It was hot. Africa hot. A book set in Africa - well, at least part of it - seemed like a good summer read. I had read one other book by Gloria Whelan before, Homeless Bird, and liked that one. And she has written other "notable" YA books. This one has a great cover too, done by Brett Helquist of Lemony Snicket fame. OK, you can't judge a book by it's cover, but a good one sure makes me pick it up.
A lot of good victorian type elements (although it's set somewhat after that era, starting in 1919) - a penniless orphan, cruel and maniuplative adults, natural forces that can't be controlled (illness, lions, etc.). The book is broken into 3 sections, the first two better than the third. The first two are much more suspenseful, but by the third section the big secret is revealed to all and what's left is for the main character's dream to be fulfilled. Which of course it is. The end is satisfying, but not surprising in any way. Still, a good read, very well written, the main character is spunky and comes up against various obstacles as a consequence of being a girl (a theme for Whelan), which she, of course, overcomes.
Some reviewers have compared this book to A Little Princess or The Secret Garden or other classic female heroine books of a similar era.
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