Saving the Whales

Saving Crazy’s is the third novel in Karen Hood-Caddy’s young adult series, The Wild Place. Like the first two novels, it focuses on 13 year old Robin, whose family runs a wildlife sanctuary out of their barn. I think this book was probably the weakest of the three — a lot of it focuses on Robin and Zo-Zo (her best friend) fighting over a not-particularly-desirable boy named McCoy. But it’s still a cute little read.

Besides the drama over McCoy, the novel’s main focus is environmental, of course. First there’s a lesson on global warming, as Robin’s beautiful little lake becomes covered in blooming algae. Then, we shift to whale hunting. Robin’s grandmother, Griff — easily the best character in a book full of bratty teenagers, but then again, I’m old — has rediscovered an old boyfriend named Finn. Finn and Griff used to do all sorts of Earth saving things together, until they broke up and she got married. Now he travels the high seas stopping Japanese whale hunters. Somehow, Griff manages to take two teenage girls on a save-the-whales trip. And Robin complains the whole time because she misses McCoy.

The whale saving stuff is great, and Griff and Finn are pretty adorable. Robin plays the role of bratty teen pretty well, but she learns her lesson in the end. I can hardly complain that a book aimed at teen girls doesn’t always appeal to my (very) late 20s tastes. But it does a pretty good job of entertaining them anyway.