Posted as part of Tween Tuesday, hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen.
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine ApplegatePublisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: January 2012
Pages: 320
Source: Library
For: Fun
Things I Liked:
What a bitter sweet little book this is! I loved the story of Ivan and yet it made me cry. He had so much going for him and yet he was stuck in a dreadful place. I absolutely fell in love with him and Stella and Ruby and even some of the human characters. I was very happy that none of the "villains" was painted in a way that they were 100% evil. I think it shows very nicely how people sometimes don't think clearly and that is how they end up doing horrible things without meaning to. I just loved how hopeful the ending was, though we had to experience all the sorrow to get there. A beautiful story made even more beautiful by its basis in reality.
Things I Didn't Like:
Hm, not much I can think of that I didn't like. Just simple and sweet (and sad). A great read for animal-loving tweens and younger.
Read-alikes:
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none
mrg-factor: none
v-factor: none
though there is some cruelty to animals
Overall rating: ****
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
Posts
I'm glad you enjoyed this one. I loved it, even though I'm really not an animal person. It's just a lovely story (though bittersweet) and you're absolutely right -- it did a good job of showing how complex people's personalities and motivations are.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely I'm not an animal person, but I loved the story anyway. It's nice that it was short and sweet.
DeleteAgreed! I was surprised how much it affected (or is it effected??) me by the end.
ReplyDeleteHm, I think it's affected :) Such a little book to pack such an impact!
Deletebeen seeing this around, but maybe I will pick it up after all.
ReplyDelete~L
Oh, I hope you do! It's short, so it shouldn't take more than an hour to read.
DeleteOh no... for some reason my weakness is monkeys in bad situations. First movie I cried at was Mighty Joe Young. I can't even say what a disaster the latest King Kong movie was. This looks like another absolute cryfest (but adorable!)
ReplyDeleteOh you'd definitely cry in this one if monkeys are your weakness :) Though, some of the sadness comes from the elephants too!
Delete