Vivienne To

Seemingly for children, this book fits all ages. I loved it. It was a brilliantly imagined story around the rats and mice and other underlings of the New York Subway. Fiedler's talent was not depicted only in the imaginative plot and details, but in the intricacies of it all. Her writing style was great- easily understood by the younger readers but not too basic for the more experienced ones. Rats and mice and cats really come alive in this tale of courage, bravery, cruelty and the hardships show more of life. We see the various personalities of several characters, shaped by their circumstances. Really this book was surprisingly nuanced for a children's novel. I would definitely recommend it to all. show less

Hopper's life started in a Brooklyn pet store, and it looks like it's going to end there. When Hopper and his siblings overhear that the pet store owner is about to sell them as snake food, they know they must do something drastic right away. The ensuing escape results in Hopper and his siblings being split up. Hopper finds himself in the sewers, where he meets up with a friendly, streetwise young rat named Zucker, who also happens to be the prince of the underground rat kingdom of Atlantia. show more This kingdom seems like a paradise to Hopper, especially since, as a friend of the prince, he is given a lavish royal welcome. However, all is not as it seems in the kingdom, and revolutionaries threaten to bring it down from the outside. All Hopper wants to do is to be reunited with his lost siblings -- but does he have a larger role to play?

This animal fantasy was, for me, just an okay read. I thought it was a little predictable, and Hopper's extreme naivete, though believable, was irritating to me. I'll recommend this to kids who can't get enough of this sort of story, but everyone else can probably pass on this one. show less

I got a copy of this book from Amazon Vine for review. It looked like an interesting middle grade fantasy adventure featuring animals. It ended up being a pretty run of the mill "pet shop mouse finds a world bigger than he knew and finds his courage to help stop a dastardly rat from ruining the lives of other mice" type of book.

Hopper is just your typical petshop mouse until he is almost fed to a snake. Then Hopper and two of his siblings escape and are swept underground to the world of show more Atlantia which is primarily inhabited by rats and cats. The rats and cats seem to have an uneasy truce and as Hopper learns more and more about Atlantia he learns that all is not as it seems. He also learns that he has an interesting past that is linked to a group the dwells near Atlantia.

I am honestly not a huge fan of these "animal" stories. I do love Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams and Mouse Guard by David Petersen, but was not a huge fan of the Erin Hunter’s Warriors series of books. Add to that the fact that I am a fan of cats and don't really enjoy then being portrayed as the "bad guy" and I just didn't enjoy this book that much.

I think it is something that my seven year old son could read, however he is also a huge cat fan and there are some pretty vicious scenes where cats are ripped up badly that I think would upset him quite a bit. I think that if the scenes were a bit less detailed, they wouldn't so upsetting. These scenes made me uncomfortable and sad, and I really felt bad for the cats involved (I think I was supposed to be rooting for the mice/rats though).

The writing is very simple and done in very large font...the story falls more under stories for children as far as reading difficulty goes. It is much more simple than other middle grade fantasies I have read. However, as mentioned above some of the fighting scenes are a bit brutal so I don't really feel like children should read this. All in all I was a bit confused about what age group would read this. It's a bit too easy for most middle grade readers and too brutal for younger readers.

Also I felt like this is a story I have heard a million times before. A little mouse overcomes great odds and is brave, he uncovers his past, and saves mouse-kind from vicious tyranny. If you enjoy those types of stories then this is not a bad one, but it's nothing all that great either.

There is some artwork throughout but none of that was finalized in the advanced reading copy that I received, so I can't really speak to the artwork.

Overall an okay animal story. The story was much more simplistic than most other middle grade fantasies that I read.. It deals with slavery and there are some vicious fight scenes...so probably not appropriate for younger kids. I guess if you are a big fan of “animals as people” type of stories this isn’t a horrible one...but there are much better types of these books out there. show less

Mouseheart by Lisa Fiedler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Oh my goodness , what can I say about this book. "Mouseheart" by Lisa Fielder. This is the first book of the authors that I have read, and after reading this one. I am going to make sure that I read more of hers.Matter of fact, I really truly enjoyed this book so very much.Filled with so many laughs, twist and turns poor the little muo It is a totally different type of book that I have been reading.
The author has done such an wonderful job show more telling the story and bringing to life Hopper the mouse. This story is awesome!!
Now before I begin, go get your coffee an cookies. Good your back!! As the story starts out our little friends are in a Pet Shop, and poor Hopper, Pinkie & Pup ( who is the runt) are in their cage. Now, a young boy walks in with a Boa (snake) around his neck looking for feeders. Hopper realizes that him, and his siblings are what is called the feeders. Lucky for them, the shop owner had already closed out his register for the day ;so the kid will have to come back in the morning.During the night, Hopper makes a plan to escape. He tells all the other little mice in the cage with him. His sister, Pinkie wants to bite the human, ( She likes to bite an chew all the time).
Now this is where the story starts to heat up.. In the morning they make there breakout!!The way they run up and down the human is so funny and cute. Hopper gets away, but he can't find his sister an brother. He is worried about them. Along comes a rat by the name of Zucker, who saves him from a metal machine ( train), and there long friendship starts. Zucker and Hopper together have quite a story to tell in this book.
And this my friends is where I will leave you with these questions...
IS Hopper able to find his lost siblings?? If so, does he save them?? Who are the Mus?? and what does it have to do with him (Hopper)?? These questions and more are answered in this book. One other question, who is the promised one??
Now I give this book a rating of 10 stars for creativity , storyline and the wild adventures and imagination of the author!!! As I read this book, I was so pulled along into it- at one moment I actually thought myself a little mouse on a mission with Hopper.
I recommend this book to children , ya, and adults. We all can use some childhood memories. NOW GO GET T



View all my reviews show less