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Rats of NIMH #3
R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH
When Margaret and her younger brother, Artie, get lost in the woods on a family camping trip, they are rescued by rats -- the superintelligent rats of NIMH. Taken into the rat's community, the children are safe for the time being. But winter is coming. Margaret and Artie have to get back home. And when they do, they must protect the rats who have helped them. Everything depends on their silence... but it's hard to evade questions forever. Children's Choices for 1991 (IRA/CBC)VOYA's Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror 1990Parenting Honorable Mention, Reading Magic Award
272 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
September 1, 2018
I thought Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind was going to be my worst read of 2018. I WAS WRONG. R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH is almost unbelievably awful: a boring plot, massive plot holes, uneven pacing, characters that stray even farther from Robert C. O'Brien's original creations than the second book, new characters that are completely cringeworthy, child abuse and bullying presented in an uncritical manner, and a weird/stupid ending.
The lowest of the low points for me is the manner in which the character Arthur, age 6 or 7 perhaps, is presented. It is apparent from the beginning that he has disabilities: he is nonverbal, has a difficult time interacting with other people, appears to face physical and intellectual challenges, and struggles with chronic asthma. His older sister Margaret, age 10, bullies him throughout the entire book. She repeatedly tells him he's faking for attention, he could talk if he really wanted to, she's going to abandon him in the forest if he does/doesn't do X, hits him when he tries defending a rat Margaret is mistreating, and the list goes on. Of course, being lost in the woods ends up being a good thing for the little guy!! In addition to all this exercise Margaret is forcing on him that bucks him up and makes him stronger, the rats from NIMH make a totally natural medicine for him from totally natural plants in their totally natural valley that magically cures him of his asthma! Most of Arthur's other challenges melt away over their summer of living with the rats as well, making for a very scientific argument for simple country life being >>>>>>>> slothful city living involving tv-watching, chip-munching, Pepsi-drinking, and medication-taking. This book is incredibly ignorant and ableist and I don't recommend it whatsoever. I suggest reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and stopping there.
The lowest of the low points for me is the manner in which the character Arthur, age 6 or 7 perhaps, is presented. It is apparent from the beginning that he has disabilities: he is nonverbal, has a difficult time interacting with other people, appears to face physical and intellectual challenges, and struggles with chronic asthma. His older sister Margaret, age 10, bullies him throughout the entire book. She repeatedly tells him he's faking for attention, he could talk if he really wanted to, she's going to abandon him in the forest if he does/doesn't do X, hits him when he tries defending a rat Margaret is mistreating, and the list goes on. Of course, being lost in the woods ends up being a good thing for the little guy!! In addition to all this exercise Margaret is forcing on him that bucks him up and makes him stronger, the rats from NIMH make a totally natural medicine for him from totally natural plants in their totally natural valley that magically cures him of his asthma! Most of Arthur's other challenges melt away over their summer of living with the rats as well, making for a very scientific argument for simple country life being >>>>>>>> slothful city living involving tv-watching, chip-munching, Pepsi-drinking, and medication-taking. This book is incredibly ignorant and ableist and I don't recommend it whatsoever. I suggest reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and stopping there.
October 25, 2013
This wasn't as successful as the others for me. I didn't find Christopher as sympathetic a character.
However, Margaret's realization at the end was quite powerful for me, "she felt what it must be like to be trapped once and for all. Inside a cage you wouldn't see the sun or moon, feel the earth under your feet, feel the rain or wind or dew. Of course they had run away. And she would do nothing else that would let them be found." I think that raised it to a 3 and a half for me.
However, Margaret's realization at the end was quite powerful for me, "she felt what it must be like to be trapped once and for all. Inside a cage you wouldn't see the sun or moon, feel the earth under your feet, feel the rain or wind or dew. Of course they had run away. And she would do nothing else that would let them be found." I think that raised it to a 3 and a half for me.
