Synopsis: Sophie is a spunky, honest and intelligent fourteen year-old. She is biracial, with an Italian American father and Congolese mother, who are divorced. Though in high school in the US, she spends her summers at her mother’s bonobo sanctuary just outside Kinshasa, trying to bond with her distant mother, but also sharing her mother’s passion for these endangered apes. The day of her arrival for her summer stay, she makes a poor judgment call, though out of compassion, and we find her in the opening pages bonding with a young, rescued, orphan bonobo, named Otto.When the war hits Kinshasa, a day after her mother has left to release some bonobos elsewhere in Congo, everything changes for Sophie as the story develops into one of her own flight and survival rather than just the saving of one baby bonobo. Sophie has to grow up rapidly if she’s going to survive this insurgency. When rebels take over the capitol, and move on to destroy and pillage the villages and the sanctuary, Sophie, who should have gone on a UN transport, finds herself locked in a “safe” electrified jungle zone with some bonobos. But once the electricity is down, she is no longer safe from the rebels, who have killed most of her mother’s coworkers. Her long journey to find her mother who is at a release site is fraught with the inevitable dangers of a young female girl in a war zone. The way she encounters each challenge is what makes this story unique.Why I like this book: Having lived through an attempted coup d’état in Togo, and having observed the conflict in neigbouring West African nations, as well as being a passionate advocate for endangered species, I opened this book with excitement and trepidation. It is extremely difficult to even begin to present to anyone the horrific and complicated conflicts such as what happened in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and the Ivory Coast or the food crises and conflicts in recent years in Somalia and Ethiopia, as well as what is still happening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Also as a passionate animal advocate, I recognize it is also very difficult for outsiders who focus on animal welfare, to comprehend the needs of a people in the depths of poverty. I could not put this book down and read it in two days. Schrefer’s research is impeccable, and while he takes pains to indicate this is fictional, he has crafted an outstanding work about a central African nation, about the bonobo species, and about the complex and relationship we humans have with the world around us, and how context is vital in interpreting events and actions.The narrative is gripping from page one and Sophie faces horrific challenges in a credible way as a mature biracial teen with a dependent. Does Otto save Sophie, or Sophie save Otto? I don’t know, but from what I have read about the bonobo, the relationship Shefer develops between to toddler ape and adolescent is enchanting and realistic. This relationship between a peace-loving ape and its surrogate mother, and this growing bond, are the focus of the narrative against the backdrop of the typical violence, fear, violation and desperation that a corrupt, weakened war-torn nation brings. Sophie’s courage, wisdom, maturity and tenacity win over the reader from the early pages, when she won’t abandon Otto to be airlifted to security. Amongst the decimation and evil, there are also some samaritans along the way, who, as is so often my experience in developing nation, share their little to help Sophie and Otto.It is artfully written and I felt myself re-experiencing the humidity and insect-infestation of the jungle, the dry manioc fields, the hollow sunken faces of people starving to death. This remind me of the Patty McCormick novels I have read, and won’t leave a reader unchanged. I feel Schrefer pulled off exceptionally well the challenging task of depicting an authentic Italian-American/Congolese teenager, though I confess occasionally some of Sophie’s socio-political awareness seemed very advanced for a fourteen year-old. Endangered is a gutsy, suspenseful, moving adventure story of survival that that will linger long in your heart. The book engaged my emotions and intellect, which I love. I think this will remain one of my favorite books of 2013. I highly recommend it, to teens and adults, male and female. It truly is the sort of book I would like to write!An author’s note, Q&A session about the book and details about inspiration and research both into Congolese history and bonobos, are valuable resources at the back of the book. In the interview, Schefer is asked whether it’s ethical to concern ourselves with the mistreatment of animals when humans are in crisis. He responded that the same people who are cruel toward animals will also be cruel to humans that they believe have a lower status, and that it’s essentially the same problem.Bonobo Facts and Status: Bonobos are found only within the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa. Together with common chimpanzees, they are man’s closest living relatives. Unlike chimpanzees, they are a peaceful and matriarchal society. Sex is an everyday affair in bonobo society, and is liberally used to create bonds between individuals, as well as for reproduction. That said, during periods of rest grooming is the activity of choice, and is thought to provide group cohesion and ease tension. Bonobos are born helpless, and females provide the majority of the parental, since paternity is usually unclear.There are no concrete data on population numbers, but the estimate is between 29,500 and 50,000 individuals. The species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by habitat destruction and human population growth and movement, though commercial poaching is the most prominent threat.
