by Brian Jacques
Over the last few decades YA lit has undergone quite the revolution. A large number of new series have appeared and swept, not only through the youth, but through the general adult readers as well. The most obvious ones are the recent Harry Potter and Twilight series, but James Patterson's Maximum Ride series deserves some attention as well as the R.L. Stine books. On the earlier end of this recent influx was the Redwall series.
Redwall was initially published in 1986 but didn't receive a whole lot of attention until several years afterward. It was fairly popular through the 90's and early 2000's and was ultimately eclipsed by the Harry Potter series. Despite falling out of popularity, this is a series that deserves a more permanent place in the YA canon.
Redwall Abbey is home to a monastic order of peace loving mice. These mice are community leaders and healers much beloved by the smaller woodland mammals. When a maurading horde of evil rats come to take over the Abbey, these peace loving critters must learn to fight led by the most unlikely member of their order.
This is a delightful book. There are a lot of positive problem solving examples in there without it being trite or preachy. While it's clearly intended for a younger audience, it is still enjoyable to me as adult.
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