The Adventures of Commoner Mouse by Helen Young

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ARC Review of The Adventures of Commoner Mouse

The story moves along at a good pace, there is enough of an introduction to the characters in the beginning to understand who they are and their motivations. Having the animal characters makes me think of a mix between The Rats of NIMH and The Wind in the Willows. I liked that it is an adventure story and leaves things open ended for a sequel or maybe a series. The moral at the end is also good and how it shows the characters becoming more open minded and realizing the error of their ways. Would like to see more illustrations (I know you did say those are in progress) maybe of the mansion, the castle, the park etc. Or perhaps even a map like in other adventure stories such as Eragon. Maybe it's just because I am more of a visual person but I think it would help me to see the town around the mansion, the distance to the park, the park itself, etc.
Cheryl M. Aupperle - Liverpool, NY

ARC Review of The Adventures of Commoner Mouse

     Hello! My name is Lee Hickey and I am a 44 year old mother of 5 from Oswego, NY. I do not have professional credentials. I am an avid reader and consider myself personally particular of the books I read. I can be quickly thrown off by an author's writing style or by lack of interesting page turning content. I love reading books about the holocaust, autobiographies and many other fiction/non-fiction books.
This book, The Adventures of Commoner Mouse, is a middle grade book and I recommend it to children of upper elementary or middle school age.
I identified with the mother mice concerned for their children's safety when hearing of their risky adventures while off on their own.
I felt the characters in this book were well thought out and distinct in their roles and personalities. I enjoyed the fact that although there were some aspects of predictability in the storyline, that there were some surprises with the character's behaviors and choices. (I also understand the predictability is subject to the age of the reader.)
This story takes place in a parallel rodent world where the animals live much like humans, with clothing and transportation, family and language skills.
I loved the undertone of condemning discrimination as ignorant and something that needs to change and evolve while still sharing all perspectives without necessarily villainizing any of the characters. The book illustrates how there can be societal change and growth through confrontation and exposure.
One thing I noticed that I would have liked to see worded differently was when Miri said, “Oh, shut up.” And whacked Jeremiah's arm on page 92. I think it's important to be conscientious about not normalizing a girl hitting a boy as being acceptable. Especially when being read by young children who are impressionable. It would be interpreted more severely and less accepted if it were Jeremiah who told Miri to shut up and whacked her. I think this could be interpreted completely differently if the words “playfully swatted” or something to that affect were used or the “whack” left out altogether. Just my humble opinion.
This book kept me genuinely interested and entertained and I enjoyed and appreciated the author's writing style. There was good flow in content and dialogue with almost no irrelevant banter or unnecessary details. I was impressed with the depth of the plot and delivery of the story.
I would definitely recommend this book as a great read! Thanks for sharing the opportunity to read it!
Lee Hickey - Oswego, NY

Summary

Miri, a mouse princess, learns that her two sisters have been mouse-napped. Accompanied by Jeremiah, a commoner mouse, Miri has a series of adventures as she and Jeremiah go out into the world to find Miri’s sisters and bring them back home.