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A review by librandian
Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
4.0
When only child Ben Tomlin finds out he’s going to be a big brother, he knows that his little brother is going to be very different. Ben’s parents are scientists and, as a result to his father’s newest experiment, the whole family is moving across Canada. Days after Ben and his father arrive at their new house, Ben’s mother shows up with his new little brother, a baby chimpanzee. Ben’s father has orchestrated an experiment to determine whether a chimp can learn language if it is raised like a human. Zan, the chimp, is to be treated like a member of family. He is to wear clothes, eat with the family, and abide by family rules.
At first Ben isn’t exactly on board with the Zan project. Zan throws stuff and pees everywhere when Ben attempts to change his diapers. Before long, Ben finds himself in awe at what Zan can do. Ben, along with his mother and a team of graduate students from his father’s university, begin to teach Zan sign language in order to begin communicating. Teaching Zan was not the only thing going on in Ben’s life. He also has a major crush on the daughter of his father’s boss. Not knowing exactly how to go about getting a girl to like him, Ben decides to treat this like any other experiment. He must do research and take notes about Jennifer in hopes that his knowledge leads Project Jennifer to successful results. Unfortunately both projects don’t go according to the original plans. Ben learns that Zan is not reaching to expectations of the university scientists and he has to go. Ben refuses to easily give up on his baby brother and, along with his mother and a former research student from the project, does whatever he can to stop Zan from being sent to a harmful testing facility.
Set in the 1970s, Oppel writes a touching story embodying the tone of the decade. While some would stop at nothing to improve life for humans, others fought tooth and nail to protect the rights of every living thing. Half Brother is a wonderful story about family and acceptance and will win over animal lovers. While Zan may steal the show, Ben is a realistic character that compels readers to cheer when things go well, cry during the hard times, and fight with everything they have for the cause.
At first Ben isn’t exactly on board with the Zan project. Zan throws stuff and pees everywhere when Ben attempts to change his diapers. Before long, Ben finds himself in awe at what Zan can do. Ben, along with his mother and a team of graduate students from his father’s university, begin to teach Zan sign language in order to begin communicating. Teaching Zan was not the only thing going on in Ben’s life. He also has a major crush on the daughter of his father’s boss. Not knowing exactly how to go about getting a girl to like him, Ben decides to treat this like any other experiment. He must do research and take notes about Jennifer in hopes that his knowledge leads Project Jennifer to successful results. Unfortunately both projects don’t go according to the original plans. Ben learns that Zan is not reaching to expectations of the university scientists and he has to go. Ben refuses to easily give up on his baby brother and, along with his mother and a former research student from the project, does whatever he can to stop Zan from being sent to a harmful testing facility.
Set in the 1970s, Oppel writes a touching story embodying the tone of the decade. While some would stop at nothing to improve life for humans, others fought tooth and nail to protect the rights of every living thing. Half Brother is a wonderful story about family and acceptance and will win over animal lovers. While Zan may steal the show, Ben is a realistic character that compels readers to cheer when things go well, cry during the hard times, and fight with everything they have for the cause.