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The Desperate Adventures Of Zeno And Alya (2013)

by Jane Kelley(Favorite Author)
4.16 of 5 Votes: 3
ISBN
1250023483 (ISBN13: 9781250023483)
languge
English
genre
publisher
Feiwel & Friends
review 1: This would be a great read-aloud book. I loved Zeno and Alya from the beginning. Found myself chuckling more than once. I love stories where different characters come together and help each other out. I think that is how life usually is. People/animals are placed in our lives to help when we need it most. Hopefully I'm aware enough of others to be that someone sometimes.I also appreciated that Alya's older brother was so dedicated to her and willing to help out. I wished her parents were a little more helpful, but at the same time, I can only try and imagine how I would be acting if I were in their shoes. It would be terribly difficult to have a child in Alya's situation, and I know they were doing what they felt was best.Sometimes we just need someone there to tell us to ... moreTRY!!! And oftentimes HOME/FAMILY/FRIENDS give us the direction and strength we need to make it through the hard times. And amazingly enough, when we reach out to help others, we usually help ourselves in the process.
review 2: As someone who has been known to talk with birds (ahem), I was extra-appreciative of this story about Zeno, the African Grey parrot, and Alya, a girl dealing with a recent leukemia diagnosis.In the end, The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya is about being respectful and kind, and having an open heart for both people and other living things. It is about being gentle without being to careful, and about digging down deep and finding strength you didn't know you had until you need it most. Still, this story is not all doom and gloom and fanciful animals who can talk and understand the languages of multiple species. It is about how you can sense a true friend in just an instant, about the distance that you would go to save someone you love, of what we do when everything we know about life gets turned upside down.I can't really say much else without giving the story away. It was a quick read for me, with well-developed characters and a good pace. A great read for 4th- to 8th-graders, and adults who are young at heart. Especially those who talk with birds. less
Reviews (see all)
kaylie
Glorious book! An African Grey parrot and a girl with leukemia. Zeno's voice was Ivan-like.
xway101
Adorable.
anna
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