# The Rat Queen - Hardcover

by **Pete Hautman** (Author)

**From National Book Award winner Pete Hautman comes a mysterious modern-day fairy tale about developing a moral compass--and the slippery nature of conscience.**

For Annie's tenth birthday, her papa gives her a pad of paper, some colored pencils, and the Klimas family secret. It's called the _nuodeema burna_, or eater of sins. Every time Annie misbehaves, she has to write down her transgression and stick the paper into a hidey-hole in the floor of their house. But Annie's inheritance has a dark side: with each paper fed to the _burna_, she feels less guilty about the mean things she says and does. As a plague of rats threatens her small suburban town and the mystery of her birthright grows, Annie--caught in a cycle of purging her misdeeds--begins to _stop_ growing. It is only when she travels to her family's home country of Litvania to learn more about the _burna_ that Annie uncovers the magnitude of the truth. Gripping and emotionally complex, Pete Hautman's inventive yarn for middle-grade readers draws on magical realism to explore coming of age and the path to moral responsibility.

### Author Biography

**Pete Hautman** is the author of many acclaimed books for young readers and adults, including the National Book Award-winning _Godless_, the Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning _Otherwood_, _Slider_, _Eden West_, and the Klaatu Diskos trilogy. He divides his time between Wisconsin and Minnesota.

**Number of Pages:** 400

**Dimensions:** 1.5 x 8.5 x 5.6 IN

**Publication Date:** October 11, 2022

**Accelerated Reader:**

**Quiz Name:** Rat Queen

**Interest Level:** Middle Grades, 4-8

**Reading Level:** 4.3

**Point Value:** 10

## Details

- **Price:** 18.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 18.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Rat Queen - Hardcover

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