May 10, 2025
After reading R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH, I find myself wondering whether the second book of the trilogy, Racso and the Rats of NIMH, perhaps deserved 1.5 or two stars from me, instead of the mere one-star rating that I initially gave it, because this third installment truly reaches a new level of abysmal. At least aspects of book two showed some semblance of promise—probably containing the framework for a decent narrative buried deep down inside the work—and at least it focused on the rats primarily, much unlike this third story, which proves monotonous and cringy in nearly every possible regard.
As previously alluded to, the two primary protagonists of R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH are human children that come to commune temporarily with the rats of NIMH, rather than the rats themselves—which only serves to make this society of rodents feel
vastly less authentic, while stretching our suspension of disbelief beyond repair. Then, to render matters even worse, one of these two children is a nonverbal, special-needs child (which, to be sure, could have provided for fantastic representation), but Conly squanders this inkling of potential by having the boy suddenly start talking for no apparent reason midway through the narrative. As if it is a mere choice for nonverbal people not to talk. 🙄 And do not even get me ranting about the cliché, contrived conclusion to Nicodemus’s arc. Ultimately, the first book, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, is where it’s at; O’Brien possessed a talent that his daughter simply does not, despite her wonderful intentions to revive her father’s most popular book and continue a story that begs for a second installment. Do not bother with these so-called sequels.
As previously alluded to, the two primary protagonists of R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH are human children that come to commune temporarily with the rats of NIMH, rather than the rats themselves—which only serves to make this society of rodents feel
vastly less authentic, while stretching our suspension of disbelief beyond repair. Then, to render matters even worse, one of these two children is a nonverbal, special-needs child (which, to be sure, could have provided for fantastic representation), but Conly squanders this inkling of potential by having the boy suddenly start talking for no apparent reason midway through the narrative. As if it is a mere choice for nonverbal people not to talk. 🙄 And do not even get me ranting about the cliché, contrived conclusion to Nicodemus’s arc. Ultimately, the first book, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, is where it’s at; O’Brien possessed a talent that his daughter simply does not, despite her wonderful intentions to revive her father’s most popular book and continue a story that begs for a second installment. Do not bother with these so-called sequels.
May 11, 2023
This is an extremely poor second sequel to ‘Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H.’, following on from ‘Racso and the Rats of N.I.M.H.’ Like the previous sequel, it was written not by the original author, but by his daughter. She seems to have misunderstood some aspects of her father’s work here – she appears to think that the only reason the rats of N.I.M.H. can talk is because of the experiments done on them. This is very clearly not the case in the original novel – the rats could talk before their time in the lab, and ordinary animals like Mrs. Frisby the mouse and Jeremy the crow could also speak. In this book, the rats are speaking English rather than “animal language” and can talk to humans. I loathed this.
The story follows two children, brother and sister R.T. and Margaret, who get lost in the woods and are rescued by the rats. R.T. has some sort of unspecified disability, and is treated appallingly by other people (though not by the rats). Most of the human characters are nasty, in fact – the children’s mother is awful to them, doing things like telling her daughter she needs to lose weight to stop the other kids picking on her.
I am normally inclined to respond favourably to any book that portrays rats positively, since they get so much undeserved bad press, but with this one I just couldn’t get past the unpleasant characters, ludicrous plot, and insult to the first book’s legacy. This book is beyond bad. It’s just horrible. I absolutely hated it.
The story follows two children, brother and sister R.T. and Margaret, who get lost in the woods and are rescued by the rats. R.T. has some sort of unspecified disability, and is treated appallingly by other people (though not by the rats). Most of the human characters are nasty, in fact – the children’s mother is awful to them, doing things like telling her daughter she needs to lose weight to stop the other kids picking on her.
I am normally inclined to respond favourably to any book that portrays rats positively, since they get so much undeserved bad press, but with this one I just couldn’t get past the unpleasant characters, ludicrous plot, and insult to the first book’s legacy. This book is beyond bad. It’s just horrible. I absolutely hated it.
