*A 2014 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST*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.
*A 2014 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST*
Praise forThreatened:
A National Book Award finalist
* Engrossing action and characters readers will keep thinking about in a splendid survival story. --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* Gripping&Schrefer pulls no punches as he showcases the beauty and danger of both urban Gabon and the jungle. --Publishers Weekly, starred review
Fascinating and sure to lead to discussion. --School Library Journal
Schrefer's compassion and empathy for the people and chimpanzees and other animals of this part of Africa come through loud and clear. --Horn Book
Praise forEndangered:
A National Book Award finalist
Dazzling, big-hearted . . . As riveting as the action is, it's the nuanced portraits of the characters, human and ape, that make the story so deeply affecting. The New York Times Book Review
* Schrefer spares no detail . . . This dl³+