The White Giraffe

The premise of the book is great, but I found too many holes explaining how/what things happened which left me wondering if this was reviewed by her editor. Flat characters who conveniently helped the plot move along were too simplistic. 5th-6th graders may enjoy the exotic location, middle school friend turmoil, exciting plot & fairy tale ending. it's certainly good fodder for discussions about race.

This was read as an audio book, narrated by Jill Fox.
An excellent book for young adults. An orphaned girl, sent to live with her grandma in Africa, has a hard time fitting in to the local school, primarily serving richer families. She develops a connection with a white giraffe to whom she shares her feelings and with whom she explores the wildlife refuge where they live.
I liked this so much I've sent for other books to share with my granddaughter by the author. The narrator, Jill Fox's voice was perfect in making this story come alive with the flavor of post-British colonialism.
2011 review

[This is a review I wrote in 2008]

**Heartwarming - Magical - A lovely story.**

What a wonderful story. For ages approx. 8+ but I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult too!

This is the story of Martine. She's 11 years old when her parents are killed and she's sent to live in Africa with her only living relative, her grandmother. Her grandmother doesn't seem to be all that pleased to see her, but Martine soon finds the delights of living at Sawubona, a game reserve, compensate for her grandmother's strangeness. All the same, Martine wonders what makes her grandmother act so strangely... what is she hiding from Martine? Martine not only has the difficulty of being without her parents in a foreign country, but the challenge of starting at a new show more school too. Can she befriend the quiet boy, Ben, who sits all alone at break time and doesn't ever speak? Back in the wilderness, is there such a creature as the 'white giraffe' or is it just a mythical African story?

This is a lovely, magical story, full of the warmth, mysticism and ruggedness of rural Africa. Really well-written, and with simple yet effective black and white illustrations to help bring the pages alive. I can highly recommend it. show less

This is an enchanting story set in Africa, on a game reserve. The sights and smells of the savannah come pouring from the pages. Martine is newly orphaned and sent to live with her grandmother - who doesn't seem to want her even though she sent for her. Martine's adventures in coming to terms with her new life are enhanced by her meeting the legendary white giraffe. But mysteries surround her. In a combination of fantasy and crime thriller, Lauren St John weaves a story that young readers, and those young at heart, will thoroughly enjoy. One gripe. I hate it when the book finishes a long way from the end of the pages... and then you find a chapter from the next book to pad it out. Just give me the story, please!

On the night of her 11th birthday, Martine's life changes -- her parents are killed in a fire and she is sent to South Africa to a grandmother she has never heard of -- and who doesn't seem to like her. Life on a nature reserve is fascinating, especially as Martine becomes involved -- and friends with -- a white giraffe that has been predicted but never seen. Martine helps her giraffe escape poachers -- barely.

This rating is a tie breaker between me and my nine year old test reader. I liked the book. Martine's parents die in a fire, and Martine is shipped off to Africa to live with her grandmother on a wildlife preserve. There, she discovers that she has mystical powers to communicate with animals and nature and helps save an endangered animal. It was well-written and lively. My fellow reader, who is Martine's age, felt the peer bullying was too dark for her taste,and interestingly, as she has spent time in Africa, she felt the book presented the African bush as too threatening and "scary" when she felt it is not. so I would recommend the book, but evaluate the reader's taste before recommending it for younger readers.

Impulse because giraffe, but I never felt like I got to know the giraffe at all. And despite the fact that the author wrote what she knows, having grown up close to African wildlife, some things didn't ring true (bats getting tangled in hair, peacock feathers in Cape Town in a small rural African's home).

The fantasy story itself, and the main characters, are fine. Entertaining enough I will read the next book if it's at my library. It's a 'tween novel, not a transitional chapter book for younger readers as I first thought, which means it's meatier and richer than I expected.

Recommended if you care about African wildlife.

"[T[he best revenge is forgiveness. Sometimes the thing that hurts your enemies most is to see that you are not like show more them." show less