West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

 

First Lines: Woodrow Wilson Nickel died in the year 2025, on a usual day, in the usual way, at the rather unusual age of 105. A century and a nickel.

 

At the age of 105, Woodrow Wilson Nickel can feel his life ebbing away, but one thing still has the power to rouse him to action. When he learns that giraffes are going extinct, he knows he must share the most unforgettable experience of his life.

 

In 1938, the Great Depression still lingers on. Hitler is threatening Europe, and Americans are longing for a diversion. They get it with the story of two giraffes that survived a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. The next stage of the giraffes' journey is a twelve-day road trip in a custom-built truck to Southern California where they will be the San Diego Zoo's very first giraffes and behind the wheel of that custom-built truck? Young Dust Bowl survivor, Woodrow Wilson Nickel. 

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I was in the mood for a road trip, and I don't think I could have found a better one to read about than Lynda Rutledge's West With Giraffes, which was inspired by actual events. The book weaves real-life figures like the world's first female zoo director with fictional ones.

The narrator of the story, young "Woody" Nickel, is an almost feral child, barely surviving a brutal father and a harrowing life on a farm during the Dust Bowl in the Texas Panhandle. But no matter what he's had to do to survive, his voice tells you that he's basically good. He may not always do the right thing, and readers may wince a time or two at what he does, but everyone will want Woody to come out on top. Watching his growth as a person is one of the many highlights of the book.

He has a tough time convincing Riley Jones, the caretaker in charge of getting the giraffes to San Diego, that he's just the driver Jones needs, and it doesn't help when a pretty red-headed female photographer starts following them, but Woody is determined to get to California.

The well-paced story of West With Giraffes will sweep readers right out onto the road with Woody, Riley, and the giraffes. It's part adventure story, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, and it has a lot to say about the kindness of strangers, being changed by the grace of animals, and the need to tell a story before it's too late. The setting is spot-on, and anticipating what the passengers in that custom-built truck will be facing next is part of the fun of reading the book.

If you're in the mood to turn back the clock and experience a cross-country road trip in 1938, I strongly suggest that you pick up West With Giraffes.

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

ASIN: B088FF4S7Q

Lake Union Publishing © 2021

eBook, 381 pages

 

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.