(4) YA After volcanic activity upends Snub's gorilla family in prehistoric Africa, Snub cares for her baby brother and abandoned "not-gorilla" Orphan (a human girl). But Snub's other interactions with the new, two-legged predators turn violent. Unlike Schrefer's previous three volumes (Endangered and others), this novel is in free verse with a third-person perspective. While not entirely convincing, the narrative provides an intriguing glimpse into gorilla consciousness and prehistory. Reading list.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) 4-6 Lost Rainforest series. Illustrated by Emilia Dziubak. Panther Mez discovers she is a "shadowwalker," gifted with hidden magic. Boa constrictor Auriel asks Mez to join other "eclipse-born" and prevent the evil Ant Queen's return. Mez befriends some fellow recruits but soon discovers Auriel's ulterior motives. While the plot drags, the story's engaging friendships, action, and suspense may garner fans for this new animal-fantasy series. Includes a Q&A about Schrefer's research in the Amazon.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(2) YA Schrefer (Threatened; Endangered) vividly portrays a sibling-like relationship between John and the orangutan John's father brought home from Indonesia. After John's parents' divorce, he moves across the country with his mother while Raja stays behind. The two are dramatically reunited after Raja ends up in a roadside zoo. Schrefer gives readers a complex narrative that brings animal-rights issues to the fore. Reading list.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2016

(4) 4-6 Spirit Animals: Fall of the Beasts series. In this spinoff series, four children along with their spirit animals find their world in danger again. Enemies new and old present the heroes with more challenges, while themes of death/rebirth, trust, and hopelessness carry over from the Spirit Animal series. Familiarity with the previous books helps as character development is reserved for new characters; there's little backstory on the main characters. An online component extends the story.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) 4-6 Spirit Animals series. The four heroes and their spirit animal companions have been scattered. They must find a way to reunite, fight the Conquerors, and regain the holy talismans. Along the way they learn to work together again, even while dealing with shocking losses. Though the separation/reunion theme is becoming well worn, the action and adventure (and the series' online component) will keep readers' interest.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(2) YA Gabonese teen Luc assists the mysterious "Prof," a self-described "world-renowned expert on chimpanzees." Sturdy and determined, Luc becomes an astute chimp observer. Schrefer, in this carefully researched companion to Endangered, gives readers an exciting adventure story while deepening their understanding of primates. The book is filled with sensory detail, and the characters, human and nonhuman alike, are well drawn. Reading list.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2014

(2) YA When Sophie, fourteen, arrives for her yearly visit to her Congolese mother's animal sanctuary, she becomes attached to a baby bonobo. So when the political situation destabilizes dangerously and she's scheduled to be airlifted back to Miami, she can't bear to leave him behind. Schrefer packs a wealth of incident into a compelling survival story set in contemporary conflict-ridden Congo.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2013

(4) YA After finding her sister Maya's cell phone next to Jefferson Andrews's dead body, Abby vows to protect Maya from the police. This murder mystery thriller skips along at a fast pace, weaving in some convoluted details and two-dimensional characters who pose as suspects. Once the killer is revealed in the surprise ending, readers will look at the characters in a whole new light.

Reviewer: Marika Jeffrey

(3) YA Exiled to a remote reform school for "dangerous girls," Angela is torn between an impulse to beat the system from within or to rebel violently against it. As she slowly makes friends and discovers the school's vicious secrets, Angela redefines herself. The impenetrable unreliability of the students and staff imbue the story with an impressively creepy psychological tension (overwrought conclusion notwithstanding).

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac