I've read one book by Earle before and it was decent. Let's check out this one. Spoilers ahead.
Joseph is a rambunctious boy who, during World War II, is sent to live with a woman named Mrs. F. Mrs. F turns out to own a zoo and is struggling to keep it going in the midst of the war. The star of the zoo is Adonis, a giant silverback gorilla. Joseph at first hates everything about his situation, including Mrs. F and Adonis. But soon he starts to form somewhat of a bond with the both of them. But things aren't easy. They're just barely scraping by at the zoo, Joseph struggles in school and bombs are falling seemingly every night. Will they make it out okay?
This book positively surprised me. Like I said, I've read one book by Earle before (Until the Road Ends). And while that one was decent, it didn't exactly blow me away and was quite predictable at times. This book, however, is a gem.
It just feels almost real. The struggles of the characters feel real. The characters feel real. Their bonds feel real and tangible. They develop very naturally over the course of the story and it's all handled so well. The emotions are real. Earle really outdid himself with this one.
The main attraction of the book, at least for me, was the characters and seeing their development and how their bonds grow and change over the course of the story. Joseph genuinely felt like a real kid tossed into a very bad situation he can do nothing about. He is very negative and mean sometimes and yes, it does make him unlikable from time to time, but you also really understand why he is like this. And it makes seeing him gradually grow close to Mrs. F and his friend Syd all the nicer.
His bond with the gorilla Adonis is also very well-written. I was afraid that at some points they were going to overly anthropomorphize Adonis or make Joseph do things you really shouldn't be doing with a gorilla, or make the bond more one of a pet-owner rather than a genuine friendship. But no, their bond is very well done and the highlight of the story. I really like how, despite Joseph gradually growing closer to the gorilla and Adonis seemingly growing to like them, their bond never becomes too anthropomorphized or close.
There is always that genuine respect between the two of them of "I am your carer, and you are a wild animal that is dangerous but also deserves my respect." They never become true buddy-buddies but there is just a very respectful even if somewhat distant bond between the two, and honestly I like that it was written that way. Not just because it feels more realistic but also because it's a nice change of pace of the more common "kid and dangerous wild animals become inseparable best buddies" trope. Not that that trope is bad, mind you, but it's nice seeing a more subdued and realistic take on it once every while.
The book has a sad ending (Adonis dies) and if I do have one criticism it's that maybe the ending is a bit too abrupt. Sure, I get it ending pretty soon after Adonis' death (since the bond between him and Joseph is a major focus of the book) but even just a few more pages after the ape's death would've been nice. Right now Adonis dies and the story wraps up like one or two pages after that with very little fanfare. I guess this is to show how abruptly things can change in war, but it also feels rather jarring as a reader. Not the end of the world, but a little bit more of a conclusion or an epilogue would've been a nice bonus.
Overall this was a fantastic book, though. The characters, their relationships and their struggles are super well-written and the book just feels almost real at times. An absolute recommendation.
Rating: 4/5
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