Customer Reviews

Listening for Lions

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

. . . and young readers will be eager to discover how a 13 year old was influenced by lions four generations ago. Rachel grew up in British East Africa (today's Kenya), daughter of missionaries. Her father made the bricks that formed his hospital, an under-funded mission where he also 'filled the pulpit' on Sundays. Her mother taught the Masai and Kikuyu natives, and they all learned from each other.

The Africa in which Rachel Sheridan was born was filled with light and the wild beauty of the grasslands. The lessons of life she absorbed were starkly different from those learned today.

During the post WW I year of 1919, the scourge of influenza still circled the Earth, and millions of people became victims. Rachel was orphaned, and became the prey of a British couple whose daughter had died. They swiftly schemed to turn Rachel into Valerie Pritchard who could then be sent back to England to work her way into the grandfather's good graces. Mr. & Mrs. P. lost no time in making that happen, leaving Rachel no time to grieve. Rachel, now Valerie, leaves behind the only home she has known and the faithful, sensitive family servant, Kanoro. She will remember the lessons of the lions: gathering strength for the time it will be needed, patience and perseverance.

Author Gloria Whelan paints landscapes to entice young readers: the exotic animals of East Africa, the abundant flora and birds there & in England. Whalen draws from Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne, the 1789 classic revered by all nature lovers, and from a contemporary source about birds of Kenya. The birds have their own colorful place in this story so greatly enriched by the author's research.

This is no tame story. It is sort of a "Sara Crewe" look-alike, but shows Rachel-Valerie in widely diverse situations. Growing into adulthood she answers the challenge of Kanoro to return to the "brightness" of Africa. This is an old-fashioned story with its components of exotic settings, secrets, and a rich grandparent. But it isn't tame; courage is demonstrated in different ways, and values emerge as positive elements of the tale. Don't miss Paula Jolin's review (teenreads) for an important perspective on changes from colonialism to now, and her warm appreciation of the elderly Pritchard's relationship with 'his granddaughter' as it is developed by the author.

Gloria Whalen must also be saluted as someone who champions women's rights and the reading of good literature. Reviewer mcHaiku feels those moments contribute a memorable "brightness" to "Listening for Lions." Wouldn't this be a cool novel to read aloud to 4th and/or 5th graders?

I read LISTENING FOR LIONS, Gloria Whelan's 38th book, as a read-aloud to my fourth graders from the newly released galley of the book (I wrote this review on April 8, but Amazon wasn't taking reviews for it at that point). While I am not usually wild about books without much "action," my students and I were really hooked into this book, due to Whelan's character development and interplay. The book was (as many of Whelan's books are) great at illustrating for students the use of symbolism in writing (see also Whelan's HOMELESS BIRD and MIRANDA'S LAST STAND, among others, for examples of symbolism that students can grasp). At the end of the book, my students even broke into spontaneous applause!

While some of Whelan's recent books (i.e., CHU JU'S HOUSE and ST. PETERSBURG #3 / BURYING THE SUN) were starting to sound the same, LISTENING FOR LIONS seemed much fresher in comparison. Nevertheless, many of the same story elements are here as in Whelan's other recent novels:

A strong heroine in an international setting loses her loving family and goes on a long, harrowing journey. At some point, she falls under the control of a villainous character (or duo) who tries to make her believe they are looking out for her best interests (out of pity) while they are actually taking advantage of her and her situation for their own gain while they belittle her and keep her down. Eventually she breaks free of their domination, stands on her own, and makes new bonds with new friends / family who truly care about her, and gains the means to provide for herself with a bright future. There is some variation of this story arc in her recent books, but while all of Whelan's books are great if taken on their own, readers of several of her recent works (most of her longer books since HOMELESS BIRD) may feel they are reading a slight rehash of others. For this reason, I can only give the book a 4 instead of a 5 - if I was a new reader of Whelan's books, this would be a definite 5.

