Rodeo Snow

by Pat Rhoades

The only thing not ordinary about fifteen year old Eugene Gene Snow is his nerd name,he's named after a peacenik politician his pathetically earnest parents admired. When some street skaters nickname him Rodeo, he's happy to take on that new, totally cool identity. If only he could win the citywide street skate competition, everyone would see him as who he was born to be: Rodeo Snow, street skater. As Gene tries to nail the skate competition and get the girl who happens to be his main competitor, he discovers that winning is something other than what he thought and maybe he's less ordinary than he ever imagined.

Genres: Young Adult

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2014

About the author

Pat Rhoades is a clinical social worker who lives with her husband in Minneapolis near the mighty Mississippi. Rodeo Snow is her first novel.

Reviews

[Sarah Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rodeo Snow is seriously cool. Gene Snow is a Minneapolis teenager who just wants to skate, win the next street competition, and get the attention of Corinne - a fellow skater. But with the school year barely underway, he's already in a heap of trouble with a homeless vet, a tough old nun at the church where he skates, and soon his parents and friends, too. Meeting Senator Paul Wellstone makes Gene think more deeply about his own integrity and making good choices, but the challenges keep coming - for Gene and for his whole community. Set in the Twin Cities during the post 9/11 build-up to war in Iraq and Wellstone's last bid for the Senate, Rodeo Snow is a growing up story with so much more - history, humor, heart, and important questions about how we live together in complicated times.

[LitPick Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rodeo Snow is a relatable and well-written book. Eugene Snow is a normal teenager who wants two things: to get his driver's license and to win the skating competition. The latter of which he feels pretty confident about because of his $300 skates. While pursuing these goals, he meets a girl, Corinne, and adds winning her heart to his list of priorities. Eugene has never loved his name. His parents named him after some peacenik presidential candidate from a few years back. So, when some skaters he meets downtown give him the nickname "Rodeo Snow" he accepts it immediately. Just when everything seems to be going great, Snow's priorities get turned upside down. When things don't go his way, will he fall apart, or will he stand strong and continue to try? Find out in Pat Rhoades' book Rodeo Snow.

Rodeo Snow is an easy to read, relatable story. The heart of the story focuses on the true meaning of winning and what should be important to us. These core values are easily overlooked though surrounded by multiple strong political views dropped into the story. While being overall a great story, the political views drown the ideals presented in the story. I would love to see more of Pat Rhoades' books on my shelves in the future.

**Rodeo Snow mentions teen drinking but also points out the bad consequences of drinking too much. It also includes a few references to gay/lesbian movements, which were not necessary and may not be suitable for some readers.

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book through Goodreads First Reads last year-- I wrote this review around when I read the book but never really got around to actually posting it…
To be honest, if I saw this book at the library, I probably wouldn't have checked it out, and largely because of the focus on politics. And yes, it was a bit heavy for my taste, but it actually didn’t grate as much as I thought it would. Gene overall was really genuine and funny, but his political ideas felt indoctrinated by his parents and not like they’re really his own, which I suppose is actually pretty representative of most high school sophomores. The book glorifies Wellstone and the Democrats a lot, and it feels at times like the author pushing her own ideas onto the characters, but I do like how Gene kind of unintentionally grows into politics. On that note, the end of the book was in general a lot better than the beginning. There were a lot of little nit-picky things at the beginning that got me— overly convenient plot, awkward writing, the contrived political rivalry with Derrick Martin, and Gene thinking that Barrington=Chicago made me really mad, because I live near there and it's really not, though I really like how it cleared up at the end—but I really did like how everything wrapped up at the end, especially all the Gene/Rodeo naming stuff. Overall, it was a quick, enjoyable read—3.5 stars.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a coming-of-age novel about a 15-16 year old street skater. The book is set in a very definite time and place - Minnesota post-9/11. Paul Wellstone is running for reelection. It makes for a really great, interesting backdrop to the story. The book makes great use of this setting - it feels like it couldn't happen anywhere else. Very authentic. But at the same time, the themes the book explores are universal - getting older, outgrowing childhood, gaining independence, struggling with right and wrong.
One reviewer thought that the politics distracted from the story. I didn't really get that. Again, set in this time and place, everything was very charged. It seems to me that anyone living in Minnesota at the time would have been touched by the life and death of Paul Wellstone. I think Rhoades did a great job of capturing that without getting sidelined by party politics.
Overall, great book!