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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
3.75 Stars. This book hurt my heart. There was a lot of sadness in it that was hard to read and made me cry. But it was also a good story and I loved reading about the giraffes. I almost wish “Red” would’ve been our main character.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.25/5 … I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Took me a while to get through though for some reason. I think it’s a bit slow at times, but not in a bad way. It’s a book about a journey, and if it were rushed, it wouldn’t be the same. A lot of story telling and character building which leads to a connection with characters you fall in love with. I loved the overall premise of how we connect with animals and how they can change us as people. The writing was poetic and simple yet graceful and deep. Very well done.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Wanted to love this and I really enjoyed the bits of actual news stories and items from the time. Overall a good story but rather than love it I just liked it. It took me awhile to get into the narrator’s storytelling style and at times it seemed forced and too full of lingo.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A story of a down and out teen, who finds himself driving 2 giraffes from NY to the San Diego Zoo. A historical fiction that references pre-war America, the Dust Bowl, racism, sexism and our relationships with animals.
I was hooked on the story at the beginning, while the middle dragged quite a bit, the ending was wonderful.
The characters were fairly unmemorable except for the giraffes!
I was hooked on the story at the beginning, while the middle dragged quite a bit, the ending was wonderful.
The characters were fairly unmemorable except for the giraffes!
Honestly, the best book I've read in a very long time. The story is about an orphaned teenage boy from the Dust Bowl, an old man, a spirited redhead young woman, and two giraffes. Based on true events of 1938 when two giraffes survive a hurricane in the Atlantic ocean to arrive at the New York harbor. The author weaves a wonderful adventurous story of how a seventeen year old boy drives these giraffes across the U.S. on the Lee Highway to the San Diego zoo with an old man and a young woman who dreams of becoming a Life magazine photographer.
The author does an excellent job through dialog and story telling of transporting the reader back to the 1930s to experience flash floods, dust storms and mass exodus, unscrupulous circus owners, the harshness and desperation of the depression, the threat of Adolph Hitler, and road trips in a time of the Green Book and when there were auto courts and campsites along the road. A must read.
The author does an excellent job through dialog and story telling of transporting the reader back to the 1930s to experience flash floods, dust storms and mass exodus, unscrupulous circus owners, the harshness and desperation of the depression, the threat of Adolph Hitler, and road trips in a time of the Green Book and when there were auto courts and campsites along the road. A must read.