Endangered

• Genre: Fiction; young adult action/adventure
• Originally Published: 2012
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 900L; grades 8-12
• Structure/Length: 7 parts; 27 chapters; approx. 288 pages; approx. 8 hours on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Fourteen-year-old Sophie rescues a bonobo named Otto while visiting her mother’s sanctuary for bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When armed militants attack, driving Sophie and Otto into the surrounding wilderness, Sophie struggles to keep Otto and herself safe as she fights to survive.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Animal cruelty; poverty; revolution and violence

Eliot Schrefer, Author

• Bio: Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1978; graduated from Harvard University with degrees in French and American literature; writes novels for adults, teens, and middle grades; traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo while writing Endangered; writing instructor and book reviewer; a New York Times “Editor’s Choice” best-selling author
• Other Works: The School for Dangerous Girls (2010); Threatened (second in the Ape Quartet series; 2014); The Lost Rainforest (2018)
• Awards: National Book Award Finalist (2012); National Public Radio’s Best Books: 5 Young Adult Novels That You’ll Never Outgrow (2012); ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2013); ALA Amelia Bloomer List Selection (recognizing best feminist books for young readers; 2013)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Coming of Age
• Dedication and Self-Sacrifice
• Protecting the Endangered