How I Heard About It: I was so lucky to have gotten to know Jacqueline Resnick when I read her two books, The Daring Escape of the Misfit Menagerie and A Valiant Quest for the Misfit Menagerie. I used both of these books for a class read aloud and/or a "Breakfast with Books" book club selection. Jacqueline reached out to me letting me know she had a new novel coming out in 2018. I was so excited to hear from her and learn of this awesome news. After receiving an ARC, I enjoyed reading her newest work of fiction. Let me tell you: it is a GREAT read! What It Is About: Raffie is a rat. He is a rat that lives with his family in the subway station. He wants for nothing. He has more food than he knows what to do with and experiences many grand adventures. Each day when Raffie returns to the safety of his home, he shares his daring feats with his younger brother. The brother looks up to and admires Raffie. He wants to be just like him. When Raffie's brother sets off to experience his own adventure, something goes terribly wrong and he disappears. Raffie feels responsible and knows he must fix the problem. He sets off to find his brother and will stop at nothing before he does. Raffie must cross the busy city of New York to locate and save his brother. While on this journey, he encounters many different characters and dangerous situations. There are many times he could give up, but he is determined to be the big brother that his little brother looks up to and admires.
What I Thought Of It: For some reason it has been a long while since I have read an animal fiction story. I'm not sure why because I always enjoy them. I love Jacqueline's writing style and how she is able to create a story with animals and make them seem so human-like. Once I started the story, I could not stop reading. The characters were unique, the plot was action-packed, the setting came alive, and twists and turns didn't stop. As I read the book, I kept thinking how much my young readers were going to enjoy the adventure of Raffie and his friends.
Who Should Read It: Jacqueline writes the perfect novel for middle-grade readers. She brings the reader into the world of animals and lets them experience a story like no other. This is a "spot-on" novel for readers in grades four, five, and six. It would also be the best book for readers that enjoy reading stories told from an animal's point of view. This is definitely going to be a book I share with my fourth graders when it is released in February of 2017. Happy Reading!
Rating: 5 STARS out of 5 Stars
