Review on Threatened

If you alone in the middle of the forest, what would you do? I would probably curl up in a ball and cry, but would you try to survive? Would you be able to hunt and find water? Most people would probably die within a week, but would you be able to survive?
I read... Threatened by Eliot Schrefer!!!



Format: Hardcover/e-book
Pub. Date: February 25th, 2014
Summary:
Into the jungle. Into the wild. Into harm's way.


When he was a boy, Luc's mother would warn him about the "mock men" living in the trees by their home -- chimpanzees whose cries would fill the night.

Luc is older now, his mother gone. He lives in a house of mistreated orphans, barely getting by. Then a man calling himself Prof comes to town with a mysterious mission. When Luc tries to rob him, the man isn't mad. Instead, he offers Luc a job.

Together, Luc and Prof head into the rough, dangerous jungle in order to study the elusive chimpanzees. There, Luc finally finds a new family -- and must act when that family comes under attack.

As he did in his acclaimed novel Endangered, a finalist for the National Book Award, Eliot Schrefer takes us somewhere fiction rarely goes, introducing us to characters we rarely get to meet. The unforgettable result is the story of a boy fleeing his present, a man fleeing his past, and a trio of chimpanzees who are struggling not to flee at all.
My rating: 5 out of 5 monkeys!
My recommendation: Anyone who likes books about animals!
My review:
My copy was provided by Netgalley.
Luc once had a mother who told him tales of chimpanzees who she called "mock men" because of their cries. Luc loved his mothers stories and he never forgot them, even when his mother died and he went to a home for orphans. Even when he was mistreated and never had enough food, Luc always remember the mock men. And when Luc meets Prof, Luc finally possesses the opportunity to meet these chimpanzees and study them.
Alone in the jungle, Prof and Luc soon find themselves immersed in the wilderness. They have to survive on their own without relying on anything from the civilized world. While studying the wild chimpanzees, Luc discovers a world he never knew existed. As he learns more about chimpanzees, he finds himself becoming friends with the chimpanzees and learning what it's really like to be a mock man, just like his mother told him about.
This book was beautiful. The details, the language, the imagery, they were all absolutely breathtaking. With each word Schrefer wrote, I was transported to the jungle. I felt like I was actually there, fending for myself and seeing the chimpanzees with my own eyes. I was immersed in the jungle, learning things I had never known before. One would think a book about chimpanzees would be boring, but this book was interesting and full of action.
Instead of teaching the reader about chimpanzees, Schrefer weaved a story around the chimpanzees, making it an intense, action-packed read.
As Luc grew in the book, but physically and mentally, I grew with him. Luc began to appreciate the chimpanzees. He began to learn what a family is like even though he didn't have one. He began to learn what love is even when your "family" isn't related by blood or is even the same species.
The book wasn't predictable at all. There were always twists and turns I never expected. The events that happened in the book were shocking, but were also heart-wrenchingly true. What seemed like events that couldn't happen in real life are actually revealed to be true in the book like with how badly treated the orphans were.
The descriptions are rich and vivid as the words are strong and powerful. I was transported into Luc's body and I felt as if I was Luc. I absolutely loved this book and I can't wait to read more from this author so that I can be transported into a world so beautiful, so different from the one I live in.