First published 2012
A teenage girl reluctantly accompanies her mother to a bonobo sanctuary deep in the Congo. She has no interest in her mother's work with the endangered apes. The sanctuary feels foreign and unwelcoming. Then armed revolutionaries storm the facility during a violent coup. The girl watches her world collapse as gunfire erupts around the compound. Her mother disappears in the chaos. Now she faces an impossible choice. She can flee alone or try to save the bonobos trapped in their enclosures. She chooses the apes. Together, the girl and a small group of bonobos escape into the dense jungle. They must find food, avoid rebel soldiers, and survive in a landscape where humans and animals alike become prey. The girl discovers that protecting others means risking everything. She learns what connects humans to the animals they try to save.
Genres: fiction, animals, adventure, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Congo
272 pages · Hardcover · Scholastic Press
Content warnings: violence