novel is a slow burn; one must first come to know Joey and understand the circumstances in which he finds himself in order to feel invested in the questions he seeks to answer. Once the novel has hit its stride, it enters a compelling and mysterious underworld filled with interesting characters. Elements of the story are thoroughly grotesque; it is not for the squeamish, but grand themes of loss, betrayal, revenge, and redemption invest it with meaning and relevance. It is...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Suzanne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't really enjoy this book, but I kept reading it because I became invested in the life of the main character. Sixteen-year-old Joey Crouch is the quintessential underdog. When his mother dies in a sudden accident he is sent to rural Iowa to live with a father who he knows absolutely nothing about. When he arrives, not only is his father as distant as a parent can get, the house is a wreck and Joey must sleep on the kitchen floor next to the sink. At his new school he is severely bullied ri...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Kristel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, borrowed, fiction-young-adult, horror

I didn't like this book as much as I'd hoped I would. Horror isn't really my thing, so maybe that's not a surprise, but it was the kind of horror that relies on gore, which is fine, but I guess I'd wanted something scary more than gross.

The beginning of the book is completely incongruous with the rest - it sets up the idea that Joey can feel, somehow, when someone is going to die. He recounts through the day all the ways his mother could die, but she keeps on living, up until she gets hit by a b...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bullying, disturbing, guy-reads, high-school, horror, ya

Oh my, where to begin...

First of all, I really loved this book, and I can't stop thinking about what this says about me. It's a heartbreaking, disturbing, beautifully written book, yet it's the kind of book that I will be very, very careful about who I recommend read it.

Joey Crouch's mother dies suddenly and is forced to move to Iowa to live with a father he has never met and knows nothing about. His father leaves him for a few days and Joey, with no money, new to town and new to his high school...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Ed Dexter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

When 16 year old Joey's mom is killed in an accident, he's sent to live with a father he's never known. Any teenager could tell you that surviving the teen years seems impossible but when you add losing a parent, moving, changing schools, being bullied by students (and a teacher!) and trying to make new friends, it couldn't get any worse.

But it does.

Joey's dad isn't happy to have him and leaves him alone in a cluttered and neglected "home", sometimes for days on end with no food. Soon, Joey's da...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, teen, horror, fiction, coming-of-age, bullying, audiobook, realistic-fiction

Dark, macabre, disturbing

I picked up this award-winning audiobook to experience the considerable talents of the narrator, Kirby Heyborne. But I am not a reader of horror fiction and this book truly disturbed me at times. I’m sure that is reflected in my stars.

Sixteen-year-old Joey Crouch lives with his single mother in Chicago until a bus accident claims his mother’s life. Joey’s only option is to live with his father, a man he does not know. Still reeling from the shock of his mother’s death,...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, spine-tinglers

Mr. Kraus, I applaud you, because you are one sick puppy! I had no idea your mind was so twisted when I was sitting next to you a few months ago!

This audiobook won the 2012 Odyssey Award, which means it's one darn good produced audiobook. I was thrilled when I received a copy for attending the Odyssey Award program in Anaheim last June, and can't wait to get some students to listen this Fall.

This book is disgusting. Gross. Yucky. The kind of audiobook where you do NOT want to be eating in your c...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Claire rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adults-reading-ya-lit, book-group, bullying, curriculum-support-various, first-person-narrator-all-ages, gay-interest, grownup-books, high-school-and-beyond, guys-read, high-school-fairs, award-winner

