Recent Read: Endangered

Sophie is spending yet another summer in the crumbling city of Kinshasa, Congo at her mother's bonobo sanctuary. She becomes responsible for the safety of a baby bonobo who will not survive without her constant companionship and care. She is still caring for this young bonobo when her mother has to leave to release some rehabilitated bonobos into a protected reserve on a remote island in the north. Sophie continues to be a mother to this little bonobo who has become so dear to her, when the president of Congo is shot, and rebel fighters armed with machetes and machine guns take over the city. Alone with her bonobo, Sophie must find a way to survive and get to safety.

Honestly, in finishing Eliot Schrefer's Endangered, I was surprised because I have an aversion to monkeys and apes, and Schrefer had me caring about a bonobo in the first chapter alone. The bonobos are characters just as the humans are, and I enjoyed getting to know them, their culture, and their individual personalities. Among the many things I liked about this book, I loved seeing Sophie grow and mature and become a selfless caretaker. Though the conflict is fictional, I found the survival aspect of the story surprisingly believable. Schrefer depicts the tragedy and horror of the conflict in a frank and concise way, while still shielding the reader from some of the more sordid and disturbing details. Had I known what the story would be before I read it, I might have passed it over, thinking I would be bored. Instead I found myself interested and invested the whole way through.

Releases October 1

 

based on NetGalley advanced reader copy.