Meet the Rat: A dancing, football-playing gangster-baiting ten-year-old. When she foresaw her father’s death, she picked up her football and decide...
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Feb 01, 2012
Jo
rated it: 
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I can’t deal with this. This was supposed to be my happy place book post- Feed and Deadline. But wow… what a beautiful book.
High Point.
The fact that no one that I know has read it so it’s MINE ALL MINE. The Rat = possibly the cutest kid in the entire world. I want her to be my best friend and we can talk in accents together and sing Frank Sinatra and drink Mocha even though I don’t like coffee. Bob= the second cutest kid in the entire world an More...
I can’t deal with this. This was supposed to be my happy place book post- Feed and Deadline. But wow… what a beautiful book.
High Point.
The fact that no one that I know has read it so it’s MINE ALL MINE. The Rat = possibly the cutest kid in the entire world. I want her to be my best friend and we can talk in accents together and sing Frank Sinatra and drink Mocha even though I don’t like coffee. Bob= the second cutest kid in the entire world an More...
Jun 30, 2011
LH
rated it: 
Meet Marie Claire and Robert DeBillier. Aka Bob and his sister - The Rat. Following a tragic family incident, the two of them decide to seek out their long-lost Uncle who lives in New York. Trouble is - these kids currently live in Winnipeg. Cue one of the most heart-breakingly brilliant roadtrips I've ever read about.
I can't believe how good this book was. It's extraordinary. Hughes has the ability to construct character so well through his use of language; The Rat is one of those More...
I can't believe how good this book was. It's extraordinary. Hughes has the ability to construct character so well through his use of language; The Rat is one of those More...
Jan 10, 2011
Rosie
rated it:
I found this book impressive and much better than many books by established children's authors. I finished it in one reading. Hughes makes you care about the characters in a tale that compresses more harsh realities in its pages than any child should have to experience. After their father dies, the two kids aged ten and twelve, journey from Winnipeg to New York to find a long lost Uncle , their only know relative, despite the fact that they believe he is involved with drugs. The Canadian scenes
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Oct 20, 2010
Erzsi
rated it:
Cannot say enough about this book -- loved it. But here's the publisher's blurb:
Meet the Rat: A dancing, football-playing gangster-baiting ten-year-old. When she foresaw her father's death, she picked up her football and decided to head for New York. Meet her older brother Bob: Protector of the Rat, but more often her follower, he is determined to find their uncle in America and discover a new life for them both. On their adventures across the flatlands of Winnipeg and through the exciting More...
Meet the Rat: A dancing, football-playing gangster-baiting ten-year-old. When she foresaw her father's death, she picked up her football and decided to head for New York. Meet her older brother Bob: Protector of the Rat, but more often her follower, he is determined to find their uncle in America and discover a new life for them both. On their adventures across the flatlands of Winnipeg and through the exciting More...
Mar 17, 2011
Josie
rated it:
The Rat has to be one of the best fictional characters I've read about in a long while. She reminds me of a modern-day Anne Shirley -- garrulous, bluntly honest, good-hearted, and with a very individual outlook on life. I loved the beeping and her obsession with bringing down paedophiles, haha. And of course I'm a huge fan of what I call Incidental Magic, which is when there are supernatural elements in an otherwise ordinary, set-in-real-life story (think: The Time-Traveler's Wife).
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Apr 23, 2011
Susan
rated it: 
Central character Rat is a fascinating 10 year old. The author has created a typical youngster playful, naughty, but also very feisty. In some respects she seems the one with the most sense the best judge of character leaving her elder brother Bob behind in so many ways.
This novel is written from Bob's point of view, he admires his sister worries about her, not only her recklessness but also her health particularly her state of mind.
He follows her through a series of adventures t More...
This novel is written from Bob's point of view, he admires his sister worries about her, not only her recklessness but also her health particularly her state of mind.
He follows her through a series of adventures t More...
Aug 24, 2011
Franzie
rated it:
Den Mond aus den Angeln heben erzählt die unkonventionelle Geschichte von Roberto "Bob" und Marie Claire "Die Ratte" DeBillier.
Eines Tages kommen Bob und die Ratte nach Hause und finden ihren wundervollen Vater tot in der Küche - Herzinfarkt. Da ihre Mutter schon Jahre vorher das Land der Lebenden verlassen hat, beschließen die beiden, abzuhauen und den einzigen lebenden Verwandten zu suchen, von dem sie wissen: Jerome DeBillier, Bruder ihres Vaters, ihrer Aussage n More...
Eines Tages kommen Bob und die Ratte nach Hause und finden ihren wundervollen Vater tot in der Küche - Herzinfarkt. Da ihre Mutter schon Jahre vorher das Land der Lebenden verlassen hat, beschließen die beiden, abzuhauen und den einzigen lebenden Verwandten zu suchen, von dem sie wissen: Jerome DeBillier, Bruder ihres Vaters, ihrer Aussage n More...
Jul 30, 2011
I certainly see why this book was shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 2010. The narrator is 16, telling about events that happened when he was 12 and his sister, called the Rat, was 10. Through his engaging voice, the Rat (aka Marie Claire) is a bright, lively character. The events are improbable: when their father dies suddenly (their mother having died much earlier in a car crash), they leave their Winnipeg home to look in New York City for an uncle they’ve never met. A fr
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Nov 11, 2011
Catie
rated it:
This is a very engaging and sweet story that will carry you right along with its madcap, almost surreal adventures. I really enjoyed reading it, but I just never quite connected to it all the way. I kept feeling swept forward, without anything firm to hold onto.
