I have a new favorite book for the pre-teen set. I loved Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalem; I could not put it down once I’d started and I cried when I was finished.  It is a marvelous book about courage, responsibility, and connection.  Escape Under the Forever Sky is about the best kind of connection, the kind of lasting connection that happens when empathy is extended and understanding is gained.

Based on a true story of a young Ethiopian girl who was abducted and then found protection within a gathering of lions, Escape Under the Forever Sky is about Lucy, a 13-year old American girl who is living a sheltered, protected, and boring life as the daughter of the American Ambassador to Ethiopia.  Her only excitement is when she can venture into the conservation parks around Addis Ababa and see the abundance of wildlife; she wants to grow up to be a wildlife conservationist, like her role models Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas.

A tumbling of bad choices and unexpected events sends Lucy deep into the wild country of Ethiopia, alone except for those who only wish to harm her.  Drawing on courage and resources she never imagined she had — and never, ever imagined she would need — Lucy discovers not only what she is made of but realizes that her efforts to understand and care for others can be mirrored back in understanding and care for her.  Lucy makes connections that cross barriers of culture, race, and even species, and those connections save her life.

This book will spark the interest of both boys and girls (although there are some references to the interesting aspects of naked young men that might make a boy blush), and offers a good introduction to the continent of Africa, its diversity and similarities of cultures, and its abundance of history, beauty, and mystery.  Yohalem’s story of Lucy is engaging and compelling, and can inspire young readers to exercise their own untapped powers of strength and connection (and remind them to listen to their mothers). Mothers will appreciate the plug, and will also love that Escape Under the Forever Sky is a story about the instinctual, powerful care and protection of mothers, across all species (except perhaps hyenas) and all cultures.