Customer Reviews

The Naked Mole-Rat Letters

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the best books I've read all year - and I'm 41 years old! I read this book to my children (9 & 11, but I confess I sneaked ahead on my own too. Amato writes very engagingly and is quite funny. The voice and frustrations of Frankie, the 12 year old lead character who is afraid of her widowed father's interest in dating a new woman are right on the mark. Frankie finds an email from this women (called Ratlady, due to her job as the keeper of naked mole rats in the National Zoo, and starts inventing wild lies sent by email to try to nip the relationship in the bud. Hence the title of the book. The entire story is revealed through emails and diary entries. (The diary entries are often too long and full of details to be taken for the actual writings that a 12 year old girl would really write, however the descriptions are necessary and well done in order to put you more into her story, and wouldn't it be great if she really did write like that!) The relationship with Ratlady evolves through email from antagonistic (and funnily so; we laughed out loud), to very sweet and quite helpful as Ratlady always responds with kindness and just the right touch to Frankie's obviously false emails. Her approach is a good lesson for all adults, and Frankie ends up seeing many parallels between her emails with Ratlady, her relationship with her own family, her school and friend situation and the society of Naked Mole Rats, about which Ratlady explains in her emails back to Frankie. The author does a fantastic job of tying up story lines by bringing in previous aspects, but doesn't shove them in your face moralistically, thanks to the diary/email format. In fact, some younger readers would not necessarily even see the way the author brought everything full circle.
In short, this book will stay on my shelf for a while, and I highly recommend you give it a try.

Frankie is a middle school girl who stumbles on an email to her father from a strange woman. Her attempts to make sure they never get together lead to more and more lies and trouble at school. Funny and touching and a believable family. Mary Amato has the voice just right.

This book is a must read. I absolutely LOVED it. I picked it up and couldn't put it down, and then I gave it to my 12 year old daughter, and she couldn't put it down either. Prepare to laugh out loud, and prepare to cry a few tears (in a good way!).

I can't wait to read more Mary Amato books. Keep them coming!

The Naked Mole Rat Letters by Mary Amato is funny, interesting and just a great adventure. It is about a 7th grade girl named Frankie and her dad went on a business trip to Washington, DC. While he was there he met a woman named Ayanna at the zoo. Ayanna works at the zoo with the Naked Mole Rats. The become to be a little more than just friends. They still keep in touch when her dad comes back home from email. Frankie checks her dad's email and finds all the messages they have sent to each other. Frankie's mom died not too long ago and she won't let any woman replace her mom. Frankie tries to stop this mess and it just turns into lies and schemes. I like this book because it was not in just normal print. All the story is in diary entrees and emails. I gave it five stars because any middle aged boy or girl would love it and if you are an animal lover it makes the story even more thrilling. I would reccomend this book to kids or adults that like realistic fiction, animals, romance, and gossip.

My 9 year old's book club coordinator picked this for one of their selections. I read it (42 year old mom) to get a feel for what they are reading.

The main character (a middle school girl) reminded me very much of my daughter - lots of drama. Gives a nice insight into that young brain we all used to have and the story resolves in a positive way.

My daughter liked the style of the book -- written in letter (or email) form. It was grade appropriate, both in subject and in difficulty.

She really liked the book, and I have to say I did, too.

Have you ever felt as if the whole world was gone upside down? Like, your pet died or your mom and dad got a divorce. Well, Frankie Wallop has. Her whole life changed after her mom died, her dad fell in love again, and she was betrayed by her best friend. As I was reading The Naked Mole Rat Letters by Mary Amato, I felt her pain when she was crying for her mom and how she was gone. The Naked Mole Rat Letters takes place in an old city named Pepper Blossom. Technically it's in the middle of no where. Ever sine her mom died Frankie has been playing the role of the mom. She later finds out that her dad has been seeing another woman. Paranoid by their e-mails, Frankie has been spying and lying to everyone in her life. Also she tried out for the play "The Miracle Worker", she was hoping that she would get the part she wanted, but when she saw that she didn't get her part she was furious. So she tore the book "The Miracle Worker" into tiny pieces. Still hoping that the mysterious woman will leave her family alone. If you found out that your dad loved another woman wouldn't you want to get rid of her?
The audience for The Naked Mole Rat Letters is kids that have a single parent and the parent likes someone. This happens in the story when the woman and Frankie's dad are emailing each other, and Frankie thinks that her dad is replacing the mom with this new woman. The genre is realistic fiction because things like this can happen but it's not based on a true family or events. The book Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer is the most similar and different to The Naked Mole Rat Letters. In both book the main characters both have to lose their best friends. But in Eclipse its fantasy, it has vampires and werewolves, then the The Naked Mole Rat Letters, it has normal people. But they're both similar because Bella and Frankie are choosing between sanity and going insane. A strength this book has is that the author describes the supporting characters feeling. Like not always focusing on the main characters feelings. When Frankie got mad at her brother, Nutter, The author concentrated on his feelings. Also the author used her writing in e-mail form which is very cool to read. But it lacked some information. It never said how the mom die or when did see die. In conclusion, I thought the book was overall good. People that like suspenseful, love/hate stories should read The Naked Mole Rat Letters.

My 9 year old and I read this in mother/daughter book club. Every adult and child really enjoyed it. lots to talk about - loss, friendship, siblings, dating, socio-economic differences. Fairly quick read and well worth it.

I am a middle school learning support teacher. I recently had a student recommend this book to me. I could not put it down. It was a very touching an believable book. Many of my students ended up reading it because of our great reviews of the book. My class all loved it and wished there was a sequel!

About the Book: When Frankie reads an e-mail sent to her widowed father from a woman he recently met and it appears there may have been kissing involved, Frankie decides to take matters into her own hands. She begins a correspondence with Ayanna, who is a zookeeper and caretaker of naked mole rats. Through the letters Frankie learns about growing up, family, and naked mole rats.

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I read this book a few years ago when it was nominated for the Mark Twain Award (Missouri's grades 4-6 book award) and it became my favorite nominee. I recommended to every reader who was working through the Mark Twain list and I still find myself asking reader's if they've read this one.

I love Frankie's voice! She's fresh and funny and made me laugh out loud. The book is told through Frankie's diary entries and e-mails which makes for a fast read. Not only does Frankie deal with her feelings about her father entering a new relationship, but she's also having some problems with the school play and a boy named Johnny.

The Naked Mole Rat Letters introduced me to Mary Amato's books and I've enjoyed all that I've read from her. She's a tween author worth checking out! Give The Naked Mole Rat Letters to readers looking for a heartfelt humorous read.

Full Disclosure: Originally read as a library book, I now own my own copy.

I just finished reading this with my 8 year old--took us all of about 4 hours. We laughed until we cried. A good story with some heart-felt reality about middle school, being 12, being the oldest child, losing a parent and seeing your surviving parent try and have a social life, privacy, respect and change. (and some very funny moments!) I'm insisting my 12 year old read it next--I suspect he will relate on many levels. And it's a good story.