Schoolrooms in California and Texas are the major settings for Rats Saw God. Given Thomas's teaching experience, that is not surprising. The scenes in California pale in comparison, though. The high school there never takes on a character like Grace High in Texas, and San Diego never seems to matter much to Steve. But the Clear Lake setting, like the events that happen there, shape Steve. Clear Lake (a suburb of Houston where the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is based) is described as almost a paradise: a "world of sports cars, designer clothes, fifteen acre malls, Rats Saw God 349 million-dollar homes .. . and private tennis coaches." It is, in short, everything that Steve rejects. He chooses an old El Camino as his vehicle, dresses like a pirate, avoids both the mall and mall culture, and casts off all the advantages of this lifestyle. Just as he rejects everything...