Review by Frank Plowright

Dorothy, Hugh, Jonas, Theodore and Ursula are mice used for scientific experimentation. One by one they’re removed from their glass cage, injected with something, and returned home. Shortly afterwards they discover they’re now different. Theodore, for instance, is now able to read, understand what he’s reading and tell the time. The others learn how they’re also now altered, but this is a very gradual process to have the young audience wondering.

Writer Marian Dealy brings an impressive scientific research background to her writing, and subsequent work as a film-maker has instilled an ability to tell a coherent story. Rise of the G.E.M.S. is based on her learning that in 2019 a group of mice were sent to the orbiting international space station. The result is a curious mixture considering it’s aimed at young readers, on the one hand presenting a cheerful adventure, yet also dealing with experimentation on animals. That’s a contentious and potentially upsetting issue, here normalised as harmless. Many children may be unaware that animals are routinely subjected to random experimentation with little concern for their health. It’s not an issue the mice raise until well into the book.

However, it’s a background process. The mice realise they’re test subjects, but are able to figure out a lot for themselves. Along the way Dealy introduces scientific terms and equipment in passing, and when the mice are taken into space there’s an explanation of zero gravity.

Five very different designs for the main characters from Pablo Ballesteros ensures they’re easily distinguished, with Theodore’s look only a few whiskers away from being Jerry from Tom & Jerry. They look friendly, and that’s important. Ballesteros delivers their enclosed world very well, and shows almost everything from their viewpoint in art that’s clear and character-led.

This is the opening volume of a continued story, and it’s relatively slow paced for that being the case. The mice all have different characters, and those personalities determine how events play out for them. By the end they’ve discovered a lot about themselves, having reached space as promised, and there’s a whole new world to explore next time.