It's the week before Christmas, and Eric is already bored with his vacation. His parents have to work, his friends are out of town, and the city is snowed under. Then he opens his apartment door for an exterminator, and is dragged into the adventure of his life. Anje Gabrail carries a crossbow and lives for his work. When he discovers a rat in the basement of Eric's apartment building, he asks the boy to help him kill it. At first Eric agrees, after all, he doesn't have anything better to do. But as the week progresses, Eric finds himself in a fight to save not only the rat but himself as well. Avi delivers an unusual story full of the magic of Christmas. Narrator Jeff Woodman's stirring rendition perfectly captures both Eric's confusion and his growing sense of purpose as he confronts an angel in a most unlikely form.
Download and start listening now!
"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."
— Jake (5 out of 5 stars)
" Avi books are sometimes strange. This is one of them. It kept me reading but a very strange Christmas tale. "
— Michele, 1/14/2014" Not my favorite Avi novel - a bit of a creepy story about a boy and an exterminator's quest to find a rat in the basement of an apartment building. "
— Barb, 1/14/2014" Quirky! I think the only reason I sort of liked it is that it took me by surprise. I was expecting a warm little Christmas story. "
— Bev, 1/12/2014" I raed this book about three years ago and it made absolutely no sense. I'll have to read it again. "
— Sara, 12/14/2013" Creepy but good. Boys from 4th grade and up would enjoy this. Remember the movie, Cable Guy?? "
— Nancy, 12/11/2013" a boy finds himself fighting to save the life of a rat in his apartment complex during Christmas vacation. "
— Roxanne, 11/27/2013" A rat creates disaster for a teen when an overzealous extermniator becomes involved and the teen becomes scared. "
— 'Chele, 11/27/2013" A quirky story, set during the days before Christmas. It was a fun, quick read, and slightly unpredictable. "
— Sue, 11/7/2013" The story of a boy who decides to try to save a rat from an exterminator. Some of the people who listened to the story with me found the ending confusing. I thought it could have been handled a little more fluidly, but I liked the tale overall. "
— Jay, 10/8/2013" I think this book was ok.This book was boring in the begining but as i read it, it turned out to be a scary and weird book, but that is only my appinon. "
— Miranda, 9/24/2013" Different... Did see that coming "
— Janelle, 6/23/2013" very interesting! Lots of hidden meaning which he explains at the end. "
— Gina, 5/18/2013" I loved this book. I read it every year and each year I find something I missed. It is a different kind of Christmas story, but that's what I liked the most about it. The phone number is a code. "
— Jessica, 4/28/2013" Not one of Avi's best books. "
— Ragan, 4/19/2013" Couldn't really say I liked it. It was morbid. "
— Maia, 3/15/2013" A rather strange little Christmas story. The ending could have been better. "
— Craig, 3/5/2013" THE rat save a lille boy "
— Tresha, 2/12/2013Avi is the author of more than fifty books for children and young adults, including the 2003 Newbery Medal winner Crispin: The Cross of Lead. Along with his two Newbery Honors, he has won many other awards for his fiction. He lives with his family in Denver.
Jeff Woodman is an actor and narrator. He is a winner of the prestigious Audie Award and a six-time finalist. He has received twenty Earphones Awards and was named the 2008 Best Voice in Fiction & Classics, as well as one of the Fifty Greatest Voices of the Century by AudioFile magazine. As an actor, he originated the title role in Tennessee Williams’ The Notebook of Trigorin and won the S. F. Critics’ Circle Award for his performance in An Ideal Husband. In addition to numerous theater credits on and off Broadway, his television work includes Sex and the City, Law & Order, and Cosby.