The Naked Mole-Rat Letters

Funny, wise, short, heart-warming - just about a perfect book for me.?á Frankie is a little too self-centered imo; I would have liked to have gotten to know some of the other characters just a little bit better.?á Still, all of them were authentic, sketched clearly, with a firm enough outline that the reader can fill in that outline.?á There are even exciting bits and bits that brought tears to my eyes.?á Oh, and it's short, you can make time for it.

I liked how Frankie described her father, in the throes of falling in love, as: He sounds like someone who swallowed a soap opera."?á I liked how the dead mom was described in part by how she added personality to their home: "She ... lacquered old family photographs onto the show more dining room table so that we'd always be eating with the whole family."?á (I want to do that!)?á

And I like this, from Frankie:?á "[S]ometimes I stand still and imagine what it would be like to be deaf or blind.?á If I could see the creek splashing over the rocks and not hear it, would the creek look different??á Would I see more colors in the water??á If I could hear the treetops rustling in the wind and not see them, would the sound become visible in my mind?"" show less

Frankie lives in a tiny town with her widower father and two younger brothers. She thinks things are going pretty good until her father is away on a business trip and meets a woman that he likes. Suddenly, Frankie envisions her entire world being turned upside down, and she starts going to great lengths to maintain the status quo. The formerly always-good Frankie begins reading her father's mail, cheating, lying, etc.
Ayanna, the woman his father has fallen for, works at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., caring for the naked mole-rats. Frankie begins emailing with Ayanna, to try to convince her to stay away from her family, but Ayanna turns out to be much smarter than Frankie would have expected.
The first half of the book shows show more Frankie's steady plummet into the depths of dishonesty, and makes her a less than likable character. The second half has a little more plot development and (of course) Frankie's eventual redemption. show less

Summary: When twelve-year-old Frankie discovers that her widowed father is e-mailing a woman in Washington D.C., she loses it. It may be romantic to him, but to her it's just gross. And to make things weirder, the woman works in a zoo! A few e-mails pretending to be from her dad to the "ratlady" should end things pretty quickly.

One lie leads to another and then another. "Ratlady" sees through her. She gets into trouble at school. The "ratlady" explains to her that naked mole-rats defend their territory from intruders. That's all Frankie is trying to do. So why is it so hard?

This book suprised me in how much I liked it and why I liked it. I actually liked because it was told through Frankie's diary. That surprised me because books like show more that usually bore me. I don't know why, they just do. I loved how the author portrayed Frankie's emotions and how she added the e-mails between Frankie and Ayanna to add something a little bit extra. The only thing I really felt was missing was that at some points in the book, it said what Frankie did, but didn't go in depth in the situation. I felt that we could've understood the story more if they had added that detail. But, this is a book a I would definately recommend!

Keep reading! show less

The Naked Mole-Rat Letters begins slow, but in the end delivers a worthwhile message about judging people, friendship, and longing. Frankie lost her mother not too long ago and when her father begins having feelings for another woman, she acts out in strange ways. This star student lies, fails to do her homework, neglects her responsibilites at home, and starts hanging around with a boy who has a bad reputation. As she intercepts her father's email to "Ratlady", the new woman in his father's life, Frankie, at first, tries everything in her power to discourage their relationship by writing nasty, sassy emails back to Ayanna (aka the Ratlady). But, Ayanna turns out to be a wise and thoughtful woman and Frankie grows to cherish her show more conversations with Ayanna (even though she would never say as much) and relies on her wisdom. When Frankie's dad gets wind of these 'secret' conversations between Frankie and Ayanna, he ends the relationship. All of these events, and much more, make Frankie's dad realize he needs to bond more closely with his whole family, if they are ever to bring another person into their lives.
Mary Amato writes a thoughtful, touching story about feelings and loss with humor and compassion. show less

When her father begins a long-distance romance with a Washington, D.C. zookeeper, twelve-year-old Frankie sends fabricated email letters to the zookeeper in an attempt to end the relationship, in this story about family, friendship, and growing up.

Written through diary and email form, this book tells the story of Frankie Wallop, living with her father and two brothers, who intercepts an email to her dad from a woman (Ayanna a zookeeper specializing in naked mole-rats) he met on a business trip to DC. Frankie poses as her father responding to emails to thwart the relationship and tells lies at school as she tries to deal with her father's relationship with "the rat lady." Frankie eventually comes to grips with her choices and consequences and learns all about naked mole-rats in the process. I thought this was a fun book, even though the title didn't appeal to me at first.

When Frankie's dad starts long-distance dating a zookeeper from Washington DC, Frankie takes matters into her own hands by hacking into his email and writing letters to the woman. But things start to snowball from there and soon Frankie's caught up in a web of lies. How will she ever come clean?

I really enjoyed this funny, heartwarming story. Frankie's devious and self-absorbed, but she really grows throughout the story. The story's told through Frankie's diary entries and her emails back and forth with 'Ratlady' (a.k.a. Ayanna Bayo, curator of naked mole-rats at the National Zoo).

Full review on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/04/book-review-naked-mole-rat-letters.htm...