Reviews

Feeling sad for Sammy’s death is like being sad for Godzilla’s death. Yet I sobbed. Then again, I may be a specific case because I also keep rodents as pets.

lil_librarian's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

morgeliz99's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

As someone who strongly advocates against animal testing, this hit really hard. The unspeakable things these animals go through...

For the book, I love Kraus' writing style. Very similar to his more recent novel Whalefall. The characters are very flawed and feel like real people, and the scientific explanations weren't hard to follow. Don't be intimidated, you don't need to know every little detail! My favorite characters were Prez (even though he's an exterminator, he's more kind at times than the scientists), and Dallas. I love when authors can write about children and not make them annoying. He was written perfectly.

I didn't expect to cry at the end but I did. I was rooting for the rats the entire time, and Sammy's realization towards the end stabbed me in the heart. Also, the open ending gave me chills.