Walter recommended this highly so I gave it a whirl. After one of the grimmer bullying scenes - I set the book free.
Very. Intense.
Then Brett offered the audio- I slipped the disk into the car stereo and was completely drawn in. The excellent acting and the distance that I get with the audio helped cope with the violence and sheer injustice at school and the ever creepier nighttime escapades Joey and his dad get up to.
Mr. Kraus says the book is Horror, so I believe him. His descriptions are so...more Walter recommended this highly so I gave it a whirl. After one of the grimmer bullying scenes - I set the book free.
Very. Intense.
Then Brett offered the audio- I slipped the disk into the car stereo and was completely drawn in. The excellent acting and the distance that I get with the audio helped cope with the violence and sheer injustice at school and the ever creepier nighttime escapades Joey and his dad get up to.
Mr. Kraus says the book is Horror, so I believe him. His descriptions are so precise, his words so specific that the book seems like a memoir. Joey describes the things he sees, that he feels, that he smells and experiences in such specific detail - he does not flinch, and so we cannot either.
So, the plot.
Joey loses everything- his single mother, his friend, his apartment, his life and plans in Chicago and is dumped by a cute Social Worker at the train station to go to Bloughton, (tinytown) Iowa to live with a dad he has never heard of or from.
Unmet at the station, Joey walks hours to find his fathers shack beyond the outskirts of town. Unfazed, his father greets him by looking him up and down and leaving for days.
Joey starts school and is basically thrown to the wolves by his teachers and fellow students- he is a target for bullies of every ilk.
Curious about his father, his father's stench, and his disappearances Joey follows along on an evening ride and is horrified to find that his father is not a thief in the normal sense, Ken Harnett is a grave robber! Once the game is up and Joey knows, well then, Joey has to be in. Joey embarks on a dual life- student by day and grave robber at night. Soon enough the strangeness, the regard Harnett has for the dead, the masterful skill, reels Joey in. He is immersed in the rush, the beauty and the challenge.
Enter a crazed former partner of Ken's and the story goes horrible quickly.
The themes addressed are grand, this is a book that you will chew on for a while as you sift through the complexity of Joey's coming of age. (less)

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Jul 22, 2012 kim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

I don't know about this book. It starts slow and normal. There's grave robbing, it's not very shocking, but then all of a sudden the second half of the book kicks into high gear and then it's just what? what?! what?!?! whaaaaaaaaat?!?! I was telling my coworkers what was happening in the book, and they were shocked to hear that these were plot points in a teen book. I don't know what genre this is, and the only thing I've read that seems similar is Chuck Palahniuk. Anyway, it's not really 'my' g...more

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Jul 12, 2012 J rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: high-school-fiction

Where did I get the notion that this was a zombie book? My apologies to any middle schooler to whom I recommended this book thinking it was a typical zombie fest. No, this is about dead bodies that stay dead, and a boy who takes up the family business of digging them up to rob them. Joey Crouch used to live with his overprotective mother in Chicago, but when she gets hit by a bus he has to go live in rural Iowa with a father he's never met. Once there he quickly becomes the outcast and is horrib...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, contemporary, family-stories, good-for-boys, serious-subject-matter, yalsa-challenge-2012, ya-fiction

Why I picked it up: It’s on the list for the YALSA challenge

Joey has never been outside of Chicago. He lives with his mom, gets straight As, plays the trumpet, and tries to get by with as few problems as possible. Until his mom dies suddenly and he is sent to Bloughton, Iowa to the father he’s never met. Joey’s father does not seem happy to be reunited with his son, and the living conditions are pretty terrible. Then Joey learns his father’s secret: he’s a grave robber.

I don’t even know what to...more Why I picked it up: It’s on the list for the YALSA challenge

Joey has never been outside of Chicago. He lives with his mom, gets straight As, plays the trumpet, and tries to get by with as few problems as possible. Until his mom dies suddenly and he is sent to Bloughton, Iowa to the father he’s never met. Joey’s father does not seem happy to be reunited with his son, and the living conditions are pretty terrible. Then Joey learns his father’s secret: he’s a grave robber.

I don’t even know what to say about this book. I did not enjoy it. The 2 weeks it took me to listen to it were probably the most uncomfortable 2 weeks of commuting I’ve ever had. And yet the quality of the book is unmistakable. The writing is at time breathlessly beautiful, and I’m not someone who notices that sort of thing all that much. The majority of the characters are extremely interesting and surprising. The plot takes unexpected twists and turns. Even the plot points that I knew were coming were handled in such a way that I was surprised.

It’s hard to get past how dark and depressing the book is. For the first 2/3 of the book, the grave robbing parts are actually a relief, so horrible are the things that happen to Joey at school. And every time you think think you've reached the point where things are as bad as they can get, you learn that you are wrong. Very wrong.

One thing that frustrated me was that I wanted an author's note telling me, first of all, if Daniel Kraus is sane. (Mostly kidding.) But seriously. The details on the history and community of graverobbers is so interesting that I really wanted to know what was real and what wasn't. I did end up finding what I wanted, but I found it on the audiobook site. (http://www.randomhouse.com/audio/list... for those who are interested.) Why wasn't it a part of the book? I found this information fascinating and I think author's notes really enhance books, especially when the topic is somewhat unusual subject matter. And it's neat to know where the inspiration came from.

A word about the audio: I thought the reader was really, really good. Kirby Heyborne, who I had never heard of, was really great, and I can see why this won the Odyssey award for outstanding youth audio book. The voices for some of the characters were amazing, and that may be the one thing that got me through the book.