August 6, 2015
this book is kind of weird and rambling at times yet at the end i'm still unsatisfied and want to know more about what happens to the rats of NIMH next. margaret is a complicated girl and i didn't really like her at first but i did feel bad for her since her mother(who by the way was a terrible character) fat-shamed her and i wish her arc had been written slightly differently to focus on her becoming strong and confident rather than lazy and selfish but not making it into a fat-to-skinny thing. i liked Artie and, not being an expert on disability politics, i felt like he was a positive representation of someone with either a learning or social disability, maybe on the autism spectrum? christopher and artie's friendship is really the only thing i had remembered about this book from childhood before re-reading. one other thing i have to comment on is the characterization of isabella--i can't decide what i think of her as a whole with regard to feminism in her efforts to change her image to be taken more seriously instead of like a girl who is infatuated with people.
the good thing about the ending is it leaves it wide open for headcanons. maybe i should write some rats of NIMH fanfiction...where does nicodemus go, where did the rats go, when do christopher and artie see each other again, who is the leader of the rats now, and do they really intend to live in secret forever or wouldn't they eventually want to start interacting with the human world and becoming their own political power? and like how would having access to the internet change their ability to do that? somebody write this!
the good thing about the ending is it leaves it wide open for headcanons. maybe i should write some rats of NIMH fanfiction...where does nicodemus go, where did the rats go, when do christopher and artie see each other again, who is the leader of the rats now, and do they really intend to live in secret forever or wouldn't they eventually want to start interacting with the human world and becoming their own political power? and like how would having access to the internet change their ability to do that? somebody write this!
May 27, 2010
R-T can't hear. He doesn't fit in with the real world very well, when him and his sister stumbel upon the rats of NIMH, R-T finally finds a place to be accepted.
May 11, 2020
Loved it, cute friendship between Christopher and Artie. Read it aloud to my 6 and 4 year olds.
Parts I skipped/edited/ parents might like to know:
Fat shaming of Margaret. A lot of comments about her weight and how it’s good she slimmed down in the valley.
The scenes where Margaret is teased or bullied by her female schoolmates are a bit nasty. Who needs that.
Margaret isn’t all that kind to Artie, specially at the start.
I think I made the parents a bit more kind and loving too. Can’t remember details.
Nicodemus leaves the nest to see the ocean one last time and to die. Yup. Everyone is sad that they’ll never see him again as he intends to die by the sea. I made it just that he was going to see the sea and then vaguely would make his way back (perhaps by bird).
The last scene where Artie is at home was a bit redundant. (I remember this from my childhood reading too). This time reading aloud, I finished it in the valley where he saw the arrow from Christopher and knew he would come back and find him.
Parts I skipped/edited/ parents might like to know:
Fat shaming of Margaret. A lot of comments about her weight and how it’s good she slimmed down in the valley.
The scenes where Margaret is teased or bullied by her female schoolmates are a bit nasty. Who needs that.
Margaret isn’t all that kind to Artie, specially at the start.
I think I made the parents a bit more kind and loving too. Can’t remember details.
Nicodemus leaves the nest to see the ocean one last time and to die. Yup. Everyone is sad that they’ll never see him again as he intends to die by the sea. I made it just that he was going to see the sea and then vaguely would make his way back (perhaps by bird).
The last scene where Artie is at home was a bit redundant. (I remember this from my childhood reading too). This time reading aloud, I finished it in the valley where he saw the arrow from Christopher and knew he would come back and find him.
August 13, 2021
While it has its moments, and is certainly decently written, this book never really makes the most of its pretty solid central ideas and themes, through shallow characterisation, mishandling of certain elements, and a decidedly underwhelming ending its hard not to read as a bit of a cop-out. Starts slow, picks up at the mid-point, then slowly peters out to not much of anything. Pleasant, but ultimately unsatisfying.
October 28, 2022
This wasn't my favorite of the NIMH books, due to the young human characters and the drama they added, which I thought was kind of annoying. Also, it seems far more plausible based on the rats' actions in the past that they would have figured out a way to have the children found/retrieved far sooner than they did. So, the plot just felt a little weak to me, and I got tired of Margaret very quickly. Jax still liked it, though.
November 20, 2012
Read as a child and didn't realize it was a sequel at the time. It was difficult to catch on, but not to where I didn't enjoy the book.
