In Richley’s novel, a mouse with a deep-seated hatred of rats learns a lesson in love and acceptance.

In this explicitly values-based, “Christ-centered” novel for middle school and teen readers, Rhubarb is a white mouse whose hatred for all rats comes to a boil when a black rat family moves into the same abandoned factory where Rhubarb and his family, including his strong-willed daughter, Strawberry, live. The rats turn out to be good neighbors, but Rhubarb refuses to see it—he not only takes credit when he and Strawberry are rescued by brave rat father Barnabas from a drainpipe, but he also deliberately leaves Barnabas gravely injured. (Barnabas, the book’s kindly evangelist, preaches messages of redemptive love: “When you need Him most, God fills you with the Holy Ghost.”) Rhubarb stokes his bitterness at a nearby mouse bar. Readers learn, in one of this fantasy tale’s many teachable moments, that Rhubarb’s bigotry and shame (“deep down, he knew alcohol was only worsening his pain”) are rooted in the loss of a ne’er-do-well brother and a childhood with a critical, prejudiced father. Soon, the mice and rats connect with Miley, a street cat, and her kittens, and stray dog Bailey and his pack—first as prey, then as friends after tough circumstances bring them to the kind, human veterinarian Bart. Their friendship is tested by a life-threatening storm and catastrophic flooding (portrayed with vivid urgency); in a somewhat awkward segue, the animals decide to live in a nearby mountain forest together. A cougar attack leads them back to Bart, his underfunded clinic, and an uncertain future, but Bart’s compassionate act of helping a wounded enemy soldier during wartime reaps a miraculous life-changing reward—thanks to the former enemy and his conversion to Christianity. This involving, redemptive narrative is likely to resonate with Christian readers. The author’s care for animals, evident in his sensitive observations of real animal behavior, is an admirable throughline. A welcome epilogue leavens the book’s moral tone, with Strawberry’s dream of doing brave deeds coming true in a lighthearted, fantastical twist.

An engaging condemnation of bigotry for young Christian readers.