In the first chapter of Rats Saw God, Steve is high. Asked by the guidance counselor if he resents his father, Steve replies, "I don't anything him." By the last chapter, Steve has arrived at his new college home in Washington (where his father was raised).

He calls his dad to tell him he has arrived "safe and sound." He also stops in his father's hometown to pay tribute to his dad, whom he has disrespected most of his teen years. Steve's coming-of-age through his teen years is the guts and the glory of Rats Saw God. The unique structure of the book, however, allows readers to watch Steve's character develop in opposite directions. In Houston he starts off "good" then is betrayed and starts his fall; when he arrives in San Diego, he is "at bottom" but starts putting his life back together. In each...