October 1, 2021
A few mixed feelings on this one. It definitely doesn't have the same magic as the first book. But really, I couldn't have imagined the story wrapping up any other way.
May 12, 2022
Overall, I enjoyed this story, but there were some parts where the characters were unlikable, and an entire chapter that was simply unrealistic. But I did like the ending.
June 21, 2022
This felt like a flippant cast off of the well loved original “Rats of NIMH” book. The second book felt like it fit with the original. But this one was a definite reach-and-miss for this series.
March 19, 2024
Humans in Thorn Valley? That sounds like it mi- F****.
I thought my fanfiction was cringe. The Rats of NIMH, but in control of Canada, but NO, this is even worse.
This has the "being talking down to like a child" feel to it just like Racso, painfully obvious with the snippet where one of the rats talks about them only growing vegetables. (Which, unless this included stuff like potatoes, would be a sure fire way to kill the entire colony via malnutrition. Even sentient rats need bulk calories!)
I could go on for a couple hours raging about the logistical issues or things Jane got wrong, like the colony not having a sump pump to prevent flooding (which HAPPENS!), how they got running water, or Margaret DRINKING RIVER WATER! (Mmm... Untreated water... Deadly!) But, I'll focus more on the literary stuff.
Some people say they where disappointed in Timothy and Mrs. Frisby not being in this book. To that I say: Blessing in disguise!
Timothy was moderately annoying in the second book, but hey, atleast he GOT characterization! He was glossed over in the first one. (Then again, the plot didn't really require it so...)
But Mrs. Frisby... Ugh! From fleshed out character with solid depth to mediocre coward in the second. Robert was misogynistic, but atleast his writing talent mostly overrode it when he wrote Mrs. Frisby.
Jane somehow increased the misogyny, and made it worse by making it more "clandestine"/trait driven. The female characters here are just AWFUL! (Probably some weird subconscious thing, similar to phenomenon like "internalized transphobia") So it's nice to not see a favorite character get ruined even more.
The male characters don't get off scott free either. Just like Racso, people like Nicodemus and Justin act wildly different. And usually NOT for the better, everyone's depth is flattened.
Nicodemus fake banishes Christopher! That is somehow MORE out of character then the last book!
But what about the humans? Heh.... The human characters....
Sticking with the "make it overtly obvious this is a children's book" theme that I've so fare only seen in Jane's stuff, both main human characters are kids! And spoiled ones! Even better, one is egotistical, and the other is neurodivergent and treated horribly! (I want to scream.)
Character development, just like depth, is one dimensional. Like, they "just get morally better suddenly" one dimensional. Somehow more one dimensional then Marc Antony's military campaign into Western Asia.
There's also the cringe. Like the carnival scene that Jane probably added as emotional closure, but just comes off as extremely forced and brash. Or the efforts of the rescue team, which is even more incompetent then the US government's attempts at pretending to be democratic. Or Marc Antony's military campaign in- okay, I'll stop. That joke stopped being funny over 2000 years ago.
But what about the plot? Uh... The kids reunite with the parents, after learning they where declared dead in absentia, something Nicodemus knew about but just DIDN'T TELL THEM! Something that could of become reality as WINTER was setting in, which would of very much made the kids dead! Brilliant.
The arc where the humans learn about Thorn Valley was a little interesting, but that's about it. Also, there's no way in God's green EARTH your erasing evidence of a colony from existence. Completely erasing something from both history and archeology is actually REALLY difficult!
Oh, and there's this completely off topic ocean thing Nicodemus is dedicated to that comes right out of left field.
If memetic torment agents from the SCP wiki where real, I would of rather read those then read this.
I thought my fanfiction was cringe. The Rats of NIMH, but in control of Canada, but NO, this is even worse.
This has the "being talking down to like a child" feel to it just like Racso, painfully obvious with the snippet where one of the rats talks about them only growing vegetables. (Which, unless this included stuff like potatoes, would be a sure fire way to kill the entire colony via malnutrition. Even sentient rats need bulk calories!)
