Under My Roof is narrated by a smart-assed telepathic twelve-year-old whose father builds a nuclear weapon in a lawn gnome and declares his home a sovereign nation. If that doesn’t draw you in, nothing will. Part biting political satire, part humorous YA novel, Under My Roof invokes a rare sense of optimistic anarchism while daring to imagine a better future. Pick up a copy for the smart-assed twelve-year-old in your life.

Enjoyable and humorous story about a man and his son tired of the way America's being run and want to claim a piece of land of their own. Though no fault to the author, I kept being reminded of the FAMILY GUY episode that uses the same kind of plot.

OK, this is a post-9/11 book I can fully endorse. You've got a telepathic kid who's dad decides to build a nuclear bomb and secede their house from the US (new name: Weinbergia), setting off a flurry of micronations across the country. Its a dumb enough premise that this could but a stupid, silly book, it isn't. They live in a world not far removed from Chris Bachelder's Bear V Shark.

This is short novel that seems to lampoon nearly everything, perhaps including the young-adult fiction genre in which format it is presented. It's a very funny read with engaging characters, and is quite different in tone and style from most of his other work. It unfortunately has about the most boring cover I've seen on a book, so, as the saying goes, don't judge it by that.

Normally i wouldnt continue a book if i wasnt enjoying it cut being as it was 151 pages I decided to stick with it. The best thing about this book is Herbert, whose voice is the book in its entirity. The stuff this 12 year old thinks is very funny, but it gets a little much after a while. I just didnt get the point!

"Once we put the gnome back on the lawn and achieved neighborhood nuclear superiority, there were only two things left to do. Tell the world, and declare independence." Gnome nuclear bombs? Declaring your house, lawn and it's surroundings a separate country? Priceless. This book is a riot.

Peel back the roof and peek inside the mind of Nick Mamatas. Hebert Weinstein's father makes a homemade bomb outta of his front yard garden gnome. Hilarious fast paced laughter. See how much commotion a simple creation can cause. Just don't tip over that little garden gnome.

Pretty hilarious. A book about neighborhood nuclear superiority and standing up to a belligerent US government as narrated by a telepathic 12 year old. The book forgets where it's going half way through, but it's still an enjoyable read.

An unemployed Long Islander builds a dirty bomb from discarded smoke detectors and mail order parts, sticks it in a garden gnome in his front yard, and declares his home an independent nation at peace with the world. 'Nuf said?

hilarious. also features one of the best conceived and executed narratives from a child's point of view. i will probably read this book a few more times.

My husband said this was a fast and good read. To each their own I suppose. The story is set several years after 9/11. The US has become embroiled in wars with 40-odd countries. In protest, some guy decides to build his own nuclear bomb in a garden gnome and declare his home, property, and family independent from the USA. The man's kid (who is telling the story) is telepathic. The army ends up at their house and they end up on the news. And that's about it. The end. Really, this summary tells yo...

Under My Roof, based on Archanians by Aristophanes, is the story of telepathic tween Herbert Weinberg, whose father Daniel decides to strike a blow for freedom by building a nuclear device, planting it in the lawn jockey in his front yard, and declaring independence from the United States.The Long Island household is predictably turned upside down. Mother is out, a local weatherman is in, and he becomes both a hostage and Minister of Information. Though troops surround the belligerent ranch hous...

Interesting idea with so much promise. The idea of breaking away from the nation/government, as a storyline, peaked my interest. Unfortunately this book does not deliver. It was BORING! Thank goodness it was only 155 pages!

In the near future, a man scours dumps, finding discarded fire alarms and such, and builds a small nuclear weapon from the radioactive materials he finds there. He then declares himself an independent country, and blunders through the consequences.This is not his story.This is his son's story. His son who happens to be psychic.Along the way, they take hostages. By accident. More or less.It gets weirder from there.

Middle class dude goes nuts, builds a cheap nuclear bomb out of spare parts, declares his house an independent country, and madcap hilarity ensues. All through the narration of the dude's 12 year old son who has telepathy.I figured this would be a supernatural thriller, but it's actually supernatural farce. It's a mad mad mad world!At times the narrative is insightful and interesting, other times it dissolves into fast-track jive. The author's action scenes zip through conflicts without any sens...

I honestly don’t really know what to think about this book. I thought the first half was great but the second half was pretty boring. Not once did I think to stop reading it but I also wasn’t enjoying it either. I’m willing to check out more books from the author but won’t be in a hurry.

I read it twice. The first time I liked it a lot. The second time, it was still really good. I maybe even enjoyed it more the second time around. I've read a few books by Nick Mamatas and I think it was to my benefit to have reread this one after becoming more families with his writing and his sense of humor.

A little gem of a dark comedy. Unfortunate cover, it looks like a debut short story collection by a female author (it's been brought to my attention that I should clarify that statement. For the tone and themes of the book, the cover just doesn't work, I very much enjoy a lot of debut short story collections by female authors). People building nuclear weapons and threatening the U.S. tends not to be a comic subject, especially in YA, but Under My Roof takes nuclear proliferation to a brilliant a...

I like the dimensions of this volume, the texture and thickness of its pages, and its approachable and readable font. Cover and Text designers Jim Goodman and Luke Gerwe (respectively) have made an altogether well-fashioned and stylish book.

This is the book that made Nick Mamatas one of those authors I'll keep an eye on. I read Under My Roof in a single afternoon. As fast paced as it is, this book isn't bubble gum. It raises an interesting question about what happens when enough people decide that they don't feel like playing the same game anymore.