Cry of the Giraffe

December 1, 2010

Gr 8 Up-A growing number of Ethiopian Jews, known as Beta Israel, relocate to Israel for a better life. To do so, they must travel more than 600 miles by foot across the desert, fighting thirst, scorpions, disease, and violent soldiers. This novel is based on the true story of 13-year-old Wuditu, one of the thousands who attempted this journey. Separated from her family after her father and sister take ill, this courageous girl (nicknamed "Giraffe" because of her long neck and stately composure) must fend for herself. Before she makes it to Israel, she is enslaved for two years. Oron's novel exposes the injustice and degradation girls face around the world. Wuditu is held captive and raped, but manages to escape a life of prostitution. This book is less graphic than Patricia McCormick's Sold (Hyperion, 2006), a novel of child prostitution in Nepal and for a younger audience, but it is sobering nonetheless. Canadian journalist Oron, who rescued the young girl on whom Wuditu's character is based, writes her story in precise, formal prose, sympathetic yet distant. Her journalistic stance serves the story better during dramatic refugee scenes than during the quieter early chapters about life in the village. However, this is an example of masterful storytelling. Each chapter is skillfully organized and perfectly paced. The author weaves foreign words seamlessly into the narrative, defining them through context and never slowing down the story with exposition. Readers learn a great deal about Ethiopia while they are caught up in a riveting story.-Jess deCourcy Hinds, Bard High School Early College Queens, Long Island City, NY

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