Eliot Schrefer

I’ve just closed the cover on a book called Endangered by Eliot Schrefer which totally enthralled me. This book is a YA adventure story set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sophie is a half-American, half-Congolese 14 year old girl who lives in America during the school year and comes to the Congo during the summer months and helps her mother at the Bonobo Sanctuary. As she is both the daughter of the boss and half white, Sophie doesn’t easily fit in with the other workers at the show more Sanctuary, and she find herself bonding with an abused juvenile bonobo called Otto.

While her mother is away reintroducing some bonobo’s to the wild, civil war breaks out and Sophie finds herself trapped in a country filled with roving bands of killers, facing starvation and natural hazards. To keep herself and Otto, her bonobo, alive they must learn to live off the land, travel in secret, and at times coexist with other bonobos all the while trying to reunite with her mother.

This is a YA story for mature readers who don’t flinch from reading about horrific violence against animals and human beings. Sophie comes across as a very real girl, not always making the best of decisions, but she is courageous and has a huge heart. Otto is fun, smart and loving, he is as protective of Sophie as she is toward him. This is a great story set against a compelling background, with characters (both human and ape) that are very well drawn and realistic. Without becoming overly graphic, the author is well able to illustrate the peril that Sophie faces. Endangered was an excellent read with a riveting story-line that I didn’t want to see end. show less

I don't know how to put into words how much I love these books. How much I care about this family and their survival. Even Sheep became someone I loved deeply. Schrefer is an excellent author, who is finely skilled at making you care about his characters. And if he isn't writing a 3rd book I will hunt him down myself and go full Misery.

Animal CW: multiple yaks are killed. A sheep is wounded due to neglect.

Schrefer, E. (2012). Endangered. New York: Scholastic Press. 264 pp. ISBN: 978-0-545-16576-1. (Hardcover); $17.99.

Bonobos! Who knew? Schrefer’s National Book Award nominated title features bonobos, a close relative to the chimpanzee and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a land torn by violence and corruption. While this book is fiction, it is based on the very real situation in the Congo and Schrefer’s research at the Lola Ya Bonobo sanctuary.

Sophie is Congolese and American. Her mother show more loves her family, but her family is not as important to her as her work with the bonobos, which has driven her father away. Consequently, Sophie does not feel that she belongs anywhere. While visiting her mother at the sanctuary, she blunders her way into taking charge of Otto, a baby bonobo. Bonobos, unlike other apes, unlike chimpanzees, have a peaceful, matriarchal society. Babies do not do very well when separated from mom. When Sophie’s mother is forced to leave early to release bonobos back into the wild, Sophie is supposed to return to her father. When it comes time to leave, however, Sophie cannot bring herself to abandon Otto, knowing what this will mean to Otto who has come to think of her as his new mother. Instead of boarding the plane, Sophie bolts with Otto through the electrified fence into the bonobo sanctuary, a place that no one enters alone. Eventually rebels enter the nursery and kill the staff and many of the babies and newly rescued, quarantined bonobos. They cannot get to Sophie, however, because of the fence. When the electrified fence loses its charge, Sophie must figure out a way to find safety for herself and Otto. She is forced to run. In a land that has people killing and eating bonobos and selling babies on the black market, to say nothing of killing each other, where does one run? Schrefer exposes the political and ecological drama in a country that not many American students know anything about. One of the important questions considered in this white-knuckle drama, is the basic question of why one should care about a bonobo in a country that has so much poverty and pain. Read this story about Sophie and Otto and ask yourself whether you would have been able to abandon Otto. Caring is important and sometimes our hearts refuse to engage in qualitative arguments over the relative value of the object of our love and concern. Readers should be warned that they will fall in love with bonobos. While recognizing the plight of the humans, readers will also care about what happens to these peaceful animals. Perhaps the most important writing Schrefer does in this book is reinforce the fact that we must understand those whom we hope to help FIRST. This is an excellent blend of fiction and nonfiction. Purchase this one for both middle school and high school libraries. Here is a book that we can share with school life science departments. show less

This is another book I'm going to recommend for every queer person's library. Eliot Schrefer did a fantastic job talking about queerness in nature while also warning against human biases on either side swaying our opinions or scientific studies. He reminds us of this quite often which some might dislike, but I think it keeps us curious and open to questioning things as science progresses.

I loved reading about all the animals in their queer diversity. I only hope there's a second book in the show more works going over animals not mentioned such as maned lionesses and hyenas as those are two prominent ones I was surprised weren't mentioned. Even things like seahorses weren't gone over in as much detail as I expected. But for its length and teen target audience, I appreciated it for what it was.

I actually think this worked perfectly as a teen's book as the humorous and accessible approach might make it easier to read for those who aren't queer. I also appreciated the humor balancing the scientific details of animal sex as sex itself is already a taboo enough topic, let alone when it's about animals. If you can be mature and stomach the awkwardness of it, Schrefer takes readers on a fascinating journey. I especially enjoyed as a demi-bisexual person that there were also mentions of queer partnerships in nature that didn't involve sex. I also enjoyed all the various reasons animals might be queer or specifically bi from an evolutionary perspective, even if
it isn't for survival.

The only things I didn't like were that I wanted more animal examples than what we got, and that the one scientist Beans (which is a great name by the way) made the claim that they believe gender/sexuality labels are political in nature. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I disagree and think that's a harmful rhetoric for potential allies or young/newly-realized queer folks to read about. I understand why we may avoid labeling animals or their behaviour, but it's not inherently political to have terms for humans that give a sense of belonging and identity if they choose one. But that was only one short chapter where it probably was not even the focus and might have been a side comment that readers don't have tonal context for.

Overall though, this was a very healing read for me as someone who grew up in a religious household, reminding similar readers that there is nothing unnatural about being queer or trans, because nature refuses to be bound to one narrow way of being. I really hope to see a sequel to this and look forward to diving into the sources cited to learn more regardless. I recommend this book to anybody who loves animals, especially queer folks, any age after they've already had "the talk" who might be curious how some relationships work in nature. I also recommend it to any queer folks like me who have ever been told they're "unnatural" who want to be reminded there is nothing wrong with you. I would especially recommend this book to allies and parents of queer kids who want to challenge their world view. show less