24 June 2024

The Great & The Small by A.T. Balsara REVIEW

 Summary:


Ananda is a troubled teen who feels like a misfit at home and at her new school, and her unusual ability to connect with animals makes her feel like even more of an outsider. Still raw from the death of her grandmother, Ananda's dreams are haunted by a long-buried memory that causes her to push people away.

Fin is a Tunnel rat who lives in the passages beneath the city, in the dark places humans overlook or despise. Orphaned as a pup, he is the nephew of the Tunnel's charismatic leader, the Beloved Chairman, and is willing to do anything to please his uncle, including becoming his lead henchman.

The worlds of humans and rats suddenly collide when Ananda protects Fin during a chance encounter in the market. Neither can foresee how their lives will forever be inextricably linked, but as the Chairman launches a plague war against the humans, both Fin and Ananda wrestle with secrets so terrible that they threaten their very existence.


My Thoughts:


The chapters go back and forth between Fin and Ananda's stories. Fin is a very likeable character. He cares about the other rats, and generally has a positive outlook on life. However, he does hate humans because of what they have done to his kind, and wants the torture and killing of rats by humans to stop. Fin will do anything to help his uncle save the rats of the world, so he is ecstatic when his uncle comes up with a plan to bring back the plague, letting rats live in peace. But things change when he meets Ananda for the second time and he sees the potential good in humans. He can't tell his uncle though, as Wreckers (traitors) are disappearing.

Ananda is an introverted teen who was forced to move with her family for her father's job. On top of that, she had recently lost her grandmother, who she was very close with. Her relationship with her parents is strained, and she can't help but feel alone. Ananda loves animals, and can telepathically communicate with them somehow.

This book was really interesting. I loved the look into the politics of the Tunnel rats and Fin the most. While I liked Ananda, it seemed like she was less developed character-wise than the rats, and it made me feel less connected to her. The "secret" Ananda has buried never really comes to light at all, which felt like a let-down considering it was supposed to be a big part of the plot.

Overall, the book was good, but it wasn't really my cup of tea.


My Rating:3 stars 

No comments:

Post a Comment