T. J. discovers that his natural mother is zookeeper Nancy Champion, but when his stern adoptive father forbids T. J. to see Nancy, the boy must choose between his natural mother and his adoptive father."
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7. T. J., 12, is spending his summer hanging out at the zoo, though his father wants him to make friends with people. The boy's mother died when he was quite young, and his father is awkward around him. Then one of the zookeepers reveals that she is T. J.'s birth mother, and, never having been told he was adopted, his world is suddenly turned upside down. When his father learns of their secret meetings, he forbids his son to see the woman, and the boy runs away, bringing his birth mother and adoptive father together in their concern for him. He realizes that his father does love him and decides to live with him and visit his mother and younger sister. T. J. reveals himself to be a complex and real boy trying to cope with some large problems. The other characters are not as well developed, and the matching birthmarks on birth mother and son seem too convenient. The title and the well-paced story will appeal to any child dealing with a family secret, but the unattractive cover will limit the book's readership.?Nancy Schimmel, formerly at San Mateo County Library, CA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
A pervasive tone of anger darkens this tale of a sullen 12-year-old whose world turns upside down when he learns that he's adopted. Having little use for the tyrannical, sixtysomething father who has raised him, T.J. is spending the summer hanging out at the zoo when a keeper, Nancy, confesses that she's his birth mother. At first T.J. reacts with hostility, but confirmation isn't long in coming, and soon he's meeting her regularly on the sly. A further shock awaits: Nancy introduces T.J. to his biological sister, eight-year-old Londyn, and the realization that Nancy kept her but gave him up leaves T.J. even more emotionally aloft. Nancy is manipulative and only a marginally competent parent, but T.J. finds something he needs in her and Londyn; he plies his sister with gifts, dips into his savings account to spruce up Nancy's shabby house, and consults a lawyer about opening a custody challenge. When his father finds out, T.J. runs away from home, but Ferguson contrives to have him in earshot when Nancy and his father achieve d‚tente. Neither adult is particularly appealing, and readers may have trouble buying T.J.'s conversion from angry loner to loving brother. Still, the story ends on an upbeat note, offering the hope that some bad choices in life can be corrected. (Fiction. 11-13) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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