Karen Rivers

Naked Mole Rat Saves the World is a very deep middle grade book that dives into anxiety and how it affects us all.

I didn't expect such a delightfully titled book to be so... potentially dark? There's a lot of anxiety in it, and I kind of expected the naked mole rat to actually save the world and be a superpower somehow, instead of just being a tiny plot device at the end of the book. Regardless of how the book was presented, it brought a lot of tough topics to light. Anxiety, being scared of the world, traumatic events, panic attacks, anxiety attacks, loss of friendship, SO MANY DEEP AND DARK TOPICS. It does it well though, but felt like a book for more of a thirteen year old than a younger middle grader. It definitely could be read by that age group, but it felt... too tough subject wise.

I am impressed by this book even if I wasn't 100% connected to it. It would be a great book for school to help introduce topics about mental health and mental illness to a younger crowd.

Three out of five stars.… (mehr)

Ok, what do I even say about this? The writing is strong, and the thoughtful conclusions that Kammie comes to during her ordeal are pretty excellent. However. And this is a BIG however -- if this is humor, it's very, very dark, and you have to get through the truly horrific bullying to get through to the story. Between the mean girl flashbacks and the incredibly terrifying claustrophobia, I'm not really sure this is a book I can recommend -- some kids like a read with a lot of emotions and difficult topics, so I can see it. I just really didn't enjoy the experience myself.

I'll grant you that it's a great one for perseverance and becoming yourself, but wooo. If you've every been bullied it's not easy to read about.

Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.… (mehr)