The time he spent and the direct encounters he had with the apes at the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary outside of Kinshasa translate into some wonderfully vibrant prose portraits, none more so than Otto's. Schrefer is at his best describing the individual bonobos, like the matriarch Anastasia, in terms of personal traits and idiosyncrasies that make them come alive off the page. The challenge of survival in the jungle puts the sensibility and skills Sophie has learned by observing and engaging with Otto to the test, as they seek out edible plants and insects for sustenance, build a nest to sleep in, and navigate the specifics of the bonobo hierarchy in which they immerse themselves. Initially, the odyssey that the dynamic duo of Sophie and Otto embark upon takes them into the bonobo enclosure, where they can hide from rebel soldiers.
(It is worth noting that bonobos naturally coexist in matriarchal social structures, characterized by non-violent and cooperative interaction.) Her awakening as a human being comes about through an inquisitive sense of empathy as she tries to identify with Otto's way of looking at the world. In one of the book's several convincingly nuanced parallels between the emotional expressions and attachments of ape and human, the parental role Sophie takes on in protecting and caring for Otto becomes a conduit to reconciling her own complex feelings toward her mom. Otto, as she names her adopted protégé, will become instrumental in the understanding Sophie develops for her mother's passionate, unwavering commitment to the bonobos, which she has never quite been able to grasp. On her way to spending the summer with her mother, who runs a bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sophie rescues a sickly baby bonobo by buying him from poachers. A critically acclaimed 2012 National Book Award finalist, Eliot Schrefer's young adult novel Endangered boldly and unsentimentally channels the coming-of-age story of its 14-year-old protagonist through the unlikely bond she forges with an orphaned primate.
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