Publisher Description
From two-time National Book Award finalist Eliot Schrefer comes an unbelievable story of survival.Raja has been raised in captivity. Not behind the bars of a zoo, but within the confines of an American home. He was stolen when he was young to be someone's pet. Now he's grown up . . . and is about to be sent away again, to a place from which there will be no return. John grew up with Raja. The orangutan was his friend, his brother -- never his pet. But when John's parents split up and he moved across the country, he left Raja behind. Now Raja is suffering.There's one last chance to save Raja -- a chance that will force John to confront his fractured family and the captivity he's imposed on himself all of these years.Eliot Schrefer's last two novels, Endangered and Threatened, were both finalists for the National Book Award. With Rescued, he brings his remarkable storytelling to the American landscape, giving us a boy who must redefine his own humanity and an orangutan who will need his help in order to return home.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the third installment of the Ape Quartet (following 2014's Endangered), two-time National Book Award finalist Schrefer tackles the plight of orangutans and how their vulnerability in the wild leads to unexpected consequences. In this case, it brings the issue to America, in the form of Raja, an orangutan stolen from Indonesia as a baby and adopted as a pet by a well-meaning, if ignorant, family. Sixteen-year-old John has grown up with Raja; the two are practically brothers, despite a childhood incident that cost John a finger. When John's parents separate, so do boy and ape, but after John's father sells Raja to a sketchy roadside zoo, John risks everything to rescue his one-time companion. Their journey brings them to Sumatra, where John understands the true scope of the problem facing Raja's species. Schrefer paints a powerful picture of the cost of exploiting nature, the demands of agriculture, and the complexities of globalization, and the portrayal of Raja as an intelligent, complex individual is gripping and heartbreaking. Schrefer continues to be a vital voice for wildlife conservation and ape empathy. Ages 12 up.