A heart wrenching, action packed novelSophie travels to the Congo, where her mother runs a sanctuary for bonobos. Along the way, she meets Otto, a baby bonobo, and instantly connects with the abused and starving creature. Her love for bonobos and the sanctuary blossoms as she becomes the adoptive mother to Otto. Then war strikes and Sophie must flee unprepared with her only friend deep into the jungle. She must not only survive, but protect Otto as well. As they trek across the Congo, surrounded by conflict and despair, Sophie and Otto, depend on each other for survival. Amid the horrors of war, Sophie finds love, friendship, and compassion. Through the tragedy of conflict and the poverty of the Congo, Sophie’s character explores kindness and sacrifice, and the depths of emotion humankind can reach when forced to survive. Well written and thoughtful, Endangered provides a heart wrenching and action packed novel that readers of any age will enjoy. Recommended for readers age 12-17, Endangered is scheduled for release October 1, 2012, bust is currently available from Scholastic in select bookfairs.Endangered- Eliot Schrefer http://wp.me/p2E73h-aY
What do You think about Endangered (2012)?
Five Things about Endangered:1. This is the first five star review I've given that is five stars for how I would've viewed this book as the target audience. This book is an upper YA, and although I enjoyed it, it would've made my eyes huge with wonder and shock as a fourteen year old unaware of the history of the Congo. I'm quite pleased to imagine it making its way into the hands of teens now, though. It's one of those books that makes you look at your own culture a little differently; makes your world a little stretchier.2. This book is not for everyone. Bad Things happen. I mean, it is not Little Bee, which caused me much rocking and moaning in the corner. But it is not The House at Pooh Corner either (I first typed that as the House at Poo Corner, which would have been a very different sort of book. Possibly one that would make me rock and moan). I've previously recommended Lucy Christopher's Stolen and Ruta Sepatys' Between Shades of Gray, and I'd say it would definitely appeal to folks who liked both of those. Definitely it has that gritty sense of place and history that seems to evade Pooh Corner.3. This book is about bonobos. They are apes. That means they have no tail. We also have no tail. Bonobos, as you can see, are quite like us. 4. Tigger is not in this book. Unless he is a bonobo. Man, I really enjoy saying that word out loud. Go ahead. Try it.5. This book reminded me a little bit of those old-fashioned adventure stories I read growing up. There's something a bit timeless about the telling of it, about the girl-and-an-animal element, about the questing-for-safety. Something familiar. It's not a book that changed my life now. But it would've changed my life then, and for that, five stars.
—Maggie Stiefvater
This is a YA book for mature readers who don't flinch from reading about horrific violence against animals and human beings. It's about a very courageous fourteen year old girl whose mother runs a sanctuary for bonobo apes in a country in chaos where bonobos are sold on the black market and routinely slaughtered. It's an extremely powerful book and an important one. I also very much liked the interview with author Eliot Schrefer at the back of the book. I found it very insightful. I was very interested in what he has to say about why bonobos are so radically different from chimps, and the implications this has for humans. Schrefer was asked whether it's ethical to concern ourselves with the mistreatment of animals when humans are in crisis. He responded that the same people who are cruel toward animals will also be cruel to humans that they believe are lower status, and that it's essentially the same problem. Feminists have had the same insight about violence against women and children. People who are obsessed with their lack of power are deranged by it.This is the last book I read in 2012 for the Around the World challenge, and I thought Schrefer was equally insightful about the problems of the Democratic Republic of the Congo where this book takes place. I do consider it my top read of 2012.
—Shomeret
A remarkably well-written young adult book about an Congolese-American girl, who spends her school year with her white American father in Miami and her summers with her Congolese mother in Kinshasa of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The novel begins with Sophie heading to visit her mother at work; she founded and operates the only Bonobo Sanctuary in the Congo (the nation formally known as Zaire). On the ride to the Sanctuary, the author does an absolutely fantastic job showing the lack of stability of the nation just by describing how Sophie and the driver are unsure if the men at the police road block are actually police or if they are people posing as police. This ride also shows the severe lack of infrastructure in the city. The whole books show the nation in snip its like this one. I learned a lot about Bonobos in this book. Yes, I did not know very much about this ape before so Bonobo experts might find it lacking. The civil war outbreak reminded me a lot of scenes from The Drowned Cities and Little Bee. Of course what is nice about this book and The Drowned Cities is that young adult fiction is less violent. I found the realistic portayal of violence in Little Bee to be more disturbing than I cared for. So obviously I liked it. A lot.
—Lindsey
