Reviews - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

1.1k reviews for:

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Robert C. O'Brien

4.09 AVERAGE

gemin_eyed's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous hopeful inspiring slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I loved the movie as a kid, but never knew about the book until I got older. I was really shocked by how different it was, I still love the movie and was sort of bummed by the lack of the dark mystical element the movie added. However both the rats and Jonathan have really poignant things to say throughout. I enjoyed it!

jennifnerd's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

prickly_badger725's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

timvasion's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous

michaelmay's review against another edition

4.0

A charming talking-animal story with a point. I like all of the characters and the tension in their lives is real. First, Mrs Frisby's plight in not being able to move her severely sick son when their home is going to be plowed over in just a few days. Then, when she finally finds relief and help in a local nest of mysterious rats, their lives become in danger. I love the internal friction as Mrs Frisby wants the rats to be safe while also desperately needing them to save her son. And I love the powerful, dramatic climax as all of this is resolved.

Gender roles are very of their time, but there's no malice at all in the story. And I like that the rebellious faction of rats that have split from the main group aren't the story's villains. They cause problems for our heroes, but it's all offscreen and unintentional. The real bad guys of the story are the humans, but even most of them are more antagonists than villains; just people going about their lives with little thought given to how their actions impact the small, wild animals around them.

The bad guys are NIMH. If the book ever explicitly identifies the full name of the National Institute of Mental Health, I missed it, but it's well-established outside the text that NIMH is a reference to that real-world organization. The story depicts them as modern-day Frankensteins, creating something without fully understanding what they're doing, then losing control of it and wanting to destroy it. I love the character of Frankenstein's Creature, but the Rats of NIMH are more noble and even easier to root for.