I struggled with how to rate this book. I usually rate using Goodreads terms literally. In that case, this would be like a 1.5 But on the other hand, this is a quality book, and I feel like I need to reflect that. So for now, it gets a 3. I reserve the right to change that later.

Contains: language, bullying, dead bodies, really dark stuff(less)

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Jun 14, 2012 Lanica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, historical-fiction, read-in-2012, reviewed, young-adult

I want to hate this book - but I don't.

I want to love this book - but I don't.

What a strange novel.

I want to give it a 5, I want to give it a 1...I have no idea what to rate this novel.

From the very first page this book was a contradiction. A boy 'knows' that his mother will die today...and she does...but that's the only time he is psychic. I kept waiting for his 'visions' to reappear - they don't.

Instead, we jump into the story. He is forced to live with his father and soon enough learns that...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A book about grave robbers - who knew?

I actually met Daniel Kraus last year and received an autographed copy of Rotters from him. Then, foolishly, I put the darn thing in my to-be-read pile, the pile that never gets any smaller. The wonder is I finally worked my way to it.

Thank Heavens I did.

First let me say this is horror, this is gore, this is suspense. If you have a weak stomach you might want to skip this book, or at least skip eating. This is a book a bout the dead, not the undead or the ri...more A book about grave robbers - who knew?

I actually met Daniel Kraus last year and received an autographed copy of Rotters from him. Then, foolishly, I put the darn thing in my to-be-read pile, the pile that never gets any smaller. The wonder is I finally worked my way to it.

Thank Heavens I did.

First let me say this is horror, this is gore, this is suspense. If you have a weak stomach you might want to skip this book, or at least skip eating. This is a book a bout the dead, not the undead or the risen dead, no flesh-eating zombies or vampires, just Rotters, the graverobbers unflattering name for the living, who think they will lie peacefully and undisturbed in their coffins. (BTW, I'm leaving instructions for a cremation)

Since I met the author in person I know he at least appears normal. He just knows his way around dead people better than anyone outside a certified forensic anthropologist--no, he knows even more. And he shares that knowledge with readers through the eyes, ears nose and every other sense of sixteen-year-old Joey Crouch a straight A student from Chicago sent to live with his unknown father after his mother's death.

He is ignored and abandoned by the man and doesn't realize that's a good thing until he finds his father prying jewelry from a dead woman's hand. Just her hand, the bones csame lose from the rest of her skeleton while his father was robbing her grave.

Joey finds his way into the world of graverobbers as an escape from the new school wehre he is bullied and harrased by students and teachers. His father considers it an honorable profession, even names his shovel, and reluctantly takes Joey on as an apprentice. I learned way more about decomposition and the difference between a corpse and a cadaver than I ever wanted to.

The author knows how to be cruel to his characters. Joey faces the kind of trial that left me wondering what kept him sane. There's no way to tell about them without being a spoiler, but they are dark. Maybe he doesn't stay sane, his revenge against some of his tormenters is psychotic at best. (Again, empty stomachs are recomended)

The story does drag on a little too long, that's why there are only four stars. Things get so complex there has to be a long, involved telling to straighten out some of the lose ends and subplots. But that is balanced by the in-depth charactorization of this boy thrust into a new and definitly strange environment where he not only survives, he thrives. There isn't a conventional happy ending, not even an ordinary hopeful ending. That's fitting, because nothing else about the book is conventional or ordinary. But it is an interesting ending, I'm not sure I'll ever forget those final paragraphs. I certainly won't forget Joey.

Did I mention - no grave for me.(less)

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May 09, 2012 Katy Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I gave this book a 5 mainly because I've never read anything like it before. I learned a lot about grave robbing's history and what it means today. The style of writing was also very unique. You understood the descriptions vividly yet you didn't feel like you were bogged down in description. It made me want to visit cemeteries and observe the surroundings. My step dad is a mortician so I have plenty of questions next time I see him.

