THE GREAT & THE SMALL

A young girl makes an unexpected animal friend in Balsara’s ambitious YA novel.

Ananda Blake is still reeling from the death of her beloved grandmother and her family’s abrupt move near the end of her junior year of high school. She struggles to fit in at her new school, especially after a video circulates of her making a public scene to save a rat at a local market. At home, her emotionally distant parents leave her feeling increasingly isolated. In a parallel narrative, Fin is a rat who’s been raised by his uncle (the rats’ Council chairman, known only as Papa) since his mother’s death when he was very young. He’s been taught to hate humans, known as “Two-Legs,” and he becomes an ardent supporter of Papa’s escalating campaign against humanity after he discovers a “Killing Chamber,”filled with caged rats. After Papa unveils a plan to resurrect the bubonic plague, Fin has a chance encounter with Ananda, who releases him from a trap;this interaction forces him to confront the brutal realities of the war that he and his fellow rats are waging. As the plague spreads rapidly around the world, both Fin and Ananda reckon with feelings of fear and loss but find the healing power of connection. Over the course of this novel, Balsara deftly incorporates the history of the Black Death and quotes from Soviet dictator Josef Stalin to give the novel’s exploration of authoritarianism, propaganda, and biological warfare a feeling of historical weight. Although the subject matter is heavy—touching on themes of trauma, abuse, and suicidal ideation—it’s all handled with care and nuance, making the story suitable for younger readers without diminishing its emotional resonance. This context also gives depth to the characters, especially Ananda and Fin, as they navigate their own family dynamics and emotions in a plague-ridden world. Secondary characters undergo their own arcs, with Ananda’s dad, Tom, and Fin’s friend Zumi growing significantly by the novel’s end. The author’s occasional grayscale illustrations of characters and events punctuate the text throughout.

A poignant and timely rumination on power, resistance, and compassion.