Richard Mosher

Although I appreciated the atmosphere of this story, the description of the countryside and the coming-of-age of the sweet young protagonist, one major part was never satisfactorily explained in my opinion. Zazoo was adopted from Vietnam by an elderly French man who was a friend of her family. I understand that quite a few orphans were adopted abroad in the wake of the Vietnam War, but it seems unlikely to me that Zazoo's Grand-Pierre would have been considered a good candidate for an show more adoptive parent, seeing as how he was single and old. (In fact, by the time the story began, Grand-Pierre was beginning to slide into dementia.) Even if he was a family friend, I still think he would have had difficulties adopting her.

This may be a minor issue with many readers, and indeed it's not really a part of the plot, but it was something that bothered me the entire time while I read the book. show less

This is my pick for YA historical fiction. I was so moved by this book. This girl's love for her adopted grandfather really impacted me as she pressed him to reveal his painful and guilt-filled past. I love when a book has such a strong female character, although I think this book would be enjoyed by both boys and girls. The author was able to reveal Zazoo's incredible spirit.

Zazoo is the story of a young girl in France. She is a Vietnam orphan adopted by a French soldier.

Zazoo lives with her father in a gatehouse on a canal in France. Zazoo is the only point of contact between the local village and her father. She and her father live a slow but satisfying life, deeply love one another, and write fabulous poetry. As her father receds more and more from life (alzheimers?) Zazoo becomes a young woman and starts reaching out to more people. She stumbles upon show more another side to her father, a darker side which haunts him but which also expands her vision of the person he is. Zazoo and a friend work to patch a friendship between Zazoo's father and a villager.

Major themes: No man is an island. Sometimes we do bad things for good reasons and sometimes bad things from anger/emotional loss. Continued obsession with the past can ruin your present and future. Love is a great healer.

I recommended this to a 15 year old girl and lent it to her and she hasn't given it back. She says she passed it on to some friends. show less

Zazoo was an interesting book. Zazoo is an orphan girl from Vietnam. She was adopted by a French soldier. Both her and her father love to ride their kayak through the canal. When riding the kayak they both love writing poems. But her father is very sick and slowly dying. Zazoo brings medicine for him from a pharmacist but suddenly a boy not like other boys ask a very strange question about the pharmacist that makes Zazoo suspicious.
I would recommend that teenage girls over 15 years old show more should read this book. show less