The book wrapped up in a very satisfying way. The whole time I...more

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May 02, 2012 Patty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, young-adult-fiction

Joey Crouch, a 16 year-old straight A student living in Chicago, is bereft by the untimely death of his mother. Lost without her guidance, Joey is unceremoniously shipped to the pocket-sized town of Bloughton, Iowa, to live with Ken Harnett, the father he never knew. Harnett is known to the locals by the callous nickname of Garbageman, but little is actually known about him. Harnett wants nothing to do with Joey; however, Joey has nowhere else to go. Due to his lineage, Joey is reviled by his fe...more Joey Crouch, a 16 year-old straight A student living in Chicago, is bereft by the untimely death of his mother. Lost without her guidance, Joey is unceremoniously shipped to the pocket-sized town of Bloughton, Iowa, to live with Ken Harnett, the father he never knew. Harnett is known to the locals by the callous nickname of Garbageman, but little is actually known about him. Harnett wants nothing to do with Joey; however, Joey has nowhere else to go. Due to his lineage, Joey is reviled by his fellow students, humiliated by his teacher, and dismissed by the principal at Bloughton High. Miserable, Joey hides in Harnett’s truck enabling him to follow his father and see what his father does on his mysterious recurring midnight excursions.
Joey discovers that his father is a Digger; a grave robber. Joey accompanies his father on numerous late night forays and is initially repelled by the work. Gradually, though, Joey comes to appreciate the skill and knowledge of his father. Death surrounds Joey, yet Joey is drawn to his father’s work and finds a support system of like-minded men who follow the same code as his father. Kraus’ explicit and descriptive language propels the narrative; the characters are fully realized and so are the corpses. Joey relates the contents of the first plundered coffin he sees with his father, “It was with great fear that I looked into the eyes that I had taken for alive, and in a sickening moment I realized that they were alive, in a manner of speaking – each socket was a writhing mess of maggots.” The descriptions are graphic and not for the faint hearted. They are, however, illuminating, often combining philosophy and biology in a single gruesome paragraph. Joey comes to appreciate his father’s insights as he reflects on his father’s thoughts about a suicide victim they unearth, “How he could find beauty through the squirming disorder of her face confounded me – but it also humbled me, just a little.” Kraus writes with intelligence, empathy, and humor as he tackles this grisly subject, weaving the themes of life and death, family and relationships into an unforgettable account of a singular coming-of-age story.
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Apr 28, 2012 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-for-review

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: "Rotters," by Daniel Kraus (Delacorte Press, 2011) is not for every YA reader. Well, what book is? But this novel is filled with enough bloated corpses, squirming maggots, predatory rats, severed appendages, and noxious odors to choke even the most jaded fan of the horror genre. You get my drift.

Okay, are you still with me? Good, because you're in for quite a ride.

Sixteen year-old Joey Crouch is a straight-A student living with his single mother in Chicago....more Let me make one thing perfectly clear: "Rotters," by Daniel Kraus (Delacorte Press, 2011) is not for every YA reader. Well, what book is? But this novel is filled with enough bloated corpses, squirming maggots, predatory rats, severed appendages, and noxious odors to choke even the most jaded fan of the horror genre. You get my drift.

Okay, are you still with me? Good, because you're in for quite a ride.

Sixteen year-old Joey Crouch is a straight-A student living with his single mother in Chicago. He plays the trumpet, has one good friend, and pretty well succeeds at staying under the radar of high school bullies looking for a soft target. That all changes when his mother dies in a tragic accident--a death chillingly foretold in the book's prologue.

He is sent to a small town in Iowa to live with Ken Harnett, the father he never met. Harnett is a surly brute of a man with a rancid stench so bad that the locals have dubbed him The Garbage Man. He is also rumored to be a thief.

The new kid at school soon finds himself burdened not only with his father's noxious odor but his reputation as well. Mercilessly bullied by students and one sadistic teacher in particular, Joey has no choice but to embrace his father--and his father's grisly trade. Harnett is no garbage man, but he is a thief. A grave robber, to be exact.

With that, Joey enters a brotherhood of loosely organized, solitary men who view their calling as noble, in the tradition of the resurrection men--19th century grave robbers hired to steal bodies for use in medical school dissections. It's a shocking premise, but in its heart this book is about the bond between a father and his son, taboos, and most of all, mortality. Perhaps no one but Kraus could bring such lyrical beauty to descriptions of death and decay.

I'd been wanting to read and review this book for a while; I've long been a fan of the macabre, from Edgar Allen Poe to Stephen King. Kraus is a Chicago author, and "Rotters" had generated a good amount of buzz. When I read that the Audio Publishing Association had awarded "Rotters" (Listening Library and Random House Audio) the 2012 Odyssey Award for the producer of the best audiobook for children and YA, I knew I had to give it a listen. I listen to a lot of audio books, and in my experience the reader can make or break a book. This book's reader, Kirby Heyborne, really delivers, giving each character an individual voice and real emotional depth.

