Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

Fourteen-year old Sophie isn't excited about spending the summer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Having lived there as a little girl, she knows all-too-well about the dangers and instability facing the war-torn country.

But the DRC is where her mother lives, rescuing bonobos - a type of great ape found only in the DRC - for release into the wild.  In fact, Sophie's family split up because Sophie's mother was more committed to the bonobos than she was to her marriage.

When Sophie encounters an illegal trader selling an injured, orphaned bonobo, she purchases him and names him Otto.  As her mother explains, buying animals in that manner only encourages the illegal hunting and selling of bonobos.

Nonetheless, Otto becomes Sophie's responsibility, and it's the first time another creature has been totally dependent on her.  When her mother's sanctuary is attacked by rebel soldiers, Sophie's responsibility to Otto becomes even more pronounced: in order to safely leave under UN protection, Sophie would have to abandon Otto.  Unable to bring herself to do that, Sophie escapes with Otto into the African jungle, in hopes of finding her mother (who was not at the sanctuary when the attack occurred).

What happens next is a series of harrowing adventures as Sophie and Otto struggle to survive amidst horrors natural and man-made: they have to find food and water, they must deal with leeches, and of course they encounter poverty, chaos, fear, and violence as the war rages on all around them.

Endangered is a gripping novel that will appeal to animal lovers and fans of adventure.  The touching and beautiful story of Sophie and Otto's relationship is juxtaposed with stark scenes  of human and animal suffering that can be a little difficult to get through.  But ultimately, this is remarkable book about learning to care about the world beyond our own concerns.  There is a lot of information in the narrative about conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the lives and uncertain future of the bonobos.  In fact, one thing that really enhanced the book was the Author's Notes and interview with the author at the back of the book.  Eliot Schrefer was inspired to write Endangered after paying a visit to a real bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo!

A gripping, moving, and exciting read.  Grades 6 and up.