Harry Gilbert

In a future world, there are no places for human - there are places just for animals. In a village, twelve-year-old children must do their Year of Sharing, and Richard must do that, too. He must live alone in the forest with the wild animals. He must learn how it is to live, eat, fight and die...
It is a very shocking story. Today in the world, many people insist that we have to protect the environment, especially for the animals. But we can know how the world is going to be like by reading show more this book. Of course it is just a story, but I came to think that we have to think more about our world. show less

Richard, a twelve-year-old boy lives in a future world. In his village, they have a custom that all twelve-year-old boys go out there and have one year life with animal family as their baby in the outside world where people are usually prohibitted from entering. Since Richard didn't like people and the boring life in the village so much, he looks unafraid and willing to follow. After a "farewell party", finally he left for the animal's world, and....
While reading, I got kind of scared from show more the terrible custom, not dangerous wolves. Though I don't say it's wrong that people regret and change their past behavior to nature, especially animals, that custom was too excessive for me to accept. If such a future should come true, sooner or later we human beings would die out because of "human beings" just like Richard's mother who adore nature so much that they tend to forget to think of their "family" or its future. However, unluckily it's true that now there are some radical ecologists who have that tendency, so we should try to improve our behavior as hard as possible before those people lose their temper and make "a mere horror story" true. show less

In the future world, human polluted the earth so heavily that they totally lost other creatures, in other words, animal. Furthermore, too much hotness also enabled themselves to decide to escape there to the huge galaxy. They got lonely, empty, and sad life as only creature surrounded by an infinite number of stars. However, one day, a girl named Hummingbird found "the star zoo" and finally human realized the second encounter with animal.
I got interested in the second half, namely after the show more encounter with "the monster". That's because I felt in that part younger people including children are described just like Messiah, while older people got a thankless task of a "junk" that could live in the fixed idea only. I think it's from the idea that we should change this world full of pollution, just like an adult covered with the fixed idea, into the new world whose symbol is a child filled with possibility. Actually, it may be ideal, but sadly I wasn't able to accept or share this author's extreme and intense idea so much. show less

At the era after five hundred years from now,people don't have convenient machines.They live in the villages enclosed by walls and they usually can't go out there.At the age of twelve,they must leave from their village and live with wild animals for a year.Richard started his year of sharing with a family of deers...
I was moved by this story.Honestry,the year of sharing is too cruel for children.But Richard found many important things and feelings in it.This story tought me the positive for show more living. show less