Half Brother - Softcover

Kenneth Oppel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1849920001 ISBN 13: 9781849920001

Publisher: David Fickling Books, 2011

Synopsis

Ben Tomlin has been an only child for thirteen years. So when his research-scientist parents bring home a baby chimp to raise as a human child, Ben's life is turned upside-down. Teaching a baby chimp how to understand language is not his idea of fun, especially when he's trying to settle in at his new school. But it isn't long before Zan's infectious personality endears him to everyone and he becomes a real member of the family. But just what will happen when he grows up and the experiment comes to an end? Ben must take dramatic steps, and the repercussions ricochet through his home and community with devastating results. This phenomenal novel is a thought-provoking story of relationships and family, first love, growing up, ethics and dilemmas.

About this title

About the Author:

Kenneth Oppel is one of the great contemporary storytellers. His first novel was published when he was eighteen years old. Since then, he has won extraordinary acclaim for his imaginative works, including the Silverwing trilogy and the Airborn series. The novel Airborn won both a Printz Honor and the Governor General's Award. His last novel Half Brother was named both Children's Book of the Year and Best Young Adult Book of the Year by the Canadian Library Association. Kenneth Oppel lives in Toronto with his family and can be found online at www.kennethoppel.ca

From School Library Journal:

Gr 7-11-Ben, 13, and his family move from Toronto to Victoria, British Columbia, where his father, a behavioral scientist, is undertaking the most important research project of his life. They will take in a baby chimp, treat him like family and, using sign language, set out to document if the chimp can acquire and use human language. Back in the 1960s, this line of research was in its infancy, so the Tomlins are winging it on a lot of levels. Ben is not thrilled about the move, but when his new chimp brother arrives, everything changes. He falls in love with Zan (short for Tarzan) and becomes his constant companion. Zan begins to learn sign language and eventually to string two and three word sentences together. Despite his linguistic success, money dries up and Ben's family must abandon the study and maybe even Zan. Ben and his father square off about their level of responsibility for Zan and their relationship ultimately hangs in the balance. Kenneth Oppel's story (Scholastic, 2010) poses some important ethical questions that confront all researchers. Daniel di Tomasso's narration sometimes seems a bit rushed, but that can be overlooked given the typical speech pattern of teenagers. He occasionally intones the end of a sentence and then seems to discover that more is to come, resulting in some odd phrasing. However, the story itself is so strong and the narration is good enough that listeners will be drawn to this audiobook. A solid purchase for YA collections.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: David Fickling Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1849920001
• ISBN 13: 9781849920001
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416