I definitely enjoyed this animal fantasy novel by Richard Peck. Helena, our narrator, is the oldest surviving sibling in a family of mice. Her mother and two sisters shared the same fate--drowning, and her father also had an unfortunate accident. So Helena is the oldest, she's the boss, supposedly. Do the other mice like being obedient? Not so much. Helena has two sisters: Beatrice and Louise and one brother: Lamont. They live with the Cranston family. When the Cranston family decides to go to Europe in an attempt to marry their oldest daughter off (Olive), the mice family has an important decision to make. Do they stay behind in the empty house and take their chances, or, do they dare risk it all and travel with their human family? Helena takes the advice of an aunt (who tells fortunes) and they decide to go with their family. They even decide to take an interest in their humans, they will be trying to help them...
I especially loved this one once the journey began. I loved meeting all the other mice on board the ship. I loved seeing the society of mice. And the romance in this one are sweet. The novel is set in the Victorian period, and ends with Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
2 comments:
It sounds so cute! I wonder how I never come across these titles.
I'm reading Peck's new mouse novel, The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail now. Having read Secrets at Sea already, I know there surely must be some connection, but I haven't discovered it yet.
Post a Comment