While I have enjoyed all of Whelan's children's books (I still haven't read the three adult books - they're finally getting close to the top of my reading shelves), my favorite Whelan books would be HOMELESS BIRD (National Book Award winner), FRUITLANDS, THE WANIGAN, GOODBYE VIETNAM, MIRANDA'S LAST STAND, HANNAH, the "Mackinac Island Trilogy," LISTENING FOR LIONS, and the rare but wonderful picture book BRINGING THE FARMHOUSE HOME.

Whelan says she has several more upcoming books in the works - THE TURNING (the 4th and final St. Petersburg book, due in January '06), THE SUMMER OF THE WAR (due in summer of '06), and (in '07) two more picture books for Sleeping Bear Press, one for the 50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge and the other set in Mali, West Africa. Whelan also pointed out to me that the jacket illustrator of Listening for Lions is the same illustrator who did the Lemony Snicket books - who would've guessed?

Anyway, for "contemplative" students who don't need a huge amount of action in their reading, it's hard to go wrong with Whelan's books - her excellent quality is consistent.

Dwight Blubaugh
Northwestern Elem.
Eaton Rapids, MI

Rachel Sheridan was born and raised in British East Africa, the daughter of British missionary parents who ran a hospital there. Africa is the only home Rachel has ever known, and she loves it. But everything changes in 1919, when Rachel is thirteen. An influenza epidemic arrives and takes the lives of her parents. Because her parents were orphans, Rachel has no family to turn to, and is caught up in the devious plans of their wealthy neighbors, the Pritchards.

The Pritchards lost their daughter Valerie, who was Rachel's age, in the epidemic. Valerie was about to leave to visit her grandfather in England, and the Pritchards force Rachel to impersonate Valerie and take her place. They hope Rachel will win the grandfather's heart and persuade him to leave his estate and money to the Pritchards. Rachel is devastated to leave her beloved Africa and travel to cold, lonely England. She finds herself coming to care for her "Grandfather," but hates living a lie, and fears the Pritchards will someday follow her to England. At the same time, she is determined to find a way to return to Africa and reopen her parents' hospital.

Listening for Lions is another excellent historical novel by Gloria Whelan, who is one of my favorite authors. Rachel was a very likable and determined character, and I loved the unique storyline and historical setting -- the author brought the African and British settings to life. I recommend this book to all readers who enjoyed previous books by Gloria Whelan or who love historical fiction.

I really, really wanted to like Listening for Lions. The cover is beautiful, the title intriguing, and the plot sounded creative and full of possibility.

Unfortunately, I found the book to be tedious, the characters muddy and one-dimensional, and the actual story fell far short of my expectations.

The villains in this book truly are--greedy, scheming, hateful people who are furious about having been "exiled" to Africa. They're lazy, cruel, and have not a spark of humanity. (I'm trying to avoid spoilers here, but there are several instances when they could have shown glimmers of being real people, but didn't.)

Part of this one-dimensionality is a part of the first person voice (meaning it's hard to write in the first person and illuminate all the characters' motives), but it seems intentional here, and I think its a shortcoming.

The grandfather Rachel goes to live with isn't particular developed, either, nor is his staff, or really, anyone Rachel meets along the way.

The lack of character development might have been okay had Rachel been a more sympathetic character. Instead, she's wracked with guilt over the situation she finds herself in (that she really couldn't have done anything to change), homesick, and generally pretty whiny. I get the impression we're supposed to see her as heroic, a great storyteller with a plucky spirit, but instead, she seems pretty mousy to me, managing to make even a leopard attack seem sort of every day.

What redeems this book is the clarity of setting. The scenes in Africa are beautifully described and it's easy to picture yourself there in a completely different time. The scenes in England are similarly beautiful, and I liked that the author didn't seem to give extra care to writing one or the other. In fact, she did a really lovely job of imbuing Africa with an obvious sense of being Rachel's home without diminishing the English setting.

I'm not sorry I read it, it's a quick read, and of historical interest, but it could have been so much more, and I am disappointed in the end result. For the setting, I think it's worth the 3 stars and the time to read it, but it's definitely not a book I'll be keeping in my collection. This one's getting donated to the library.

