Leatherback Blues:
They run The Wild Place Animal Shelter and when I say run, I literally mean these individuals, run. They are constantly moving to assist or comfort the many animals that need their attention. Some of the animals are brought in to them by individuals who drop them off, some are animals who are anonymously dropped off at the shelter, and some are animals who are called in by individuals and the shelter must drive out and makes an animal rescue. Either way, this animal shelter is nonstop action.
In the mail one day they receive a letter from Carlos, a conservationist from Costa Rica who needs their help. The Leatherback Turtles are near extinction and he wants to build a turtle sanctuary. Can they come and help him? Excitement hits the air as some of the shelter employees see this as an opportunity to do something abroad and they immediately start planning. Reality slowly begins to trickle in as they begin to grasp the whole concept of what awaits them in Costa Rica.
I thought this was a fun novel to read. I liked the idea of the unknown and how the group themselves didn’t know all the answers before they set out on their trip. What would they find in Costa Rica? There are poisonous spiders in that area, would they be ready for that? There a huge concern about poachers stealing the eggs and what if they ran into these dangerous individuals out at night on their mission? What about the language barrier they thought they faced? I liked learning about the Leatherback Turtles and the poachers and I liked how the animal shelter worked with Carlos to put his sanctuary on the map so it could be successful.
This novel moved quickly without a lot of extra characters. This was an adventurous, entertaining read about saving wildlife and I think young readers will enjoy it.
I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Dundurn in exchange for an honest review.
