Zebra Forest
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
In an extraordinary debut novel, an escaped fugitive upends everything two siblings think they know about their family, their past, and themselves. When eleven-year-old Annie first started lying to her social worker, she had been taught by an expert: Gran. "If you’re going to do something, make sure you do it with excellence," Gran would say. That was when Gran was feeling talkative, and not brooding for days in her room — like she did after telling Annie and her little brother, Rew, the one thing they know about their father: that he was killed in a fight with an angry man who was sent away. Annie tells stories, too, as she and Rew laze under the birches and oaks of Zebra Forest — stories about their father the pirate, or pilot, or secret agent. But then something shocking happens to unravel all their stories: a rattling at the back door, an escapee from the prison holding them hostage in their own home, four lives that will never be the same. Driven by suspense and psychological intrigue, Zebra Forest deftly portrays an unfolding standoff of truth against family secrets — and offers an affecting look at two resourceful, imaginative kids as they react and adapt to the hand they’ve been dealt.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As summer vacation starts, 11-year-old Annie has the same three wishes as always: to get taller, to have an adventure, and to meet her father. She's not holding her breath nothing ever happens in her tiny town, and although Annie and her younger brother, Rew, spend hours spinning stories about their father, they know he's dead. They live with their grandmother near a jail, and when an escaped prisoner holds them hostage in their house, two of Annie's wishes come true in ways she never imagined. Debut author Gewirtz successfully conveys the terror and tedium of being trapped, as well as Annie and Rew's pain and emotional turmoil over learning their father isn't who they believed. While the situation may frighten some readers, the matter-of-fact way Annie and Rew make the best of difficult circumstances (beyond being held hostage, their mother is out of the picture, and their grandmother is in and out of touch with reality may be comforting to those whose families don't match the ideal. An emotionally honest family story with an ending that's hopeful without being implausibly upbeat. Ages 9 12.