My mom grabbed this off the shelf for me as we werer leaving the libary. I didn't think it was going go to be as good as it was. It was interesting, to learn about Africa, and you cheer along Rachel as she tries to go back there. (Her parents owned a missionary-but died). The plot is interesting, but there seems to be no climax. It's a very unique story, although, you can predict fairly easily what the end of the story will be. Overall i thought this book was very satisfing.

Maybe it's me, but I seem to be less enamored of this book than other reviewers. It's not a dud by any means, but there are problems with this book that makes me reconsider whether I should have my students read it or not.

I hate to start with constructive criticisms (or negative aspects, if you prefer), but I think the positives have been clearly identified by the other reviews posted here. Nevertheless, my three biggest problems with this YA novel [notice that I pointed out that this is a Young Adult book -- I feel this is very important in reviewing this novel] are that it is overwritten, filled with melodramatic characters, and the denouement is incredibly long.

In claiming LISTENING FOR LIONS to be overwritten, I mean that I found the inexhaustible number of similes, as well as the enormous number of animals and plants mentioned throughout the book seemed so inorganic that I felt like I should have been writing down each one as it is mentioned so that I could be impressed in the end that I had read about so many different examples of the natural world. Enough already! They are distracting from the flow of the writing, and that takes focus from the characters. If writing seems to force in facts or lists or bits of "clever creative writing" here or there, it destroys the beauty, the flow, the ease of the story.

Next, not all, but many of the characters are just too melodramatic. By this, I do not mean that they seem to over-react and seem to be right out of a soap opera. Instead, I mean that they are characterized by the definition of a "melodramatic" character; in other words, they don't change at all from beginning to end. Anyone who has read this book can easily see that Valerie's parents fit this description quite accurately. Their actions (as well as others) are highly predictable, and don't give the reader a sense that we are going to be surprised by anything...and, unsurprisingly, we aren't. It all seems to play out like a typical melodrama.

As for the denouement (or falling action), once we see or anticipate what the ending is going to be, the reader's patience begins to ebb when made to wait excessively. In this case, the final third of the book seems to go on forever. We know where Rachel is going to end up and now we have to wait for it, and wait for it, and wait for it...

I truly appreciate the clash of cultures set up in this book, but the basic difficulty I find with LISTENING FOR LIONS is that my students (well-read eighth-graders) will find this to be predictable, uninspiring or not effectively engaging -- particularly in comparison to the dozens of other books that they will be reading this year.

Sadly, this book has disappointed me because I don't see it as anything but a Young Adult novel. The best YA books I eagerly endorse and urge adults without kids to read (for example: AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS, SPEAK, CRISS CROSS, PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS, THE GOLDEN COMPASS, ONCE UPON A MARIGOLD, the original THE SECRET GARDEN). This, I'm sorry to write, is not a YA book that is meant for anyone but kids.

The year is 1919. While Rachel Sheridan's missionary parents spent their childhood cooped up in a musty old orphanage in England, thirteen-year-old Rachel has never known anything other than the wide open wild plains of Africa. A place where leopards and lions roam through the bush, hunting prey, and the sun sets and rises behind colorful mountains each and every day. The beauty of Africa, however, begins to fade when influenza kills her beloved parents, leaving the Kikuyu people void of a doctor to care for them, or a teacher to help them learn. As if that weren't tragic enough, the death of her parents leaves Rachel vulnerable, quickly falling prey to the evil schemes of her wicked, albeit rich, neighbors, the Pritchards. Before Rachel can figure out exactly what is happening, the Pritchards have shipped her off to England posing as their recently deceased daughter, Valerie. Caught up in their criminal scheme, Rachel is left to trick Grandfather Pritchard into leaving his estate to the two greedy parents. While Rachel misses the wild grasslands of the African plains, she learns to love Grandfather Pritchard, and can't stand the fact that she must deceive him in one of the worst possible ways. However, fearing threats of imprisonment from the Pritchards, Rachel continues on with the charade, lying in wait, like the patient lion, for the perfect time when she can spring her secret upon Grandfather, hopefully without killing the sick man altogether. Now, Rachel is set to capture the perfect moment when she can take control of her own existence once more, and find her way back to the home she has always loved. A home that will remain in her heart until the day she can return, and rebuild what her parents attempted to create.

