The Twyning

Starred review from July 14, 2014
In this painful but mesmerizing tale, Blacker (Parent Swap) introduces a society of rats living in the sewers of Victorian London; his successful merger of sentience with the realities of rodent behavior is reminiscent of the rabbits of Richard Adams’s classic Watership Down. Thirteen-year-old Peter, who lives in a garbage dump with his younger friend Caz, scratches out a living catching rats for the local “sportsmen” and their dogs. He also works for Dr. Ross-Gibbon, a monomaniacal scientist who wants to wipe out all of the rats in London. Efren, an impulsive young rat living in the Kingdom of elderly King Tzuriel, is restless and has trouble following orders. When Peter captures the dying King for the doctor’s experiments, Efren reports this to his superiors, leading to outrage in the kingdom; matters worsen quickly after the doctor puts his deadly plan into action. Well-wrought characters (both human and rat), a compelling presentation of difficult moral questions, and a devastating portrayal of society’s dark underbelly make this novel hard to forget. Ages 12–up. Agent: Caroline Sheldon, Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency.

June 1, 2014

Gr 7-10-Set in an unnamed year in London's past, an orphan known as Dogboy and a young rat named Efren must work together to save both of their societies. When the rat king dies, it is Efren who sees the truth of the matter and must work with Dogboy to prevent an all-out war between humans and rats. Told in alternating chapters between the rodent and human protagonists, Blacker's novel introduces both the world of Dickensian street orphans and the hierarchical rat kingdom. The suspense builds as the characters' worlds come closer and into conflict. This book will appeal to readers who are looking for a step up from the "Redwall" series (Philomel), but are still interested in an action adventure filled with a magical merging of the known human and mythical animal worlds. However, gory elements might make it a bit scary for some elementary-aged readers. The primary weakness in this novel is the similarity between the voices of Dogboy and Efren. Still, both characters are relatable and readers will cheer for them as they find strength and grow in their adventures. For a book with a dire and at times bloody premise, the overall mood of hope and friendship will sustain readers long after they finish.-Elizabeth Nicolai, Anchorage Public Library, AK

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2014
Rats and humans declare war on one another in this gory study in hidden fears and shifting loyalties.Vaguely Victorian in setting, the narrative switches in short alternating chapters between human and rodent casts. Below ground, Blacker concocts an elaborately structured community of rats who somehow converse nonverbally by telepathic "revelation"; certain virginal bucks can even "hear" ambient information. Overhead, street child Dogboy gets by helping both a rat catcher who collects victims for slaughter in pit fights with dogs and also a crackpot scientist who, allied with an ambitious local politician, is engineering a campaign of fear to fuel large-scale massacres of the rat population. Along with adding a companion for Dogboy in Caz, a younger escapee from a "dance school" that trains girls as playthings for wealthy perverts, the author crafts ugly scenes of human brutality that give the rats-vicious or even cannibalistic as some may be-the moral high ground. Despite some humans whose sympathies lie with the rats, the sides are clearer than the plot, which climaxes in a muddled running battle that ends in a draw and is followed by a contrived happy ending. The fantasy elements do at least provide some distraction from the blunt lambasting of human savagery.Thoroughly unpleasant and turgid to boot. (rat glossary) (Fantasy. 12-14)

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