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Ratburger
331 pages
A delightfully grotesque and cheeky underdog story where the adults are awful, the humor is delightfully gross, and the heart shines through the grime.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a delightfully grotesque carnival where the adults are monstrously absurd and the underdog is armed with nothing but resilience and a very unusual pet. The narrative moves at a brisk, chaotic clip, propelled by cheeky, irreverent humor that leans gleefully into gross-out territory. It captures the specific childhood frustration of dealing with unfair, ridiculous authority figures, channeling a distinctly Dahl-esque energy. Beneath the layers of grime, flob, and darkly comedic peril, there is a surprisingly tender core about finding friendship in the most unlikely of places. It is a wildly entertaining, laugh-out-loud experience designed to delight young readers who love a bit of naughtiness and cheer loudest when the terrible grown-ups finally get their spectacular comeuppance.
- Mood
- zany
- chaotic
- gross-out
- heartwarming
- Tone
- irreverent
- cheeky
- darkly comedic
- exaggerated
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- overcoming adversity · absurdity of adults · unlikely friendships · resilience against bullying
- The writing
- Conversational and highly exaggerated, leaning heavily into sensory, gross-out descriptions and playful direct addresses to the reader.
- The arc
- Moves from miserable isolation under the thumb of grotesque adults to a chaotic, triumphant rebellion fueled by an unlikely friendship.
- Who it's for
- Middle-grade readers who delight in slightly naughty, Roald Dahl-esque humor and love seeing terrible adults get their comeuppance.
Content notes
- bullying
- gross-out humor
- animal peril
- child neglect
About the book
"Meet Zoe. She's got a lot of things to be unhappy about.... Her Stepmother is so lazy she asks Zoe to pick her nose for her. And the school bully loves flobbing on her head. Worst of all, the dastardly Burt has terrible plans for her pet rat. I can't tell you what those plans are, but there's a clue in the title of this book.........."
Description from Open Library.
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