Misunderstood Why the Humble Rat May Be Your Best Pet Ever

As much a moving memoir as it is an amusing pet manual, Misunderstood is a unique nonfiction book for teens and tweens about domesticated rats in general and a wonderful rat named Iris in particular. Brimming with smarts and energy just like its furry subjects, Rachel Toor's text blends history and science with profiles of interesting people and autobiographical anecdotes as it joyfully sets the record straight about why this reviled creature is actually a most amazing species. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding and appreciation of domestic rats—and may be convinced to adopt one themselves.

Rachel Toor has been an admissions officer at Duke University, a high school cross country coach at the North Carolina School of Science and Math, an SAT prep tutor, and she currently teaches writing at Eastern Washington University in Spokane. A featured columnist for The Chronicle of Higher Education, she is the author of four previous books including the YA novel On the Road to Find Out.