11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Story, But Not as Captivating as Previous Works, April 3, 2009
Following "The White Giraffe" and "Dolphin Song" - "The Last Leopard" is the third book in the adventures of 11-year-old Martine, who lives on an African game preserve with her grandmother. "The Last Leopard" has a strong animal-conservation theme and takes place in Zimbabwe, where Martine and her friend Ben travel to become involved in a search for the elusive Leopard, whose capture is linked to a lost treasure. Poachers and treasure hunters are the villains in Martine's world, where she is fearlessly willing to risk her life in her quest to save the last leopard.
In keeping with St. John's earlier works, this story is full of African mysticism, legends, and hocus-pocus events, which were used to give the plot a convenient save, or to advance the plot by magical events, drawings, visions, or people.
Characters in this story were not as well developed as in the two earlier works, which could definitely stand alone. Of course, this may be a more important factor for those who have never read the White Giraffe or Dolphin Song, and didn't "know" Martine and Ben.
Some portions of the book are slow, and others could use better transition. It seemed it was put out in a rush with not enough time spent in revision.
Whole sections of the book nearly lost me several times, when the plot wasn't flowing well, or when too many foreign names and their strange spellings were used (too many too close together) to give the African names and meanings for people, places, and things. This was like studying the language and took me out of the story several times to the point that I could have laid the book down and forgotten about finishing it. It was a love for Martine's character from the previous works that caused me to want to reread some sections to try to get back into the story.
"The Last Leopard" is a good story, and I did enjoy reading about little Martine and her knowledge and supernatural abilities with wild animals. The descriptions of the African landscape, wildlife, and people were informative and added to the adventure.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
The Last Leopard, July 7, 2011
I read this book to my eight year old girl. It is a sequel yet it is not as good as the White Giraffe from the same author. The book becomes exciting near the middle to the end, however it lacks enough momentum at the beginning to hook the young reader. This is a shame since my daughter adored the White Giraffe that was compelling from the first page to the last!
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