Orphan Luc is working for an unscrupulous “orphanage” owner when a professor comes to town with a tempting silver briefcase. When Luc tries to steal it, Prof offers to pay off Luc’s debts to the orphanage and hire him rather than prosecute. Thus begins Luc’s journey into the jungles of Gabon to study chimpanzees with Prof. First terribly afraid of the “mock men” & the dark, Luc eventually comes to love the apes in the scary jungle. This YA book reads like an adult book and trigger warnings for cruelty to animals (not by Luc or Prof!). As Luc grows up, from an angry kid to a smart and loving teenager (I presume), the reader grows to adore him and the apes—even the scary ones. Very highly recommended. This author tells the story brilliantly, even with a limited number of characters and loads of animals. I loved it and didn’t want it to end. ( )

Threatened by Eliot Schrefer is the second book in his Ape Quartet, this one set deep in the jungles of Gabon. Each book centers around a different species of ape, and in this one the focus is on chimpanzees. The main character, Luc, is a thirteen year old AIDS-orphaned child of the slums who is hired by a researcher from the National Geographic Society to accompany him deep into the jungle in order to study these amazing apes.

The author’s research is impeccable and while this story didn’t quite seem as believable as the first, this story of a young street boy searching for a family and a home was touching and compelling. As both Luc and the orphaned chimpanzees that he meets learn to trust and accept one another, Luc discovers a purpose and direction for his life.

The author is combining his interest in conservation and education with adventure in these books. His descriptions of the primitive, natural world that Luc finds himself in are fascinating. Threatened is a YA book with both substance and heart. ( )

Survival stories are not usually my thing, but this one had my attention from the beginning, perhaps because it concerns much more than physical survival. It is survival against loneliness, a feeling of abandonment, trying not to need a family, but wanting one anyway. I originally bought it for my fourth/fifth grade school library, but the violence would be too much for all but the most mature students. I think it's a perfect fit for middle school and beyond, though.

After Luc's mother and sister die, he is held by an evil man until he and the other orphans can pay their debts (in Luc's case, his mother's medical bills). This story, however, is a far cry from Little Orphan Annie. It's set in Africa and Luc is "rescued" by the Prof (a self-proclaimed professor who tricks Luc's captive into releasing Luc to him as an assistant researcher). But Luc's worries aren't over. As they head deep "Inside" to find and study chimps, they not only face the dangers of the spine-chilling jungle, but the wrath of Luc's former captor, a chimpanzee hunter out for revenge after Prof tormented to scare him away, and the unpredictable, territorial behavior of the chimps.

After everything Luc has endured, is there anyone left to trust? Can he even begin to forgive? And what exactly does "family" mean?

Quibble? Re-read everything for consistency. On page 123, "Mango's cries were coming from high up; she must have managed to make herself a nest." On page 157, "Mango made her own nest for the first time." ( )

Luc, a boy who has lost his mother and barely scraped by a life, feels his fortunes change when he goes to the Inside to study mock-men with Prof. They try to survive in the wild. And then prof disappears, living Luc to live in the wild on his own. ( )

Luc lives in Gabon with other young AIDS orphans boys under the roof of Monsieur Tatagani, an unscrupulous , exploitive man. Professor Abdul Mohammad meets Luc and hires him as his assistant, taking him deep into the jungle to study chimpanzees. Luc discovers he has an interest and aptitude for the work, thrives under Prof’s tutelage. When Prof disappears under mysterious circumstances, Luc must survive on his own. It soon becomes clear to Luc that the human species are far less civilized than the chimps. A powerful, engrossing, and fascinating follow up to Endangered. ( )