by Karen Rivers
304 pages; ages 8 - 12 years
Algonquin Young Readers, 2019
I love a good Karen Rivers middle-grade novel, so I read Naked Mole Rat Saves the World as soon as it came out last fall. And then put it on my desk to be reviewed. And stacked stuff on top.
This week, during an archaeological excavation of my office, guess what I unearthed? The cover is still bright blue, the lettering still shiny, bold yellow.
Twelve-year-old kit (yes, lower case k) was born small enough to fit in her mom’s hands - like a naked, wrinkled, hairless animal baby. Her life is full of normal twelve-year-old stuff: roller-skating, star-watching, volunteering at the animal shelter, and hanging out at the flea market with her best friend, Clem. kit lives with her mom, and her mom lives with a lot of fears: cancer, bad guys, crowds, traffic, spiders … the list is long and always growing.
kit's life is perfectly normal until one day ... it isn’t. The day Clem, part of an acrobatic family, falls during a TV performance. kit, watching her friend on TV, has a panic attack. Her eyesight gets blurry, her hand looks like a squashed grey leaf with wrinkly skin … she’s turned into a rodent. Maybe. Or maybe she imagined it. She even googles “hyperventilating and turning into a rodent” on her computer – is it some sort of superpower? (and if so, seriously? being a naked mole rat?)
In chapters that alternate between kit’s point of view and Clem’s, we are pulled into a story about growing and changing. kit is full of questions: why do people change? does everyone change? do we all turn into different animals, and is that a part of puberty?
But mostly, this is a story about friends who grow apart, then back together, and how hard it is to navigate through life.
Hahahahaha -- archaeological excavation of my office. Yup, that is something I can relate to. I should do it more often. Thanks for telling me about this book. It wounds like a good one.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like such a fun story! After all, it's not every day that you see a book about a person whose superpower is turning into a naked mole rat. Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteThis looks lovely! The last time I read about the naked mole rat was in a Mo Willems book. This one looks hilarious. Thanks! On my TBR
ReplyDeleteI have not read a Karen Rivers novel, but this story sounds fun and intriguing! Good for some laughs!
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not alone in setting aside a book and being horrified later, that I missed reviewing it.
Rivers definitely has a unique style. Glad you found this one in your office!
ReplyDeleteI've had a few buried treasure finds myself the past few months. Glad you found this one and spread the word on MMGM. Friendship stories are some of my favorites and I can't wait to spend some time with kit and Clem.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very unique book, a sort of Kafka for kids! I will keep my eyes out for this one. I'm so glad you found this book and brought it to our attention!
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