Sadly, I don't think the male-dominance of the rat society dates the book AT ALL. I wish it did.

I love this book. I love that the hero is genuinely unlikely - not a super-smart rat, not the strong oldest mouse son, not even the sickly younger son, but the mom. I love the story-within-the-story of the birth of the super-smart rats. I love the revelations about how the rats are connected to the mouse family.

And yeah, I too had a weird sort-of crush on Justin. But then I also had one on Bigwig. I am just a sucker for selfless heroes, even if they are small enough to sit on my hand.