I could go on for a couple hours raging about the logistical issues or things Jane got wrong, like the colony not having a sump pump to prevent flooding (which HAPPENS!), how they got running water, or Margaret DRINKING RIVER WATER! (Mmm... Untreated water... Deadly!) But, I'll focus more on the literary stuff.
Some people say they where disappointed in Timothy and Mrs. Frisby not being in this book. To that I say: Blessing in disguise!
Timothy was moderately annoying in the second book, but hey, atleast he GOT characterization! He was glossed over in the first one. (Then again, the plot didn't really require it so...)
But Mrs. Frisby... Ugh! From fleshed out character with solid depth to mediocre coward in the second. Robert was misogynistic, but atleast his writing talent mostly overrode it when he wrote Mrs. Frisby.
Jane somehow increased the misogyny, and made it worse by making it more "clandestine"/trait driven. The female characters here are just AWFUL! (Probably some weird subconscious thing, similar to phenomenon like "internalized transphobia") So it's nice to not see a favorite character get ruined even more.
The male characters don't get off scott free either. Just like Racso, people like Nicodemus and Justin act wildly different. And usually NOT for the better, everyone's depth is flattened.
Nicodemus fake banishes Christopher! That is somehow MORE out of character then the last book!
But what about the humans? Heh.... The human characters....
Sticking with the "make it overtly obvious this is a children's book" theme that I've so fare only seen in Jane's stuff, both main human characters are kids! And spoiled ones! Even better, one is egotistical, and the other is neurodivergent and treated horribly! (I want to scream.)
Character development, just like depth, is one dimensional. Like, they "just get morally better suddenly" one dimensional. Somehow more one dimensional then Marc Antony's military campaign into Western Asia.
There's also the cringe. Like the carnival scene that Jane probably added as emotional closure, but just comes off as extremely forced and brash. Or the efforts of the rescue team, which is even more incompetent then the US government's attempts at pretending to be democratic. Or Marc Antony's military campaign in- okay, I'll stop. That joke stopped being funny over 2000 years ago.
But what about the plot? Uh... The kids reunite with the parents, after learning they where declared dead in absentia, something Nicodemus knew about but just DIDN'T TELL THEM! Something that could of become reality as WINTER was setting in, which would of very much made the kids dead! Brilliant.
The arc where the humans learn about Thorn Valley was a little interesting, but that's about it. Also, there's no way in God's green EARTH your erasing evidence of a colony from existence. Completely erasing something from both history and archeology is actually REALLY difficult!
Oh, and there's this completely off topic ocean thing Nicodemus is dedicated to that comes right out of left field.
If memetic torment agents from the SCP wiki where real, I would of rather read those then read this.
July 14, 2025
This was probably the worst sequel/book I've ever read. This one takes the first book ... and tramples it to pieces. Rats can suddenly talk to humans - and when two kids get lost in the valley they are taken in by the rats. Which is something that wouldn't happen in the first book even if they are kids because rats don't like humans because they experimented on them. 80% of the book is just descirbing day to day life and it's not really that interesting, half of the characters are not present - Timothy is back home, his mother doesn't come around, Jeremy is also not in this one - instead the book focuses on Margaret, Artie/Arthur and Christopher - one of the rats from the previous book. Christopher was the only maybe interesting character in this book and I really liked the bond that formed between him and Arthur- but that's the only thing that I liked about this book. Margaret is a bully at the beginning of the book - she is also fat because her parents and her best friend call her that ... multiple times- which is .... interesting to read in a child's book - she is constantly bullying her brother Arthur because he seems disabled and she believes that he is faking it for attention - her parents hear and see that but do absolutely nothing to stop it. Arthur is non-verbal and comes off as maybe autistic- and I know that times when this book was written were different but .... his sister is constantly bullying him, his parents do nothing and at the end of the book Artie magically starts speaking and is suddenly cured after living with rats for the summer. The ending had the potential to be interesting - Margaret tells a few people about rats, they go back to the valley but the rats moved because they are suddenly afraid of humans again - but ... the scientist that originally experimented on them gets in contact with one of the adults that Margaret spoke to about the rats- the adult asks him not to speak to the children and that plot goes absolutely nowhere - it seems like the scientist would maybe come back and investigate or something but he is mentioned and then never seen or heard again and the adults just accept that Margaret made it all up really fast and easily. Nicodemus is also old and decides to go off alone at the end of the book so he can die in peace- his departure is really jarring and I feel like he deserved a much better send off instead of just.. leaving the colony, walking away and never be seen again with barely saying goodbye to anyone. I really hated this book and the second one - if you want to read this series read only the first book, the second two written by the author's deaughter are really not worth the read because they butcher the characters and the setting from the first one really badly.
