Title: The
Menagerie
Series: Menagerie,
#1
Authors: Tui T.
Sutherland & Kari Sutherland
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: March
12, 2013
Genres: MG,
Fantasy
Reviewed by: Ellen
Fritz
Ellen’s rating: 5/5
SUMMARY
Logan Wilde is accidentally drawn into the
mysterious, dangerous world of the Menagerie when he discovers a griffin hiding
under his bed . . . and it leads him straight to the weirdest girl in seventh
grade, Zoe Kahn.
Zoe is panicking. Her family has been guarding the Menagerie for centuries. If they don't get the cubs back fast, the whole place will be shut down. To save the griffins' lives, she's willing to break all the rules, even if it means letting an outsider like Logan help. But the real mystery remains: Is someone trying to sabotage the Menagerie?
Who let the griffins out...and why?
Zoe is panicking. Her family has been guarding the Menagerie for centuries. If they don't get the cubs back fast, the whole place will be shut down. To save the griffins' lives, she's willing to break all the rules, even if it means letting an outsider like Logan help. But the real mystery remains: Is someone trying to sabotage the Menagerie?
Who let the griffins out...and why?
REVIEW
Being an animal lover myself, I thoroughly enjoyed
reading The Menagerie. Logan Wilde,
the main character, wants a dog, a horse and for his mother to return. What he
gets instead is a griffin cub, an almost fatal ride on a Kelpie, and an
adventure involving mythical animals and new friends who are not quite what
they appear to be at school.
Although I read The
Menagerie in one go, I really didn't want the book to end. From the
grudge-bearing unicorns to the self-pitying goose - the one that lays the
golden eggs; and the neurotic phoenix who self-destructs every time he is
upset, these were some of the best crafted animal characters I have ever
encountered in any book.
Most adorable of all, though, are the treasure loving,
escaped griffin cubs. As every cub has a slightly different definition of
treasure, however, it makes the task of recapturing them a guessing game and
treasure hunt for Zoe, Logan and Blue.
Animal-loving Logan is a very ordinary boy with a
desire for adventure and real friends. Zoe Kahn, or worry-cub, as the griffins
call her is just that; a person who takes her job very seriously and worries
about the menagerie and her family all the time. With an impending inspection
by the Supernatural Animal Protection Agency and someone trying to sabotage the
menagerie, who can blame Zoe for being uptight. About the other key character,
Blue Merevy, I'm not going to say much more than that the girls find him
handsome and that he is unusual.
Although this book doesn't exactly end on a
cliff-hanger, there are still several loose threads and unanswered questions at
the end; something that makes me hope that we'll soon see a sequel to this
wonderful novel.
For a heartwarming tale full of wonderful people and eccentric
animals, I recommend it as a must-read. Although The Menagerie is a middle grade book, I think everybody who loves animals,
adventure, and splendid characterization should read it.
ABOUT author TUI T. SUTHERLAND
I was born July 31 (same birthday as Harry
Potter!) in Caracas, Venezuela, and lived in Asuncion, Paraguay; Miami,
Florida; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, before moving to New Jersey in
high school, where I started doing theatre—mostly backstage work, because (a)
it was fun, and (b) you got to hang out in the dark with cute boys. (Er, I mean
. . . because it was artistically fulfilling, yes.)
I graduated from Williams College in ’98 and I currently live in Boston with my husband, my perfect new baby, and my adorable yoodle Sunshine (what’s a yoodle? A puppy that’s three-quarters poodle and one-quarter Yorkshire terrier, of course!).
Much to my parents’ relief, I abandoned my theatrical aspirations after college for the far more stable and lucrative career of fiction writing.
I graduated from Williams College in ’98 and I currently live in Boston with my husband, my perfect new baby, and my adorable yoodle Sunshine (what’s a yoodle? A puppy that’s three-quarters poodle and one-quarter Yorkshire terrier, of course!).
Much to my parents’ relief, I abandoned my theatrical aspirations after college for the far more stable and lucrative career of fiction writing.
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