Pete Hautman

Hey guys! I had the great opportunity this week to meet author Pete Hautman. He spoke at my school and even read a exert of his newest book Blank confessions which comes out this November! He also read parts of rash and how to steal a car which both sounded really good!
Hautman gave us the inside scoop of how he came up with the books Rash, How To Steal A Car, and Godless

 With Rash Hautman was thinking about all the safety precautions that have changed in the past 50 years. (seat belts, car seats, bike helmets, etc.) Rash takes place in the year 2070 and people got to jail for anything that could even remotely hurt another person. (example. drop an apple core on the road? well some one just slipped and hit their head. oops. welcome to prison, you ungrateful apple dropping litterer.) Hautman said that he was going to change the year and call it 2084 like Gorge Orwell's 1984, but then later thought that Rash would be a better title.





When Hautman was thinking of a new book to write, and one girl suggested something useful and interesting, like how to steal a car. Obviously Hautman cant write a manual on stealing cars. but he did start to think of how that type of book would work. In how to steal a car 15 year old Kelleigh acts out by stealing cars. I'm really interested about this one, even though it was really hard to find a good description, check it out and tell me what you think.

The third book Hautman talked about was Godless. This one is the most well known I think, because I seem to see it everywhere. I loved the story behind this book because this is based on a true story. Pete and his friends decided that they were fed up with their religion, and all the responsibilities that come with it. (church every week, memorizing scripture, etc.) So they decided to make their own religion where they worship the water tower. ( They were sitting under a water tower when they made this up.) They also have simple rules like bathe in the holly water each day (take a shower) and bow in the direction of the water tower. (this was taken from Muslims who bow in the directions of Mecca 5 times each day.)

They tried to recruit more people, but most thought they were crazy, and then summer came along with the new skate board, and Pete and his friends forgot all about it. Godless sounds really interesting. I haven't read it but from what I understand this religion doesn't die down, it grows, and really shows the true power religion can have over people.

Other books by Hautman-

I feel so bad I haven't read one of his books yet! I put Invisible, How to steal a car, and Rash on my to read list.  Leave a comment on what your favorite book by him is. I'll read and review it.

xo, Dana