Satellite Down

by Rob Thomas

Patrick Sheridan is experiencing technical difficulties... Patrick's thrilled to become a student reporter on a teen news show. But when he leaves his small Texas town for the bright lights of Los Angeles, everything changes. It doesn't take long before Patrick is mingling with the rich and famous and doing all kinds of things he never thought he would -- like cheating on his girlfriend, lying to his parents, and losing his best friend. And by the time he learns that it was his handsome face and not his writing that landed him his new job, he's left to pick up the pieces alone. Hollywood is already full of beautiful people with no talent; how can he prove that he's more? He'll have to start by convincing himself.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Robert James "Rob" Thomas is an American author, producer, and screenwriter, best known as the author of the 1996 novel Rats Saw God, creator of the critically acclaimed television series Veronica Mars and co-creator of 90210 and Party Down.

Reviews

[Rhiannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was really solid most of the way through - a story about a high school kid with a dream to become a hard-hitting journalist, who has his dreams crushed and his self-image distorted when confronted with reality. And all written in the great style of Rob Thomas, the creator of Veronica Mars.

I really enjoyed most of it - I liked the main character for some reason, even though he behaved like a selfish ass for most of the book. Also, I'm among the ideal target audience now, as the cultural references are pretty dated, but they are dated from the period when I was in high school, so it worked for me.

However, the book kind of loses direction really badly. It's like Rob Thomas wanted to write two books - one with the plot summary I gave above, and one about an American kid's adventures in Ireland, and he just decided to slap them together. Really sloppily. And I don't mind the fact that it has an ambiguous ending; in fact I'm all for a book in which the cocky teenager learns that he's not quite as smart as he thinks he is, and that the world kind of sucks sometimes. But if we could have come to that conclusion without the weirdly condensed separate novel that is the last 50 pages, that would have been great.

[Izabela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have attempted to read this book about five times. The beginning of the book feels very corny and like a nerdy teenage boy’s dream, so it is difficult to take seriously. I also struggled with the overly saturated depiction of women in this book, because it was often very objectifying. The sexuality, in the same vein, was also a hard read.

However, the middle of the story was great. This is where the main character acknowledges and begins to deal with all the issues surrounding him, and it was a very earnest and emotional depiction that I really appreciated.

With the ending, I found it hard to understand the messages. It felt that there was a lot of emotional symbolism that was difficult for me to understand and appreciate deeply enough.

Overall it was a great story — not a book you would think to pick up in the store, but one that is actually very raw and earnest given the plot it’s working with.

[Bryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm conflicted about this book. It's definitely raw and unplugged - Thomas holds nothing back. I wasn't bothered by the L.A. debauchery, but the upheaval in the main character's family did get a little unreal and somewhat soap opera-ish. I think what I'm most hung up about was how the story ended, and if it did really end. This whole book was the downward spiral of a fairly moral and pretty bright aspiring young journalist into cerebral numbness and moral ambiguity. It's rare to read a book where a fairly vibrant character downgrades to flat by the end, but that's what I felt like I was experiencing with Patrick as he lost himself. And since I didn't really feel like Patrick ever got back to some kind of center at the end, it was either a brilliantly realistic ending or a little bit unsatisfying or both.

I also am wondering how much Thomas' experiences at Channel One influenced Classroom Direct in the book. It seemed like a pretty pointed statement was being made there, but I'm not sure if Rob Thomas worked at Channel One before he wrote this book or if he worked there after this came out. Obviously, even if I didn't exactly like this book, it has really stuck in my head and given me some thoughts to chew on. Hence, four stars. But I would definitely say this is not a story I would recommend to just anyone.

[Sunil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satellite Down has a lot of potential, what with the parental conflicts and the exotic Hollywood setting. And Patrick is an interesting main character, in that he's a good stand-in for the audience as he discovers the ins and outs of Hollywood and Classroom Direct, the news show he gets to work on. For over two hundred pages, I was hooked on Patrick's journey, what he learns about the industry and how it works, and what he learns about himself and who he wants to be. Does he want to be defined by people's perceptions of him? I mean, for two hundred pages, it was giving Slave Day a run for its money in the Best Rob Thomas Novel competition.

