Satellite Down

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

When a 17-year-old from Texas lands a job as news reporter on a cable TV show, he gets a taste of Hollywood-style celebrity. PW found the ending "disappointing" but said the novel was otherwise "thought-provoking." Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA - Edward Sullivan

This is my favorite Rob Thomas novel to date. It has all the qualities that make for a perfect novel: a terrific plot with plenty of believable, emotionally charged conflicts; meticulously realized characterizations; a lot of witty humor; and some scathingly brilliant satire. The book also has one major flaw that keeps it from being perfect: a lousy, or maybe I should say nonexistent, ending. Senior Patrick Sheridan is a hot shot high school journalist in the small town of Doggett, Texas, who dreams of making it in the real world news media. Patrick thinks he has the opportunity of a lifetime when he is offered the chance to be an on-air reporter for Classroom Direct, a Channel One-like news program broadcast in classrooms all over America. He jumps at the chance to go to Los Angeles to escape from his oppressive parents and start on what he thinks will be the fast track to his career. Patrick is disillusioned, however, when he finds that his colleagues are cynical, egotistical, self-indulgent, superficial hacks devoid of journalistic ethics and contemptuous of their audience and of Patrick's belief that the reporter's mission is the pursuit of truth. Patrick's noble illusions about his profession are corrupted by crass, thoughtless commercialism. To further complicate Patrick's life is the relationship he develops with hot teen star Robin Ferris, which plunges him into the shallow, unreal world of the Hollywood limelight. He pines away for Kate, the girl he left in Doggett, and longs to go back to the simpler life there. Patrick is left disillusioned with no sense of belonging or himself. When Classroom Direct sends Patrick to Northern Ireland to cover the anniversary of the cease-fire, he finds himself in a situation that forces him to come to terms with himself and decide what he really believes. It is at this point that the story unravels. Patrick's sudden transformation is hasty and poorly handled. A brief epilogue has Patrick back in Doggett with Kate, secure and moving on with his life, but there is nothing preceding to make this ending credible. It is as if Thomas simply did not know how to end the story and tacked on this sorry excuse for one. It is a very unsatisfying conclusion to what is otherwise an exceptionally written story. Teens will love this book and they will see themselves and their friends in Patrick and his situations. Thomas again proves what an astute observer he is of teenage behaviors and emotions. He also proves he is one of the best writers for older teen readers. Teens might not be as appreciative of Thomas's brilliant satirical portrait of the news media, and specifically, Channel One. A former writer for the program, his clever barbs are right on target. Despite its flaws, this is an outstanding novel that you must buy for your YA collections. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Broad general YA appeal, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Children's Literature - Rebecca Joseph

Thomas, who wrote for Channel One, creates the fictional world of high school journalist Patrick Sheridan who wins a coveted guest anchor spot on Classroom Direct, a television news show much like Channel One, which is broadcast to thousands of schools across the country. Leaving his protected, rural Texan world behind, Patrick travels alone to Los Angeles, where his ideals come into direct conflict with the ratings driven television show. Virtually unsupervised in Los Angeles, Patrick learns painful truths about his family back in Texas and about the profession, which he once held so highly. While covering a story in Northern Ireland, all of Patrick's questions and doubts come crashing down and result in a dramatic resolution to this young man's quest for the truth. At times sexually graphic, this exciting, event-driven book is only appropriate for mature readers.

School Library Journal

Gr 7 UpPatrick Sheridan, a high school senior in Doggett, TX, shocks his very conservative family when he informs them that he has been asked to become an on-air student reporter for Classroom Direct, a national news program for students. Everything about this novel is unrealistic. There are so many "issues" and "episodes" that readers will stumble all over the place in an effort to find a conflict with which they can identify. They might care what happens to Patrick's steady girlfriend whom he so quickly leaves behind. They may even envy (for a short time) his glamorous opportunity for stardom and his hefty salary and chance for adventure. However, not even the most freethinking young adults will ever believe that Patrick's strict Catholic parents allow him to leave school and take up life in a hotel designated for teenage celebrities in Los Angeles. As if all this isn't far-fetched enough, Patrick, who knows that he is adopted, discovers during his stint in California that his long-lost sister is really his mother. By this time, readers will surely know that they have simply been given a soap-opera script in novel form. Then, a new episode is introduced. Patrick, on a trip to Ireland to cover the anniversary of the cease-fire, abandons the show and hides out in a small Irish village. He finally realizes that fame isn't so glamorous after all, and he sees how much Classroom Direct manipulates students' minds. Most readers probably won't stick with the book long enough to know this. Those who do will definitely feel that they, too, have been manipulated.Pat Scales, Greenville Middle School, SC

Kirkus Reviews

Thomas (Doing Time, 1997, etc.) writes an expos‚ on Hollywood, stardom, and the broadcasting media in another hip, cutting-edge story of conflicted youth. Good-looking, wannabe journalist Patrick Sheridan's coming-of-age begins when the high-school senior leaves the small-town, Bible-toting world of Doggett, Texas, to become an ace reporter for a direct-to-the-classroom news show (modeled after the real-life Channel One) in Los Angeles. Packing as much punch and as many plots as Chris Crutcher, Thomas takes Patrick through first love, first sex (with a television star), first experiences with drugs and getting drunk, as well as discovering the mystery behind his adoption (an estranged, also-adopted sister turns out to be his birth mother). These stories are set against the typically superficial backdrop of a slick news show where looks earn Patrick a high profile beneath the ten-gallon hat he's made to wear. The Texas innocent soon experiences the disintegration of his ideals and beliefs; when Patrick lands in Ireland on assignment, he drops out of sight and wends his way to an ancestor's hometown of Kilbeg. The final fifth of the book focuses on a more cynical Patrick searching for answers; it's a little disappointing when he's shipped back to Texas without enlightenment. Thomas covers a lot of territory, and Patrick's journeys of the heart are as compelling as his sincere attempts to do the right thing, but readers should be prepared for a raw, ambiguous conclusion. (Fiction. 13-15)