She ties with the reader of Shadow of the Wind. I mean it! She is the best audiobook reader I have ever heard. One of the many wonderful things about it is the audiobook reader. I have been listening to this book for about three days now. Instead, I think the recent movie/tv series Earth presents a much more accurate picture of animals as organisms that think but act powerfully to achieve their needs, ignorant of the human needs for love, relationship, conversation, and even letting the underdog win.

I guess I’m also not a big fan of unrealistic mixing of animals and people (a la Animorphs) where so many people seem to get the wrong idea from zoos that animals and nice and cuddly and innocent. At least the book has been written by someone with some personal experience in this part of Africa so the viewpoints presented aren’t wholly from an outsider. In this book, Martine, a complete foreigner, seems to come and usurp their magic as some sort of savior, which also seems like the wrong message. Most blacks are Christian and while they may incorporate traditional beliefs, magic could be seen as a primitive association. The portrayal of blacks as some sort of shaman always tends to disturb me, as it seems somewhat unlikely that this is an attitude that they would be comfortable with. However, I found the inclusion of magic somewhat disturbing, similar to other semi-fantasy books set in Africa. Overall, this tale of a girl reluctantly sent to live with her grandmother on a game preserve in South Africa is a fun adventure with a lot of animals and a tiny bit of culture thrown in.

The white giraffe by lauren st john