not for the faint of heart- or stomach. A bit of a downer but certainly different ( )

Dark, disgusting, disturbing. There were a few choice passages that almost had me gagging from the wretchedness of it all. If you're the kind of person who watches The Killing or likes zombie books, this might be for you. Otherwise, not recommended--especially for people who eat while they read.

I have to say, the audiobook (winner of the 2012 Odyssey Award) was so exquisitely done. I'd probably give the book itself two stars, but the audio performance bumps it up to three. Kirby Heyborne, the narrator, gave each character his own voice, from the low grumble of Joey's father Harnett, to the insane shrieking of Boggs. His voices for Reverend Knox and Lionel were distinct and old and magical.

Still, a completely deranged book. ( )

The writing was good, so could have given it a few more stars- but... It was so gross!!! I didn't understand joeys decision to start grave robbing and then it just got crazy from there. So disturbing. ( )

Like a couple of other reviewers, I'm conflicted over this book.

The story is good enough, the writing is excellent and often brilliant.

But there's things at its core that I could quite move myself to fully invest in. Some it was the issues that others mentioned. Joey's ability to predict his mother's death. Knox's insanely old age. Baby's seeming invincibility. The sheer fact that one man with one shovel can dig up 30 graves in a single night. The bizarre side trip to Scotland and how, even though they're off the grid, they're found by a complete stranger with no real motivation to do so. But you know what? I can even live with some of those inconsistencies. I don't like them, but I can set them aside.

I think it was the characters that bothered me. Again, I didn't hate them, but I didn't love any of them either. Joey seems to do things out of character. He's meek and mild and puts up with shit one day, and the avenging angel the next. His father just drove me nuts. I couldn't accept his treatment of Joey, no matter what's going on in his head. And the fact that Joey's going to school each day in clothes from rotting corpses? Come on. And why in god's name would Joey's mother, by all accounts a sane and intelligent woman, send her son to live with a freakshow like Harnett?

Don't even get me started on the teen characters. Woody is a one-dimensional asshole. As is his girlfriend. Foley's sudden outing of himself felt like it was stuck on to give the book a gay character. And Boris...what the hell was with him? He's Joey's best friend, then takes a bite from the same asshole sandwich as Woody as soon as Joey's out of the picture.

The grave robbing was neither here nor there for me. I must say, full props for Kraus for building an excellent mythology around the Diggers and making that come alive. To be honest, for me, these were the best parts of the book. ( )

I can’t say that I really liked Rotters by Daniel Kraus, but once I was pulled into the main character’s head, I was locked in for the duration. This is a nasty, grim and dark story about a sixteen year old boy, Joey Crouch, who loses his single parent Mom in an accident and is shipped off to live with his unknown father. His father is so damaged that he barely seems human. Joey eventually discovers that his father robs graves for a living and it isn’t too long before Joey has joined him in this gruesome night-time occupation.

During the day, Joey attends his new high school. He becomes the one boy who is picked on by students and staff alike, with special attention coming from the school hero (and bully) who resents the attention his girlfriend gives to Joey. Nicknamed “Crotch” his school days are days of living hell, his nights are even worse.

Joey has a keen sense of observation and the author doesn’t hesitate to use this to supply graphic descriptions on the condition of the dead during the process of applying their macabre trade. Although the writing is stylistic, atmospheric and descriptive, there were times when I struggled with the story as it seemed to drag. It took a lot of reading before the plot advanced. There was an abundance of information about grave robbing, it’s history and purpose as well as our society’s burial rites. Nevertheless, Rotters is a very creative and original story and if you are in the mood for something creepy and disturbing this book could well fit the bill. ( )