April 27, 2020
Robert C. O'Brien's award-winning children's classic Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH was the first book I ever called "favorite." As I child, I was aware that the series went on--I think I even started Racso--but I think I was disenchanted by the fact that O'Brien had not written the sequels.
I read Mrs. Frisby to my kids back in February. Though I confess it had lost some of its magic for me (even after attempting to adjust for my jaded adult biases), we all enjoyed it enough to want more. I was pleased to realize, then, that Jane Leslie Conly, the author of the other two books, is in fact O'Brien's daughter and that she'd only taken over because O'Brien had died somewhat unexpectedly a couple years after writing Mrs. Frisby. We dove in.
Honestly, while the ridiculousness of the premise strains more and more as the concept of these superintelligent rats is drawn further from its initial whimsical conception, both Racso and R-T, Margaret are darned good! Not quite as good as their predecessor perhaps, but Conly takes the story in some clever and thought-provoking directions. This last one, especially, introduces some surprisingly mature themes (such as peer pressure and the ethical duties of the journalist) in a way that is tactful and accessible to a younger audience.
I was concerned that Conly was going to end this book, and thereby the whole series, on an overly sunny, saccharine note, but she surprised me in the penultimate chapter and did something that felt far more real. Brava!
Anyway, if you are a fan of Mrs. Frisby or just enjoy solid children's literature, or if you have a thing for rats and other small creatures, give this series a try!
I read Mrs. Frisby to my kids back in February. Though I confess it had lost some of its magic for me (even after attempting to adjust for my jaded adult biases), we all enjoyed it enough to want more. I was pleased to realize, then, that Jane Leslie Conly, the author of the other two books, is in fact O'Brien's daughter and that she'd only taken over because O'Brien had died somewhat unexpectedly a couple years after writing Mrs. Frisby. We dove in.
Honestly, while the ridiculousness of the premise strains more and more as the concept of these superintelligent rats is drawn further from its initial whimsical conception, both Racso and R-T, Margaret are darned good! Not quite as good as their predecessor perhaps, but Conly takes the story in some clever and thought-provoking directions. This last one, especially, introduces some surprisingly mature themes (such as peer pressure and the ethical duties of the journalist) in a way that is tactful and accessible to a younger audience.
I was concerned that Conly was going to end this book, and thereby the whole series, on an overly sunny, saccharine note, but she surprised me in the penultimate chapter and did something that felt far more real. Brava!
Anyway, if you are a fan of Mrs. Frisby or just enjoy solid children's literature, or if you have a thing for rats and other small creatures, give this series a try!
October 7, 2020
The third and concluding book in the rats of NIMH trilogy tells the story of Arthur (RT), and Margaret, a brother and sister who become lost in a valley, and are helped to survive by the colony of intelligent rats that were the subject of the first two books in the series. Margaret is an unpopular, overweight child, who finds purpose in the Tolstoyan colony, where hard work and plain food are favoured. RT is a boy who has some kind of learning difficulty, possibly autism, that makes speech difficult. Although initially afraid, they soon make friends with the rats, and each benefits from the experience in different ways.
The book has the same flaws as the first sequel, in that the rats are effectively magical creatures, able to overcome all difficulties at will. It is also glaringly illogical in places- one can only presume that a loaf of bread baked by a rat would fit on a human palm, and would not be big enough for any meal. For these reasons, it is perhaps for the best that most of the story is told through the children, who are sympathetically portrayed. There are many instances of casual petty cruelty, such as when Margaret's mother tells her that other children wouldn't pick on her as much if she lost weight. There is a stark realism about such episodes that provides an effective contrast with how the rats behave, and also helps to focus the plot around a child's eye view.
