Well I'll be a Monkey's Uncle...err, brother

AUTHOR: Oppel, Kenneth
TITLE: Half Brother

When forced to reconcile the idea of humanity, 13-year-old Ben Tomlin learns to appreciate family members in whatever size, shape and species they come in. Zan was taken from his mother after only a few days and given to the Tomlins to be raised and cared for as their own. Zan which happens to be short for Tarzan is a chimpanzee. As Zan grows, his new family attempts to teach him sign language and to test to see if it is possible for chimps to learn language.
As time passes, Ben sees Zan as more of a little brother and less and less as a science experiment, his sentiment is not shared by his father. While Zan is learning words and sign and beginning to combine them to form thoughts, he also begins to demonstrate typical animal characteristics and after a while it is decided that Zan must be sold. Oppel makes this story compelling and interesting, while the books setting 1970’s Canada is a bit unfamiliar and at times awkward, the story of Ben and Zan is heart wrenching and will force readers to ask what makes a creature human.

Dishes

Dishes
By Rich Wallace

160p
Viking Juvenile

ISBN-10: 0670011398
ISBN-13: 978-0670011391

Annotation:
19 year old Danny spends an eventful summer in Maine, looking for romance, working as a “straight” dishwasher in a gay bar, and trying to reconnect with his estranged father.

Summary:

Challenging stereotypes, Wallace introduces Danny a sexually secure straight nineteen year old college dropout, who in an effort to escape his life has chosen to work in the town of Ogunquit, Maine a summer vacation destination that thrives on the gay clientele. Danny uses this summer job as a reason to escape the disappointments in his New Jersey life, primarily the canceling of his college’s track program and to reconnect with the father that abandoned him many years ago.

Danny spends his time running, and working at the restaurant ‘Dishes’ with a host of other colorful characters. His sexuality is often questioned by his love interest Mercy and his fellow wait staff, but he is confidant and secure; going so far as to play on the restaurant’s softball team for the yearly tournament. In the end, Danny learns much about himself and looks forward to getting to know more about his father.

This book is fairly short and uneventful, but enjoyable nonetheless. Overall, this novel had an interesting premise and serve as an interesting counterpoint for the slew of other gay coming of age novel.