If you have a strong stomach and have a taste for books that are dark, creepy, and shocking, you should give a "Rotters" a read--or a listen.

This review was originally published in the April 15, 2012 edition of The News-Gazette.(less)

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Apr 14, 2012 Dolores rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I feel like I have to give this 2 different reviews. I listened to it and the reader was great. He does a fantastic job of creating mood and emotion and creating very distinctive characters. Him, I would give 5 stars. But, let's face it--nothing he did could change the story he was reading. First of all, waaaaay too long. Second of all, I'm not sure what the story wanted to be. If it was a story about father and son relationships, it missed by a mile. If it was trying to be the most brutal bully...more

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Mar 18, 2012 bjneary rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bullying, psla-2012, horror, ya

Joey Crouch is a straight-A student who lives with his mom in Chicago when she is suddenly and horribly killed by a bus. Child Services locates his father; Joey‘s mom has never told Joey anything about him. Imagine arriving in Bloughton, Iowa; your father is nowhere for 3 days; there is no food in the hovel he lives in and it is filthy and filled with old newspapers. Joey gets himself to school and finds students hate him because his father is a garbage man. Joey’s horror story begins and we fol...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: awesome-titles, death, definitely-unique, deep-stuff, families-and-family-issues, fantastic-writing, loved, most-memorable-characters, surprised-me, super-trippy, took-me-forever-to-finish, young-adult-reads

By far-- by FAR-- the creepiest, most disturbed thing I have read to date.

Am I the only one thinking, ".... how does Daniel Kraus know all the precise, knitty-gritty details of how to rob a grave?"

I half expected to find the bio in the back of the book: "About the author: DANIEL KRAUS is a writer and currently resides at Iowa State Prison, where he's serving a 20 year sentence for--you guessed it-- digging up dead bodies, robbing graves, and other sorts of general mischeif. Rotters is his first...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Hylary Locsin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

Joey Crouch has lived a sheltered life in Chicago with his eccentric but loving mother. After she is tragically killed in a bus accident, Joey is sent to live with the father he has never met in the small town of Bloughton, Iowa. Not sure what to expect, Joey's worst fears are realized when his new smalltown life fraught with unhappiness: his father, Ken Harnett, is an unkempt and unfriendly man w...more Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

Joey Crouch has lived a sheltered life in Chicago with his eccentric but loving mother. After she is tragically killed in a bus accident, Joey is sent to live with the father he has never met in the small town of Bloughton, Iowa. Not sure what to expect, Joey's worst fears are realized when his new smalltown life fraught with unhappiness: his father, Ken Harnett, is an unkempt and unfriendly man who immediately lets Joey know that his presence is not desired. Joey is treated horribly at his new high school, constantly mocked, bullied, and abused by students and teachers. Joey does find some solace in the company of his friendly band teacher who encourages him to continue playing trumpet, a skill fostered by his mother. But as Joey's life becomes more and more depressing, even music seems pointless in the endless monotony of torment. One night, Joey decides to learn the truth about his father's odd behavior and hides in his truck as he leaves for another one of his late night trips. Joey soon discovers Harnett's secret: he is a professional grave robber, or Digger, who makes a living pawning the treasures he steals from the dead. At first, Joey is horrified. Soon, however, he is drawn into the mysterious world of the Diggers as Harnett teaches him the finer points of uncovering a corpse.

This tense and often disturbing novel packs a powerful punch on many different fronts. The opening of the novel outlines the strange relationship between Joey and his mother then quickly jumps into the events following her death. After Joey arrives in Middle America, the juxtaposition of his experiences at his new high school and the "adventures" he has with his father makes for an interesting but also horrifying plot. Once Joey learns that he is good at his father's craft, he uses digging as a means of escaping the torment, abuse, and bullying enacted upon him at his high school. The satisfaction the reader feels at Joey's overcoming these obstacles is curious in light of the fact that it is obtained through his enjoyment of grave robbing with his long-lost pops. Graphic descriptions of what can be found six-feet-under, including such phrases as "coffin liquor" and "the boneyard blues," make parts of the novel difficult to get through in a stomach churning way. These horrors, however, are what make Rotters such a unique, utterly original, and highly memorable novel. Kraus does a fantastic job of turning something as disgusting as grave robbing into a means for a father and son to connect. The novel, while written for young adults, definitely has a place in adult literature as well, and can be enjoyed by any reader who wants something truly different from anything they've ever read.

