The Christmas Rat

by Avi

The Christmas Rat by Avi [Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002] Paperback [...

Genres: Middle Grade, Christmas, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Holiday, Realistic Fiction

133 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Avi is a pen name for Edward Irving Wortis, but he says, "The fact is, Avi is the only name I use." Born in 1937, Avi has created many fictional favorites such as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Nothing but the Truth, and the Crispin series. His work is popular among readers young and old.

Reviews

[Donna Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book got tedious at times, so three stars.
However, I really liked the way the author used the concepts of angels from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He does a nice job of explaining it at the end.

[Robin Reynolds · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange little book.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are better books by this author.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, the beginning of the book got tedious at times, but I still found it a super enjoyable read! Anjela "Anje" Gabrail was a little strange, and let me tell you I was FLABBERGASTED when he shot Eric in the left leg with his crossbow towards the end of the book--even if Eric, on Christmas morning, thought it was actually "No big deal." But, I forgive this unhinged exterminator when he spares the Christmas rat and surprises Eric with it, alive, in his stocking on Christmas morning (with the small white flashlight, of course).

Strange little book, but I won't take much criticism on it.

[Darlene Messenger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate rats!! Truly and absolutely hate rats! If the reader thinks this is a sweet holiday tale you will be greatly disappointed. An exterminator is to come around a week before Christmas. He has the keys to every apartment in your building. His job is to kill vermin. Eric is eleven and bored during school vacation. Left on his own to let this exterminator in, this chance meeting may have dire consequences for him. I don’t know quite how to classify this book. Horror? Adventure? Creepy as heck!! Not a fan but four stars for writing it with such imagination.

[Monica Hocking · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an "just okay book" it was hard to follow and didn't really understand it or the point of whole story.

[Jamie]

WTF did I just read?

[Chazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Christmas vacation and should be a great time of no school and a great holiday just days off, right? Not the way it seems to Eric. Seems his friends are either out of town with their families or stuck home sick. No one to hang out with. And to top it off he has to stay around and wait for the exterminator to come check out the apartment while his parents are at work.

Things get strange after the exterminator shows up. The guy's business card says
Anjela Gabrail
Exterminator
225-5463
24-Hr Cell Phone
He is a big guy with shoulder long white-blonde hair and wild mustache, wearing black leather and combat boots and sporting a skull-and-wings logo on his black cap. He really likes his job...scary likes it and takes it very serious. This becomes apparent when Eric discoveres a rat in the basement and lets Anje know. Anje recruits Eric to help kill the rat, but after a bit Eric decides he doesn't want to kill the rat but rather keep it alive till the cold weather lets up and the rat can go back outside.

This may be a story written for kids, but there is a lot to take away for adults. I found myself thinking about the story and meanings that could be found in the plot.

Avi puts a lot into his books for all ages.

[Liesl · Rating 2 out of 5]

An odd book that doesn't add up to much of anything. I liked the story as it was unfolding, but didn't understand the point of it all at the end other than for Eric to learn that not all adults are to be trusted and that other options exist to deal with his problem. Avi's note at the end about the Angel Gabriel failed to clear anything up, and I don't understand the code that is supposed to be hidden within Anje's phone number. At least this was a short read.

[Jake Kemp · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really liked this book. it was one of the best books i have ever read. i would recommend this book to people who like to read storys that have to do with a time around christmas. my favorite part of tbis book is when the boys goes to the store to buy a toy for him.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this 4 because in the begging, the story was sort of whatever, it does not really matter. But you find out it has something to do with the end. The ending was pretty good because you have the feeling you MUST keep reading.

[Laura Gilmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rats are cool

[Laura Bone · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

As an official Rat Fanatic, it is a requirement that I read any fiction (and the occasional nonfiction) book about rats that I come across. Failure to do so could lead to a revocation of my title.

Therefore, I had to read The Christmas Rat. Also, I liked Avi's other book Poppy, about a brave mouse and thought this might be similar. It was not. But, it was still interesting in it's own way.

As others have said, it is a bit of a strange story, but...I kind of liked it? It had a level of creepiness and tension that slowly built and worked well. Also, there was a depth to the novel that I wasnt expecting in a children's book. A good discussion could be lead on the themes found in the book (especially the ones about religion, unthinking aquisence to violence, and empathy) and I bet each person would have their unique interpretation.

I would probably not reccomend this book to very many people, but overall I did enjoy it (however, I could be rather biased, per my Rat Fanatic status).

[Allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book, thinking it would help get me in the holiday spirit; however, it stirred no such good will. I rated this book one star because the story line was bizarre at best, and the "reasoning" the author gave as to the character's name origin was off-mark. The angel Gabriel brought good news at Christmas; he was not killing children or animals. The protagonist's actions became less and less believable, and the parents' dialogue and actions did not seem believable either. This reads as a weird dream that someone had, and then added on to it to make a story.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Christmas Rat was an interesting, short read. I go sucked into the story when things start getting more suspenseful. I'm glad the rat didn't die. I thought it would die in the end by how the story was going. For some strange reason it reminded me of the movie CLICK. (By Adam Sandler). Maybe it's because of the exterminator as an angel like the guy in the CLICK movie. They both are revealed to be mysterious figures nobody except the main character knows about and having a kind of creepy persona about them. Either way, I thought it was a nice, quick hour long read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was weird, but I liked it. I read it because I like rats, and I was not disappointed. The main character is stuck in his apartment building during Christmas, and makes the acquaintance of a creepy exterminator who talks him into helping him kill the rat in the basement. The main character begins to like the rat and the story unfolds. There is a link to the angel Gabriel of Biblical fame and you have a short weird story that worked for me.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun to read, we read it aloud as a family leading up to Christmas. We were interested and kept going, but the ending left us a bit… empty. The character transformation wasn’t really clear and it ends up with a really creepy adult who was after a kid and the kid doesn’t tell any trusted adults. It led to good conversation and the components to a good story are there but they just don’t tie it together at the end.

[Shanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eric can't figure out how to entertain himself and whines about being bored during Winter Break. He inexplicably decides to help the creepy exterminator, and wander around a dark basement for no apparent reason. Then the story goes from bad to worse. The only thing I liked about this story is that the rat lives in the end.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 2 out of 5]

A discussion that would arise from this book for readers where I live is rural vs city. Many of the kids where I live would find many components of this book not relatable.
It was hard to follow at times and unremarkable. Avi’s hidden messages like the phone number, etc... were a bit much and kind of weird.

[K Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to get to the end and then i was totally confused. I think the "lesson" was don't commit to something terrible just because you are bored. But i got the message-creepy guys are freaky-and you never know when one will show up and deceive you. Talk to trusted adults when things are creepy.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric saves the rat from the exterminator who says rats are bad because it's Christmastime. And he does.

[Connor Lefevre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because it had so much detail and it was very entertaining. Also the book had so many sarcastic parts from the author.

[Bloss ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the worst book I ever read in elementary school. I wrote a pretty scathing book report for it in fourth grade.

[Landyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great it had alot of suspence of what was to come. It was also very scary.

[Tracy · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a creepy little Christmas book. I doubt I would've ever let my kids read this, with that stalker-ish exterminator. He's supposed to represent Angel Gabriel?

[Debora Sokolski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

It was written with a sense of humor and from a boy’s point of view. It was a fun read and not too long.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story, though it is a little on the weird side.

[Sticky Note Book Recs Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was such a weird book!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Mary Tuttle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. I can see how it might engage middle-school readers. But it seems to take a page straight out of R. L. Stine.