Half Brother
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4.6 • 52 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
When Ben Tomlin’s mother brings home his new “baby brother,” an eight-day-old chimpanzee, Ben is far from thrilled. His father, a renowned behavioral scientist, has uprooted the family and moved them halfway across the country, to Victoria, B.C., so he can pursue a high-profile experiment—to determine whether chimpanzees can learn human sign language.
Zan must be raised exactly like a human. He’s dressed in clothes and fed in a high chair and has a room full of toys and books. Ben is soon smitten. Joining the team of students who are helping with the experiment, Ben becomes both researcher and adored older brother.
Within months, Zan learns his first signs and becomes a media sensation. At his new school, Ben’s life seems similarly charmed as he vies for the attentions of the beautiful Jennifer—using his newly acquired scientific observational skills.
But when Project Zan unexpectedly loses its funding, Ben’s father is under huge pressure to either make the experiment succeed or abandon it—and Zan. Unable to convince his father that Zan is now part of the family, Ben must risk everything to save his baby brother from an unimaginable fate.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ben is less than thrilled that his 13th birthday includes moving across Canada and getting a new "half brother" a baby chimpanzee named Zan that Ben's father, a behavioral psychologist, will be raising like a human to determine if chimps can learn sign language. Gradually, Ben comes around, learning more about Zan and chimps, but he still struggles with his social life in his new school, his parents' high expectations, and Zan's role in their lives is he family or just an "animal test subject?" Eventually he becomes Zan's greatest advocate when the project and Zan's life are threatened. While Ben and his family initially anthropomorphize Zan, Oppel doesn't, and as Zan gets older and stronger, the characters (and readers) are able to see an honest portrait of chimpanzee behavior, from the very best to the most brutal. Set in 1973, Zan's story echoes that of real chimpanzee studies of the era, though Oppel (the Airborn series) avoids dry factual recitations, or proselytizing when animal activism is introduced. Oppel's story is filled with compassion and has no easy answers. Ages 12 up.
Customer Reviews
Amazing!
Even if you don't like to read, you'll love this novel. It contains intense scenes, and lots of suspense. One of the best books I have ever read. It's a perfect read for teens and young adults.
awesome
Half Brother is awesome! its a must reaad for teens as it contains some explicit content.
It was believable
I enjoyed it. A light easy read.