As the Second World War escalates and bombs start to fall, Joseph is charged with protecting Adonis the gorilla in this nerve-shreddingly tense thriller based on a true story.
Winner of The British Book Awards 2022 Children's Fiction Book of the Year
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2022
Waterstones Children's Book of the Month for June 2021
Inspired by a true story. It's 1940, and Joseph has been packed off to stay with Mrs F, a gruff woman with no great fondness for children. To Joseph's amazement, she owns the rundown city zoo where Joseph meets Adonis, a huge silverback gorilla. Adonis is ferociously strong and dangerous, but Joseph finds he has an affinity with the lonely beast. But when the bombs begin to fall, it is up to Joseph to guard Adonis's cage should it be damaged by a blast. Will Joseph be ready to pull the trigger if it comes to it?
Publisher: Andersen Press Ltd
ISBN: 9781783449651
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 256 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 20 mm
"A magnificent story … It deserves every prize going" - Philip Pullman
"It’s a wonderful story of hurt, kindness and what it means to be human in an inhumane world" - Children's Book of the Year, The Times
"An extraordinary story with historical and family truth at its heart, that tells us as much about the present as the past. Deeply felt, movingly written, a remarkable achievement" - Michael Morpurgo
"Very moving. I almost never cry at books - but this one had me in tears by the end" - Jacqueline Wilson
"A raw, heartfelt tale in the tradition of Goodnight Mister Tom" - Sunday Times
Joseph has a lot of anger bubbling to the surface due to his relationships with the adults that have all come and gone in his life. Being forced to move to stay with a complete stranger who is reluctant to have him... More
WWII is raging and whilst most children are being evacuated to the countryside, Joseph is being sent to the city by his grandma who can no longer cope with his angry outbursts. There he moves in with Mrs F, a woman... More
This is an absolutely amazing novel. It's not the type of novel that I'd usually pick up, but I read the first page just to see what it was like, and then couldn't stop reading.
Set in London during...
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