I did enjoy this, but it was far longer than it needed to be. It could have been a third or a half shorter easily without losing any character development or plot.

Very familiar territory if you've read other Frances Hodgson Burnett stories. Themes include: What makes a person royal? The power of the will over the self. The effects of disability. The cause of character. Lots of coming of age stuff.

Despite it rambling towards an obvious conclusion, I enjoyed the journey and was interested in lots of the ideas. I cared about the characters. One major question unanswered to me though (unless I missed it) What on earth was Rat's real name? Surely Marco should have asked him at least once?