And then in the last eighty pages it turns into a completely different book. All the narrative threads in play, all the burgeoning character development...it comes to a grinding halt, and Rob starts up on this new shit that hasn't exactly grown organically from the previous pages, and it's not that it's bad, it's that it belongs in another goddamn book. It's like the last third of Adaptation, the way the narrative falls apart. And it could have been so much better. Dammit.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Rats Saw God, it's primary settings are Texas and California. My girlfriend says that a lot of male YA books seem to have a bit of teenage boy fantasy to them. "I couldn't really hook up with girls in high school, so I'll write about a guy who does"- that kind of thing. There is a little of that in this, and it's pretty unrealistic. The protagonist changes a lot, the book's alternate title could be "How LA Turned Me Into an Asshole." The last quarter or so of it takes place in Ireland. Thomas spent a lot of time researching there, it probably should have been a larger part of the book. However, when I finished the book, I found myself wanting more. That is no small feat.

[Sean Kottke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realistic fiction, about the trials and tribulations of a small-town Texas teen who moves to Los Angeles to be an anchor on Classroom Direct, a nationally distributed news program for teens broadcast in schools (sort of like Channel One). Except for a third-act plot twist, this is my favorite of Thomas' novels after Rats Saw God).

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one, I must say, felt like it was not quite as good as the others. The entire premise is seeing how the entertainment industry relies and works solely on how a person looks, and how a 'genuine' guy from Texas slowly realizes this. It was a bit of a stretch at the end, as well.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

my experience at Channel One summed up in a book

[Angela Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting coming-of-age story about how one Texas teen goes from sheltered innocence to self-awareness to cynicism.

[Salli S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I choose this book because I was skimming through it and it was actually very interesting to me, I usually don't really care about books that are about wanna be journalist but the story was very interesting since It was about a teen moving from a small town in Texas to Los Angeles to become a reporter because of a big opportunity he got. The characters from his home town stayed the same, they were more realistic and more heart warming even when they found out what the main character turned out to be. The main character had horrible development once he moved to LA, he gained a horrible attitude and behavior like the other kids he hung out with, which was actually not expected because he seemed like a very good kid. He cheated on his girlfriend and just tuned to the opposite of how he was when the book started. The plot was very interesting since out of no where the character moves to Ireland and the whole last part of the book didn't really make that much sense it just felt like three books combined in one but was still interesting and I still wanted to read more. My favorite part of the book was in the beginning when he did a report about his schools band teacher and how he was taking the band funds from the students making them have to pay extra for their extracurricular activities where as the other extracurricular such as orchestra and all the other sports had enough money to pay for all their activities. He exposed the teacher taking all the money and the teacher got fired. My least favorite was when he cheated on his girlfriend and lost his childhood best friend over his new found "persona"and thinking he is better than his old life even though it had more value. To be honest I would only recommend this book to some one who wants a quick cliche type read since this book is the trope where a kid moves to California and they turn into a whole new person and his whole life falls apart and looses people close to him but it was interesting and I wished it had better closure in the end.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

My full review can be found on the Epilie Aspie Chick blog!

However, like every good moral story... Patrick lasts about 15 seconds in LA before he starts compromising his ethics and beliefs in order to fit in and blend with the others around him. It doesn't take very long before he's in strip clubs, drinking, doing drugs, sleeping with girls, lying, skipping church, and cheating on his girlfriend. When he used to cling closely to the religious beliefs of his parents, he now is living a life where he's completely rejected them. Too bad his naughty behavior catches up to him and ends up getting in the way of his Classroom Direct gig, ends up in the hands of his parents, and with his girlfriend seeing him cheating.

Rob has this amazing ability to write a character with such flair that you want to connect with and understand. Patrick's fall is one with spectacular penache and its interesting to see just what secrets he ends up finding along the way. Considering he's been told that he only gets what he wants due to his looks, maybe he is doing this to fight that view from others. Maybe he's trying to convince himself. Either way, its hard to understand his reasons behind what he does and as much as I hate to say this, he's no Veronica Mars (really, when is book 3?!?!).

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

eponymous sentence:
p181: "They kept saying not to worry--that the satellite was down."

construction:
p14: More teenagers than watch the Super Bowl.

typo:
p59: "You ever call me ma'm again, and it'll be the last time we work together."

Dysfunctional is going to be an understatement.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Patrick Sheridan is a 17 year old senior who lives in the rural Texas town of Doggett. His deepest dream is to become a journalist for a print newspaper, though his father would prefer that he become something far more practical, like a lawyer or a doctor. When his school starts getting a news broadcast, Classroom Direct, which is made with teens in mind he is given an amazing opportunity. They are looking for student broadcasters to join them for the end of their senior year in Los Angeles.

