Rash by Pete Hautman

I really should read more Science Fiction because I seem to enjoy it so much. This book helps confirms this notion. Set in the U.S.S.A (not a typo) around 2075, Americans have given up freedom for safety. Children are not allowed to do anything that could possibly injure them without wearing protective gear such as helmets and padding. Things like bee-stings are worthy of a ride in an ambulance and saying mean things to another person could land you in detention center whose working environment could be called slavery. Football has been outlawed for 30 years because of it's potential for harm. Yet Bo, the hero of this story, finds himself playing an illegal game of football without any rules or referees.

I found this tale to have an intriguing and inventive storyline. Just the mention of this book to one of our school's football players generated interest and a "I want to read that book next" from him. Since I am always on the hunt for books that would interest teen boys, I am glad that I read this one so I have more material for recommendations. I also will explore other titles by Hautman.

I met Pete Hautman last year at the Washington Library Media Association's conference in October and I apologize to him (if he ever reads my blog) that it took me a whole year to finally read one of his books. I visited Hautman's webpage to see what he had to say about Rash and I was really intrigued by this quote: "Coming up with book titles can be difficult, but this one was easy—I knew what I wanted to call it from the outset. But then, as soon as I saw the first copy of the book, I wished I had titled it '2084.'" The whole senior class at my school was required to read 1984 this summer and now I find another connection to that book.

YA Fiction; 4 out of 5 stars.