It's 1973 and Ben Tomlin is not a happy camper. His parents just made him leave the bustle of Toronto to live in a farmhouse in Victoria, and now his mother comes home with a new baby brother. He has to make new friends, figure out how to get a girl to like him and his parents seem to forget his 13th birthday. The twist is -- the new baby brother isn't human, he's a chimp. Ben's parents are researchers and they are attempting to teach his brother, "Zan" sign language. A fictional tale that draws heavily on an actual experiment ("The Chimp That Learned Sign Language" http://www.npr.org/2008/05/28/90516132/the-chimp-that-learned-sign-language) this is a story that is engaging and warm. Ben is a normal kid, going through typical teen trauma -- the bully kid, the girl he likes who may or may not like him, a father who can't connect. But Ben is more than that, he is a young boy bonding with a "younger brother" who is unique. Early on, I saw the inevitable issues arise. Somewhat more intense than your average Lassie story, this one goes down the path you might expect, and breaks your heart along the way. Through the last third of the book, it was kleenex central. You can't help but come to love Ben and Zan, and realize that there really is no place for them to "be" as a family. Minor complaints about a lack of editing (Ben's reactions to stress become repetitive and make him occasionally feel a little whiney) and no author's note (given that this is a barely fictionalized account of a real event, details on the actual experiment should have been provided) are not enough to ruin an otherwise excellent tale that should have broad appeal. Despite the historical setting, the characters come off as contemporary and real, young people that most teens could relate to. The book also provides an excellent discussion point -- was this experiment ethical? Are any animal experiments of this type worth it?
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
"Half Brother" by Kenneth Oppel
It's 1973 and Ben Tomlin is not a happy camper. His parents just made him leave the bustle of Toronto to live in a farmhouse in Victoria, and now his mother comes home with a new baby brother. He has to make new friends, figure out how to get a girl to like him and his parents seem to forget his 13th birthday. The twist is -- the new baby brother isn't human, he's a chimp. Ben's parents are researchers and they are attempting to teach his brother, "Zan" sign language. A fictional tale that draws heavily on an actual experiment ("The Chimp That Learned Sign Language" http://www.npr.org/2008/05/28/90516132/the-chimp-that-learned-sign-language) this is a story that is engaging and warm. Ben is a normal kid, going through typical teen trauma -- the bully kid, the girl he likes who may or may not like him, a father who can't connect. But Ben is more than that, he is a young boy bonding with a "younger brother" who is unique. Early on, I saw the inevitable issues arise. Somewhat more intense than your average Lassie story, this one goes down the path you might expect, and breaks your heart along the way. Through the last third of the book, it was kleenex central. You can't help but come to love Ben and Zan, and realize that there really is no place for them to "be" as a family. Minor complaints about a lack of editing (Ben's reactions to stress become repetitive and make him occasionally feel a little whiney) and no author's note (given that this is a barely fictionalized account of a real event, details on the actual experiment should have been provided) are not enough to ruin an otherwise excellent tale that should have broad appeal. Despite the historical setting, the characters come off as contemporary and real, young people that most teens could relate to. The book also provides an excellent discussion point -- was this experiment ethical? Are any animal experiments of this type worth it?
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