Naked Mole Rat Saves the World

August 5, 2019
Eleven-year-old kit was so tiny when she was born that her single mother deemed her “too small for capital letters.” Since then, she’s been told two things about that day: diagnosed with alopecia, she “looked like a naked mole rat,” and her birth saved her mother, who suffers from acute anxiety. In Brooklyn, kit resents her mom’s inability to leave home and the savior role her mother has thrust upon her (“kit” stands for “keep it together”), especially after her best friend, Clem, is hurt performing on television with her acrobat family. This event changes both girls: Clem hides the secret of how she fell, and kit believes that she turned into a naked mole rat when she witnessed the tumble. The story picks up a year later, and both friends are still hiding their secrets. Together, they must find the courage to confront difficult truths. Rivers (The Girl in the Well Is Me) realistically portrays the challenge of living with anxiety and the pressures of family responsibility. Complex and moving, this story takes an unvarnished look at what it means to be true to oneself as well as loved ones. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary.