The White Giraffe Written by Lauren St John. Reviewed by Saanvi, Age 9

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Book Review

I read The White Giraffe and liked it so much that I read it twice. After finishing the book, I wrote a review about it. I also tried to draw the white giraffe from the story

When I first started to read The White Giraffe by Lauren St John I was sitting in my living room. The book actually starts with a tragedy; Martine loses her parents in a house fire.

At first, I thought that the book might be sad or even a little boring. But as I kept reading it became more and more interesting. Soon the story moves from England to South Africa. Martine goes to live with her grandmother Gwyn Tomas in a game reserve in Sawabona.

Even if I was sitting in my living room and reading this book it felt like I was there watching all of Martine’s adventures. I could imagine the animals, the beautiful land, and the mystery of the white giraffe. One of the most interesting characters was Ben, he didn’t talk to anyone at school but he was the one who helped Martine when she needed it the most.

I have always wanted a pet so after reading this book I want one even more.

One thing that I love about this book is Martine’s and Jemmy’s [The White Giraffe’s] bond, they are there for each other when they need each other. In the beginning of this book, I did not like Gwyn Tomas because she was not that friendly to Martine. I felt sorry for her because she lost both her parents and she didn’t have any real friends except Jemmy and Ben. But later on in this book I realised she was doing it to protect Martine; she actually cared about her a lot.

There were also some characters I did not like, like the Fine Star gang. They were not kind at all. I really hope they get a big punishment in the next book, The Lion Cub’s Secret. I liked how Tendai, Grace, and Gwyn Thomas were kind and helped Martine.

I can’t wait to read “The Lion Cub’s Secret” if I find it somewhere. I love this book, it has many cliffhangers and they were very exciting and hard to stop reading. I really hope someone will make this book into a movie one day because it would be amazing to see the white giraffe and the African wildlife on the big screen.

I recommend this book for those who like adventures, animals and friendship stories. I can’t wait to read the next book if I find it somewhere!

Author

Lauren St John

Lauren St John is a British-Zimbabwean author born in December 1966 in what was then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). She grew up on a farm and game reserve surrounded by wild animals — an upbringing that inspires her award-winning children’s and young adult fiction, including the beloved The White Giraffe and the mystery series beginning with Dead Man's Cove

Reviewer Profile

Saanvi, 9

  • Reviews: 2
  • Likes: reading, music and pets
  • Dislikes: mushrooms and broccoli
  • Favourite Book: Tom Gates by Liz Pichon
  • Favourite Film: The Secret Life of Pets
  • Favourite Bands: BlackPink and BTS

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