The book has an end of series feel to it, with one of the central characters facing death, and decisive changes at the end for both rats and children. Although not as good as the first book in the series, both adults and children could enjoy the conclusion to the story.
The book has the same flaws as the first sequel, in that the rats are effectively magical creatures, able to overcome all difficulties at will. It is also glaringly illogical in places- one can only presume that a loaf of bread baked by a rat would fit on a human palm, and would not be big enough for any meal. For these reasons, it is perhaps for the best that most of the story is told through the children, who are sympathetically portrayed. There are many instances of casual petty cruelty, such as when Margaret's mother tells her that other children wouldn't pick on her as much if she lost weight. There is a stark realism about such episodes that provides an effective contrast with how the rats behave, and also helps to focus the plot around a child's eye view.
The book has an end of series feel to it, with one of the central characters facing death, and decisive changes at the end for both rats and children. Although not as good as the first book in the series, both adults and children could enjoy the conclusion to the story.
June 29, 2019
This was my least favorite of the three books in the series. I'm just not sure introducing humans into the world was the best idea. I still loved the beautiful descriptions of Thorn Valley and how the rats lived, but it was hard to imagine the rats being able to provide for two children for an extended period of time (not to mention it was incredibly hard to believe that Margaret could climb a sheer cliff and move a nest without injury). My main problem was this book was how RT was written. I just don't think that the rats could cure his asthma, put him back on track to being able to speak, etc. Beyond that I didn't like him as a character. Margaret had her faults but obviously wanted to help the rats to repay them. RT kept making huge mistakes that had serious consequences, but because it was an accident it was just supposed to be okay? I still am glad that I finished the series, but I wish that there would have been more focus on the rats instead of on the human characters (or the human characters would have been better written).
August 9, 2017
Straight to the point: This is one of the best books I have ever read. It was better than "Racso", which was better than "Mrs. Frisby". I've seen several reviewers dump all over Jane Leslie Conly's sequels to Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 Newbery award-winning book for I'm not sure why. The character development and relationships between characters in both "Racso" and "R-T, Margaret" are gripping and heartbreaking. While reading I found myself so deeply committed due to the relationship between Christopher and R-T I was almost brought to tears over how simple yet profound their love for each other was. Anyhoo, I suppose if a reader liked "Frisby" due to the originality of the super-lab rat plot, then absolutely "Racso" and "R-T, Margaret" will miss the mark. However, Conly, even moreso in "R-T, Margaret", is able to evolve the Rats of NIMH story into a completely character-driven saga, where cool and fantastical premises are just not necessary.
June 1, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. It is the second of two sequels to "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH", written by Robert C. O'Brien. The sequels were written by the O'Brien's daughter, Jane Leslie Conly.* This is my favorite of the two sequels, but one should read the other first as it sets the stage for this book. Not only is this an entertaining story, there are many things worth considering that teach life truths and values.
*O'Brien wrote "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" using his mother's maiden name, rather than his surname, as he was contracted to National Geographic magazine as an editor and writer at the time and not supposed to publish with anyone else. His real name was Robert Leslie Carroll Conly.
*O'Brien wrote "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" using his mother's maiden name, rather than his surname, as he was contracted to National Geographic magazine as an editor and writer at the time and not supposed to publish with anyone else. His real name was Robert Leslie Carroll Conly.
November 13, 2018
The wonderful conclusion to the rats of NIMH story.
In this instalment the rats stumble on two children lost in the mountains, Margaret and RT need help to survive until they can get home but after a time being with the rats starts to become "home" and second nature to them.
When finally back in civilisation the rats warned them how hard it would be to keep a secret that big about the talking rats, both thought it would be easy but fitting in now with family and friends is hard as they have to keep lying about what happened in the mountains that summer.
Will the children be able to keep quiet about the rats or will their cover be blown and NIMH will find out...?
