I finished Hard Times. I won’t tell what happens, in case you want to read it for yourself, but I will say that it wasn’t exactly a clear-cut happy or sad ending. I will say that it is a very thought-provoking read, and well recommended for those who enjoy stories set in the Industrial Revolution. Style-wise, it reminded me vaguely of Beyond the Western Sea, a 2-volume story by Avi that was set around the same time period. However, Beyond the Western Sea was a story about an Irish brother and sister who had to emigrate to America. Hard Times - the entire book - was set in England. The two told different stories, but both of them had a common thread – they each explored different societal problems of the time period.

After finishing Hard Times, it was actually not that hard to transition to a completely different sort of book – Pearls of Lutra, the ninth book in the Redwall series. Pearls of Lutra is much cheerier and “fun” than Hard Times. It’s also one of the most exciting Redwall books I’ve ever read, perhaps the most exciting. I recall that I was also really excited about Mattimeo (another Redwall book) and The Mysterious Benedict Society (completely different from the Redwall series, by a different author). These three books may be the most exciting books I’ve ever read.