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Author: Lauren St. John

ISBN: 978-0-8037-3211-7

Publisher: Dial Books

            Like so many stories written for this age group—9 to 12—the story starts with tragedy. Martine’s parents die in a fire and the authorities ship her off to an unknown grandmother on another continent. Whew… I’m glad that part’s over.

            Unfortunately for Martine, and her grandmother too I suppose, her grandmother doesn’t seem to want her. There’s something definitely amiss because Martine didn’t even know she had a grandmother until her parents died. The mystery has begun. Despite her grief and her grandmother’s aloof behavior, Martine manages to find comfort. Her grandmother runs a wildlife sanctuary and Martine soothes her loneliness by making friends with a legendary white giraffe. No one believes the giraffe exists, but Maritime knows it does, and that roams her grandmother’s land.

            Did I say nobody believes in the giraffe? That’s not quite true. Poachers believe in the legend and Maritime finds herself embroiled in more than an eleven-year-old child can cope with—well, any normal eleven-year-old, but did I say Martine was normal? She’s not. Apparently, she’s the long lost giraffe rider from the continent’s long lost giraffe legend. With poachers one step behind, she must find a way to save her new, and only, friend.

            Fantasy—it’s sheer fantasy, set in a modern environment with modern traps. The story’s fun, although none of its believable, but who cares about that?

            St. Lauren does a good job of describing characters, events, and scenes, but she takes shortcuts by handing us implausible turns. Some of the characters make choices that make the author’s job easier, but that aren’t believable. The gamekeeper’s choices aren’t believable, but they help set up a twist. The reason for the grandmother’s indifference, when learned, isn’t believable. Nor is her decision to let her granddaughter face a shipload of poachers realistic—no grandmother, not even an indifferent one would do that.

            The good news is that nobody’s going to mind the shortcuts, especially not readers in the intended age group. In fact, they may like the very things I found a bit distracting. Despite the shortcuts, I enjoyed the story. The emotions are realistic, the events are fanciful and fun, and the language is creative and appropriate.

 The above review was contributed by: Susan Sales Harkins:  Susan is a software consultant and the author of several articles and books on database technologies. She and her husband, William, collaborate on children's non-fiction. Click Here to read more of Susan’s Reviews