Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
12:56 AM
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9781554686117
Genre: Middle Grade
Review by Geraldine
Synopsis (Goodreads.com):
Narrator Ben Tomlin atarts on his 13th birthday, August 1973. Dad Dr Richard psychology professor has moved the family from Toronto to Victoria, across half the country, to the university that will support his experimental Project with the 8-day old chimp Mom Sarah brings home. Diapered, dressed, treated like a human, Zan signs, communicates, and becomes a loved little brother, until the funding fails. A person is defined as "an individual human ... Maybe the dictionary was wrong."
My Thoughts (Spoiler-Free):
I had no idea what this book was about at first, all I knew was that there was a chimp involved and I have this weird slight obsession with chimpanzees. I also thought that this book was going to be a major tear jerker, but fortunately for me it wasn't (for once in my life).
Ben Tomlin, one of the main characters was your typical teenage boy. Even though both of his parents are professionals with a pretty nice income, it was nice to see that Ben lived a fairly normal life (besides living with a chimpanzee of course). When it came to Zan, I felt a roller coaster of emotions at the turn of every page. I would smile when I came across cute scenes with Zan and Ben, but yet felt heartbroken when problems with Zan started to arise. And as always that's all I can say without spoiling the book for you guys!
Even though there wasn't anything I disliked about this book, there's one thing that I do wish the author included. I wish that the author included some chapters from Zan's perspetive, so we could take a look at how Zan was feeling at certain times throughout the book!
Oh and this book definitely reminded me of the movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes, because I felt the same way about Zan and Ceasar (the ape in Planet of the Apes). And that was one of the reasons that I really enjoyed this book; I could easily relate my feelings between both of the main characters (or should I say primates?).
Overall this was a quick and easy read! And although I think younger readers would enjoy this book the most, I would definitely recommend it to everyone of all ages and anyone that loves chimpanzees just as much as me!
4 stars!
♛♛♛♛♕
I had no idea what this book was about at first, all I knew was that there was a chimp involved and I have this weird slight obsession with chimpanzees. I also thought that this book was going to be a major tear jerker, but fortunately for me it wasn't (for once in my life).
Ben Tomlin, one of the main characters was your typical teenage boy. Even though both of his parents are professionals with a pretty nice income, it was nice to see that Ben lived a fairly normal life (besides living with a chimpanzee of course). When it came to Zan, I felt a roller coaster of emotions at the turn of every page. I would smile when I came across cute scenes with Zan and Ben, but yet felt heartbroken when problems with Zan started to arise. And as always that's all I can say without spoiling the book for you guys!
Even though there wasn't anything I disliked about this book, there's one thing that I do wish the author included. I wish that the author included some chapters from Zan's perspetive, so we could take a look at how Zan was feeling at certain times throughout the book!
Oh and this book definitely reminded me of the movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes, because I felt the same way about Zan and Ceasar (the ape in Planet of the Apes). And that was one of the reasons that I really enjoyed this book; I could easily relate my feelings between both of the main characters (or should I say primates?).
Overall this was a quick and easy read! And although I think younger readers would enjoy this book the most, I would definitely recommend it to everyone of all ages and anyone that loves chimpanzees just as much as me!
4 stars!
♛♛♛♛♕
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