Orphaned by Eliot Schrefer

Xhaiden | High Technology High School, Grade 9

Rating: ****

Orphaned by National Book Award finalist Eliot Schrefer is a beautifully written story about a gorilla named Snub, and her family. When the ground shakes and the mountain they call home spews fire, they have no choice but to flee. Along their travels, they meet a strange creature. They feel awe and pity as they observe the skinny, hairless weaklings, but the animals soon prove to be vicious, powerful, and knowledgeable creatures. These non-gorillas sharpen rocks, and can kill elephants, rhinos, and even their own kind. When fighting breaks out between the odd figures, and a young non-gorilla is left without parents, Snub takes her in. Snub’s world is a rather harsh one though, and there's no telling what will happen next to the unlikely group.

This novel was definitely one of the more unconventional ones. It had a variety of characteristics that drastically separate it from most books, including the books in the same series it is in. For one, it was a narrative, but it took place 600,000 years ago in the Paleolithic age, and is in the point of view of an ape. In addition, it is written like a poem. There wasn’t really too much of a rhyme, or a rhythm, but there are short stanzas consisting of phrases, words, and small sentences, and there are a couple of terms like mrgh, hoo, and acha that are written on the right part of the page unlike the rest of the book. Apart from this, I really liked a certain feature the author included where at the top of every couple pages, there were basic drawings that illustrated which characters would be present in the incoming section. I really enjoyed this unique novel, and I thought it was a creative way to end Schrefer’s Ape Quartet.