The story is narrated by a sixteen year old Bob, as he recalls the fateful summer when he was twelve, and he and his ten year old sister Marie Claire “The Rat” Debilliers traveled (by bicycle and other unreliable means) from W More...
The story is narrated by a sixteen year old Bob, as he recalls the fateful summer when he was twelve, and he and his ten year old sister Marie Claire “The Rat” Debilliers traveled (by bicycle and other unreliable means) from W More...
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Jun 08, 2011
Ringo
rated it:
Meet Bob and his sister, the Rat. They are prairie kids from Winnipeg, a land “so flat you can watch your dog run away for three days”. When their father dies (after one of the Rat’s curiously accurate premonitions), the Rat decides they should go to New York, to find their long-lost (drug dealer) uncle Jerome DeBillier. So the two set off on a road trip of sorts to New York. What follows is one of the quirkiest of traveler’s tales, with the two of them meeting conmen, hustlers, rap idols, etc.
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Mar 11, 2011
Anne
rated it:
'Unhooking The Moon' won the Booktrust Teenage Prize last year and in my view, this was a very worthy winner.
Gregory Hughes has written an extraordinary story of a brother and sister from Winnipeg, USA. Bob and his younger sister Marie-Claire - AKA The Rat are orphans. Their mother died many years ago and they have spent the last few years being cared for by their Father. When their Father dies quite suddenly, the two of them are determined that they will not be put in a home so they set More...
Gregory Hughes has written an extraordinary story of a brother and sister from Winnipeg, USA. Bob and his younger sister Marie-Claire - AKA The Rat are orphans. Their mother died many years ago and they have spent the last few years being cared for by their Father. When their Father dies quite suddenly, the two of them are determined that they will not be put in a home so they set More...
Nov 28, 2010
Booktrust Teenage Prize
After their father dies, the hapless 12YO Bob and his psychic 10YO precocious-to-the-max sister Marie Claire, a.k.a The Rat, leave Winnipeg by hopping a freight--with their bikes--cross the border with the help of Joey the cigar smuggler and bike into NYC to find their uncle the drug dealer (yes and no) with the help of cigar Joey, a street hustler and their new best friend and famed rapper-of-the-moment, Ice. Far-fetched in spades (though no more than say, Hun More...
After their father dies, the hapless 12YO Bob and his psychic 10YO precocious-to-the-max sister Marie Claire, a.k.a The Rat, leave Winnipeg by hopping a freight--with their bikes--cross the border with the help of Joey the cigar smuggler and bike into NYC to find their uncle the drug dealer (yes and no) with the help of cigar Joey, a street hustler and their new best friend and famed rapper-of-the-moment, Ice. Far-fetched in spades (though no more than say, Hun More...
Nov 02, 2010
Yellowoasis
rated it:
The book starts with a bang, introducing the offbeat heroine of ‘the Rat’ in a way that is fresh and quirky. But as the two children continued their journey to New York I found the quaintness a bit wearing. The characters they meet are all lovable rogues and somewhat two dimensional. The ending too is disappointing and unresolved. Interestingly this book was in the junior section of our public library. I’m against ‘censorship’ by any means, but I believe this would appeal more to a teenage audie
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Aug 07, 2011
This is actually a childrens title but just as suitable for adults (as many books are). I am not sure their adventure could be described as 'funny' as the back cover describes but certainly poignant amd gripping (you really do want them to succeed in finding their father etc); there are little comic moments but they are actually quite touching too
Aug 15, 2011
Lucy
rated it:
i thought this book was AMAZING!!! and i didn't expect the ending. but it is truly magical the way it's written. Gregory Hughes brings the charaters to life, especially the Rat. at the beginning i didn't know how they were going to just get to NYC but it just flowed right the way through. Plus I made my mum read it to. she loved it like i did.
Jan 10, 2011
Rachael (Piper)
rated it:
Winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2010, and I can see why.
Basically this book is about Bob and his sister Marie Claire. Marie Claire is an amazing character, she's very unique, has visions of the future, speaks loads of languages and knows everyone in their village in Canada and loves drinking a mocha coffee.
But after their Dad dies Marie Claire (or the Rat as she's known!) convinces Bob to travel to New York to find their only living relative there, their drug dealer More...
Basically this book is about Bob and his sister Marie Claire. Marie Claire is an amazing character, she's very unique, has visions of the future, speaks loads of languages and knows everyone in their village in Canada and loves drinking a mocha coffee.
But after their Dad dies Marie Claire (or the Rat as she's known!) convinces Bob to travel to New York to find their only living relative there, their drug dealer More...
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Mar 12, 2011
Clare
rated it: 
A children's novel where the main character's fear is pantomime paedophiles? I found this book unengaging, unconvincing and often quite distasteful. Yet it has already won awards and several nominations. Have I somehow missed the point?
Dec 20, 2011
I heard this book has one of the most lovable rat characters ever written and was also nominated for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.
Dec 02, 2010
Mary
rated it:
Whimsical and beautifully written story about the journey of two children from Winnipeg to New York. 10 year old the Rat is a wonderful character.
Feb 12, 2011
Kat
rated it:
Deceptively accessible and despite many of the themes - death and abuse being two of the tougher ones - unexpectedly lovely.
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