Months go by and Patrick has all but forgotten about his application. When he returns one night from necking his girlfriend of 2 years, Kate, his father tells him of a phone call from Los Angeles from a Libby of Classroom Direct. They watched his audition tape, and they want him to be a student broadcaster for the rest of the year with the possibility of staying on as a permanent anchor is he does well! His parents, both very strict parents who are devour Roman Catholics are somewhat reluctant (his mother more than his father) finally relent and let him go.

When Patrick arrives in L.A. he is still a sheltered, kind and respectful young man. He believes in his dreams, that this opportunity can get him there. When he arrives at his apartment building he gets lost and stumbles upon the teen star, Robin Ferris. When he asks how he “gets out of here?” she tells him to “let his ratings go to hell” which I feel says it all (though she does give him directions on how to get out of the apartment complex).

At the studio the next day he “helps” pick out the other student broadcaster who is to be his partner. It is not the student he would have chosen. There is a young woman with a wonderful recommendations, amazing written article, but she is overweight. The studio head, Prentiss Scott, cares more about image and about winning the “diversity lottery” so goes with a black young woman from inner-city D.C. with horrifying grammar but a good voice named Shayla Roberts.

Now, Patrick is adopted and has darker skin than his Irish parents. His hair is dark and curly and since his acne cleared up due to medication, he is startlingly handsome. When he arrives in L.A. he is taken shopping and the outfits purchased for him are stereotypical things such as ostrich boots, ten-gallon hats, cowboy shirts with rhinestone buttons, vests with fringe, and belts with big shiny buckles. It’s then that Patrick begins to realize that he is a prop to win the hearts and minds of rural teens who live down south (and perhaps in the Midwest). Shayla, on the other hand is glaring stereotype being from the inner city of D.C., in a low socioeconomic class, poor education, and has a mostly absent mother leaving her and her sister as the chief caregivers of two younger siblings. Since the book is written from Patrick’s perspective we are aware that he knows he is a prop and see him both go along with it and fight it. While there are some comments that make me feel that Shayla is also aware that she is only there for the “diversity lottery” (and doesn’t care because money is money) I think that this book would be better served if Thomas had written in a conversation between them where they talk about how they are props so that readers are aware that’s what is happening and also how both characters feel about it. If Shayla had actually been a fleshed-out character I think a lot could have been done and said about L.A. (which it seemed was the point of the book).

I did enjoy the overall idea of what L.A. does to young/child stars in terms of the early access to total independence, drugs, alcohol, clubs and other places where they should not be, sex, attention etc. and the difficulty of dealing with all of those things when you don’t have the guidance of your parents. Patrick also has contact with his birth mother which creates some tension in the story, though it plays less of a part than one would have thought given the revelation.

In reading the summary on the back I had thought that the L.A. bit would have been a short bit where Patrick’s life spirals out of control and then the existential experience in Ireland would take up the majority of the book. Makes sense to me as I felt like getting grounded and figuring out who he is and what he wants in life would not be a quick experience. While he is in Ireland for a month or so it takes up approx. 50 pages of the 266 pages book. This part felt tacked on. Thomas mentions in his ‘thanks’ before the prologue that he spent time in Ireland researching for this book. It seemed as though he needed to use this information because he told people he was writing a book that took place in Ireland and felt like he could just throw it together.

I think that Thomas was making some important points about Hollywood and what it does for both the children and adults that enter its clutches. It’s too bad there wasn’t more diversity and Thomas didn’t do more with the characters, Patrick included. Even at the end Patrick seemed jaded and broken but perhaps that was the point?

[Brendan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually didn’t mind this book. I mean to be fair I’m going through some books I found at the dollar store…

BUT the I just think the summary given on the back and online is misleading.

It says this good looking kid essentially finds that all his opportunities in life are related to his looks and such, and that when he goes to Ireland in the last 50 pages THATS when his life crumble around him… when it really doesn’t

He comes to that realization early… and it actually seems like he going to live a better and healthier life in Ireland before it abruptly just ends and sends him back to Texas with him being a shell of his formal self.

Overall I didn’t hate it… but wasn’t in love with it

[Alicia]

Reviewing the re-release for professional magazine- see review there.