Wow. This is certainly different from any book I have ever read, and was, at times, very difficult to get through. I'm not sure what to make of it. It is very well written and the characters are engaging, but in a horrifying way. Kraus dives head first into the utterly macabre, and only brave readers should dare to follow him into the world six-feet-under. While the novel will make your stomach turn, you will find yourself unable to wait arriving at the fascinating conclusion. I will definitely remember Rotters for a long time.

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Sep 25, 2011 Thomas Padley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well this was a book that I'd been really looking forward to, and when it arrived at the library I was really looking forward to it. That excitement was unfortunately short lived, the positives I'm going to give this book are that it is fantastically written, I have read a few of Daniel Kraus's books before, and one thing I picked up on is his character development and how detailed he is, but also how morbid and horror like his stories really were. The story itself is quite clearly morbid and di...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Martha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When my grandmother dies, she wished to be buried with her wedding ring. My sister and I complied, yet a friend told us not to bury it with her. Part of me wants to dig up her grave and learn whether someone has dug her up already and taken her rings.
People are buried with their cell phones now and based upon the other research Mr. Kraus did I have to assume this is true. How did the author meet the "Diggers" who were willing to share information with him? This job seems much harder even than be...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Eddie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The writing—the only reason for the three-stars—was freakin' great! The story—one that started so promising—left me feeling like a deflated balloon. You know, deflated "things" are not a good thing when you're supposed to be excited about something.

This book had all the elements for a entertaining story, too, but in the end, for me, I'd rather have been in a grave than to have read this book if I knew the outcome. If it wasn't for the stellar writing, I would have put this book down at about th...more The writing—the only reason for the three-stars—was freakin' great! The story—one that started so promising—left me feeling like a deflated balloon. You know, deflated "things" are not a good thing when you're supposed to be excited about something.

This book had all the elements for a entertaining story, too, but in the end, for me, I'd rather have been in a grave than to have read this book if I knew the outcome. If it wasn't for the stellar writing, I would have put this book down at about the halfway point. Really though, the dark concepts and the book being based around grave-robbing, no less, with also stellar writing, I thought for sure I'd LOVE this book. This book had a multitude of the right elements, such as the creepy character aka the bad-guy(who sucked in the end, in my opinion). It was also a coming-of-age tale that involved: vengeance, the highs and lows of friendships, high school(enough said), innocent crushes, the grieving of loved ones and lost friendships and cadavers!

What's not to like about all that stuff?

I think the direction it took at about the halfway point, like I mentioned earlier, just went a direction I couldn't totally invest myself in. I was with Joey, initially, through his loss of his mother, the loss of his best-friend due to moving from Chicago to Iowa with his Dad he has never known prior, I was with him through the shaky(that's putting it lightly) beginnings with his father, the enormous growing-pains of starting a new school in a small-town where the people and the ideas are radically different from his native High School, the horrifying bullying, the reputation of his father throughout his peers. I was there with him completely. I felt his immense pain. Wanted to pull him out the book and give him a hug and say: everything is going to be OK. But again, about halfway or two-thirds through, even though I understood his reasons for going the direction he went, I effin didn't care For Joey, the odd people he crossed paths with, his odd ways of seeing things and I really didn't give a hot-damn about the way he ended this very bizarre novel, either. Don't get me wrong, it worked and it concluded it, but remember what I said up above? When done, I felt like a deflated balloon or a woman who's eyes say: that's it?? I wanted to bury Joey in a grave at this time and take back my hug and sympathy for him. That bastard! What was I to expect, right? This novel was based around grave-robbing, it wasn't Mary-fuckin'-Poppins(sp?)...
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About Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus is a Chicago-based writer, editor, and filmmaker. His debut novel, THE MONSTER VARIATIONS, was selected to New York Public Library's "100 Best Stuff for Teens." Fangoria called his Bram Stoker-finalist, Odyssey Award-winning second novel, ROTTERS, "a new horror classic."

Upcoming novels include the Junior Library Guild selection SCOWLER (2013) and TROLLHUNTERS, co-written with Oscar-wi...more

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“Darkness is a defining characteristic of Rotters. But it’s worthy to remember that darkness is just that—it’s dark—and what is being concealed in the dark is not just the horrible and fearsome, it’s also the inspirational and moving. Horror means nothing without happiness; dark means nothing without light. Rotters may make you feel scared, but hopefully it will also make you simply feel. It’s that kind of book, or at least I hope it is.” — 8 people liked it

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