As a historical fiction reader, I have encountered Gloria Whelan's books many times over the years, however, I have never actually read one. This all changed when I came across LISTENING FOR LIONS. As I am currently extremely interested in Africa, I was ecstatic to discover this gem. Rachel is a character whom I will never forget. Her caring nature is beautiful, and the fact that she dreams of rebuilding an empire that her parents had begun to create is admirable. Her part playing the pawn in a greedy couples scheme truly touches the reader, and makes them feel for the young orphan who wants nothing more than to save the less-fortunate people around her, and make a name for herself in the medical/missionary world. The interactions between various characters Whelan has created are inspiring, and truly bring the main players to life. From Rachel's conversations with sickly Grandfather Pritchard, to her love for the Kikuyu man Kanoro who cared for her and her parents for years; all the way to the viciously delightful exchanges she shares with the evil Pritchards. Each character plays a major role in shaping the young Rachel from orphan to a dedicated, determined student. This may have been my first book by Gloria Whelan, but I can guarantee that it certainly will not be my last.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

LISTENING FOR LIONS, the latest novel by National Book Award winner Gloria Whelan, is the story of Rachel Sheridan, the daughter of English missionaries working with the Kikuyu people in the East African village of Tumaini. Although Rachel is raised in humble surroundings --- a mud brick house with a roof that leaks --- she is happy, helping her father in the hospital and visiting the local people in their shambas. When the influenza epidemic of 1919 reaches Tumaini, however, Rachel's whole life changes. Not only do the Africans flee the village out of fear of the illness, but her own parents are struck down by the disease.

Left without family, Rachel thinks her only option is to approach the mission board in Mombasa, although she knows they will send her to a dismal orphanage in England. Her snooty British neighbors have other ideas. Their only daughter Valerie, scheduled for a visit to England with her estranged --- and wealthy --- grandfather, also died in the flu epidemic. Valerie's parents want Rachel to take her place. "It is only the expectation of Valerie's visit that has kept the dear old man alive," her mother claims. Rachel is astute enough to realize that there may be an underlying motive, but she's also frightened at the prospect of being trapped in the orphanage. With misgivings and a trembling heart, Rachel agrees to do as her neighbors ask, and sets off for England.

LISTENING FOR LIONS is written in a spare, elegant prose that will engage adults and children alike. What could have been a trite undercover identity plot is revealed in such depth and nuance that it never becomes melodramatic or overwhelming. However, Whelan's strength here is her characters, particularly Rachel. Although in some places Rachel seems almost too good to be true, her own self-doubt and recognition of her own weaknesses make her very believable. Whelan's slow, subtle and delightful development of the relationship between Rachel and Valerie's grandfather is masterful. While Rachel grows and changes in England in some unexpected and surprising ways, she never loses the core of that missionary child growing up in the African countryside.

Another thing that Whelan does extremely well is to create a sympathetic yet realistic Western character in a colonial environment. The world has changed tremendously since 1919, and behavior and attitudes that were normal at that time are often morally repugnant to us today. Most authors of historical novels deal with this by giving their main characters 21st century sensibilities, particularly on sensitive topics like women's issues and racial equality. While understandable, it has the effect of making the characters seem unreal. Whelan avoids this trap. Growing up under such unusual circumstances, Rachel's views on controversial topics seem natural, not just something tacked on to make the character more sympathetic.

LISTENING FOR LIONS is a fantastic book, filled with characters who will remain with you long after you've finished the last page. I heartily recommend it.

--- Reviewed by Paula Jolin

Listening for Lions is an excellent read, reminisce of classics like Jane Eyre, a Little Princess and the Secret Garden this a great gift for a young girl.

I really enjoyed this book. I am a fan of Gloria Whelan, so when this book came out, I automatically wanted to read it. I thought all the characters were well developed, their motivations were clear, and there was beautiful figurative language. However,(maybe because I read the Shadow Children books) I thought the plot was a little guessable. There were some things I hadn't expected, though. Overall, this was a pretty good book (even though I like some of Gloria Whelan's older books more) and I still think people should read it.