Inventive and a worthy series of novels to follow on from the original tale.
In this instalment the rats stumble on two children lost in the mountains, Margaret and RT need help to survive until they can get home but after a time being with the rats starts to become "home" and second nature to them.
When finally back in civilisation the rats warned them how hard it would be to keep a secret that big about the talking rats, both thought it would be easy but fitting in now with family and friends is hard as they have to keep lying about what happened in the mountains that summer.
Will the children be able to keep quiet about the rats or will their cover be blown and NIMH will find out...?
Inventive and a worthy series of novels to follow on from the original tale.
March 19, 2020
I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, honestly. It did start a little slow, and the characters are not that interesting until they meet the rats. This book had some generally sad moments, such as when they left for home and separated from the rats of Thorn Valley, Artie separating from his new best friend, the reunion later on, and Nicodemus' development. It was nice that they had some of the old character's from the last books return, such as the reporter and the farm family near the Frisby residence. However, I was disappointed that Timothy and Mrs Frisby are only briefly mentioned in this story.
Enjoyed it overall!
Enjoyed it overall!
September 2, 2024
Half awesome, half terrible. Terrible: Why did the rats take them in? Are they insane? Great: Margaret was so hateable. Felt realistic Bad: the plot seemed to get loose as soon as they got home. Terrible: why tell the reporter????? That doesn't make sense to me. Good: autistic character, interesting. Neutral?: do autistic people tend to get their speech problems solved with friendship? Awesome: rats!
I think I can see why the series ended here. I think they would've done better to leave humans alone but I do appreciate the message of Sit On Couch Make Human Sad and Useless. Overall, compelled to finish but not nearly as impressed as with earlier installments.
I think I can see why the series ended here. I think they would've done better to leave humans alone but I do appreciate the message of Sit On Couch Make Human Sad and Useless. Overall, compelled to finish but not nearly as impressed as with earlier installments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2021
Margaret and her brother wander off and get lost on a camping trip with their family. The farther they distance from civilization, the closer they get to Thorn Valley and the Rats of Nimh -- a literal lifesaver for the two children, and in some ways for the rats as well.
This was a read out loud to my seven-year-old. It took some time and didn't hold us as well, like having the humans more involved took away too much of the magic of the overall story. It ended nicely though. This is a great series for early chapter readers!
This was a read out loud to my seven-year-old. It took some time and didn't hold us as well, like having the humans more involved took away too much of the magic of the overall story. It ended nicely though. This is a great series for early chapter readers!
June 27, 2018
I loved Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. This "sequel" just did not carry the magic from that book. The addition of humans to the NIMH story ruined it. And they were annoying humans.
September 18, 2020
Definitely my least favorite of the trilogy. It really felt like the last half of this book dragged on and on. Probably would've done much better if the story had focused solely on the time the kids spent with the rats and then finished with them going home. My nephews seemed to enjoy it, still, but their attention wavered a LOT in the latter half and they were more engaged in the first half.
November 9, 2021
The ending makes sense but i did want all the rats and the people to become friends. Probably b/c we had 7 rats over the course of a few years, so i understand how the children could become so attached to their new friends.
I wish that there was more shown on how Margaret changed as a result of being important and needed at the rat farm but that's probably b/c i'm an adult. :P
I wish that there was more shown on how Margaret changed as a result of being important and needed at the rat farm but that's probably b/c i'm an adult. :P
December 10, 2024
While bittersweet, I don't like how there are fatphobic and ableist situations. I wish that the author could have focused more on the old characters especially Mrs. Frisby. As I stated in my review of the previous book of this series, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH should've not become a series. It was a masterpiece just the way it was.
March 8, 2020
Ugh. There are way too many human characters in this story of super-smart rats. This book is 90% human children learning life lessons while super-smart rats exist in the background. No thank you. Very disappointing end to this trilogy.
May 23, 2021
The weakest of the three. Only read this because my 12 year old son wanted to hear the rest of the story from the rats. Tries too hard to be instructive rather than just unfolding in a more natural way.
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