Clockwork Books
The Golden Rhino, by Griffin Shea
The Golden Rhino, by Griffin Shea
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An adventure set in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Never Mashamba’s 12th birthday couldn’t go worse. His father, the scientific genius Dr. Mashamba, is shot and wounded by poachers. But the criminals are really after the hybrid rhino calf Sipho, which his father crossbred against all odds.
The Mashambas must flee Zimbabwe for a game farm in South Africa, where Dr Mashamba can recuperate and Sipho can get the care he needs. Never soon realises that Sipho is in danger, but his father doesn’t pay attention to his fears.
Who exactly is after Sipho the rhino calf, and why? Can Never trust his new friends, Becks and Dumisani? And what does a mysterious Ganesh pendant — the only thing Never has from his birth family — have to do with all this?
About the Author
Griffin Shea owns Bridge Books, an independent bookstore in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa. He also founded the African Book Trust, which gives new books to schools and libraries. Before opening Bridge Books, Griffin worked as a journalist for fifteen years. He’s currently working towards a doctorate in Publishing Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand.
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The Golden Rhino's storyline gradually gains up momentum and crescendos by the book's concluding chapters. The Golden Rhino will both make a fantastic audiobook and film. The "bad people" in The Golden Rhino talked and behaved in a menacing manner, which I really liked because there was no actual bloodshed or graphic violence. That was great, and I think it helped keep the book in the Young Adult demographic.
I bought The Golden Rhino as soon as it came out because I love Young Adult fiction, I love South Africa, and I knew Griffin Shea would write the young characters with full sensitivity to their thoughts and feelings. He delivered! Never Mashamba is such a believable kid that by the end of the book I felt as if I knew him personally. The plot in The Golden Rhino subtly picks up steam and builds to such a crescendo that by the final chapters I skipped supper and read until midnight just to find out what would happen. The Golden Rhino will make a fabulous audiobook and a brilliant movie. A small #SpoilerAlert for this next compliment: One thing I especially appreciated about The Golden Rhino was that the "bad guys" spoke and acted with a great deal of menace, but there was not any actual death or gory violence. I appreciated that and I believe it kept the book appropriate to the Young Adult age range.
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