Summary from
Goodreads:
Bob sets out on a dangerous journey in search of his
long-lost sister with the help of his two best friends, Ivan and Ruby. As a
hurricane approaches and time is running out, Bob finds courage he never knew
he had and learns the true meaning of friendship and family.
Review:
I discovered Ivan rather late in the game. I feel like I
only just listened to the audio book, on my short drives to and from work. But,
time feels so strange now. 2020 has got to be one of the strangest years of my
life. And time just doesn’t seem to work as it normally would. How is it the
middle of June right now?
I had no idea there was going to be a sequel to Ivan! It was
lucky happenstance that I chose to read The
One and Only Ivan just months prior to the release of this sequel. It was
also extraordinarily lucky that I happened to open an email that mentioned a
webinar with the author! I can get what seems like hundreds of emails a day in
(in my work account). I often delete emails that mention webinars because I
don’t have the time to attend them, let alone read about them. However due to
working so much from home this year and having a little more time for digital,
professional development, I read the email about a Q and A session with
Katherine Applegate, and I was shocked to learn about this sequel!
I went ahead and pre-ordered the book right away for my
library, and got in line for the eAudio. I attended the webinar of course, and
remembered why this author was just so amazing. She has this way of getting
into the heads of her animal characters. She really can think how you’d imagine
a dog or a gorilla might think. And it was so wonderful to hear her talk about
Bob and Ivan, and the upcoming movie (which I also didn’t know about!).
Reading this sequel was a special treat. I had no idea it
was coming, or that I might even have wanted it to begin with. But, I think I
secretly did. It was a little bit more closure than we were allowed before. It
was a few more answers to questions I never hoped I could possibly go back to.
Bob was never my favorite character. It was fun hearing
Katherine Applegate talk about how he was hers. She saw him as the comic
relief. But, I never viewed him as such. I found him a little hard to love. I
immediately took to Ruby and Ivan. But, I had to grow to love Bob, and even
then, there were always parts to him that bothered me a little. I guess this
book filled in those parts. I got to see fully what made him the way he was.
His story is a sad one. And he’s such a great a character. I’m glad I had the
chance to get to know him more.
Did I love this book as much as the first one? No. I think part of the
reason Ivan was so magical was because there aren’t many gorilla books out
there. Ivan was truly one of a kind. I have read a million and one dog books.
There are now even adult books written from the dog’s perspective. And in that
regard, this felt a little less special –a little less fresh. Bob isn’t as
unique as Ivan. I know that’s not necessarily fair. How can I compare a dog to
a gorilla? Though, it is what it is. This book did have a lot of action in it,
possibly more than the first one. There were natural weather disasters, rescue
missions, family dramas, and lots of new characters. The reunions with old
characters were definitely the standout moments for me. I can see kids loving
this book just as much as the first one. It just wasn’t quite as special for
me. I give it an 8/10
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