Unable to remember her life before a tornado swept her away as a toddler and deposited her in a Nebraska zoo, 12-year-old Lex forges a close bond with an elephant before a telepathic message ensnares her in a world of ghosts, lost treasure and her own mysterious identity. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)
A magical adventure about a girl with a mysterious connection with the elephant who saved her life, for fans of Katherine Applegate and Jennifer Holm.
An elephant never forgets, but Lexington Willow can't remember what happened before a tornado swept her away when she was a toddler. All she knows is that it landed her near an enclosure in a Nebraska zoo; and there an elephant named Nyah protected her from the storm. With no trace of her birth family, Lex grew up at the zoo with Nyah and her elephant family; her foster father, Roger; her best friend, Fisher; and the wind whispering in her ear.
Now that she's twelve, Lex is finally old enough to help with the elephants. But during their first training session, Nyah sends her a telepathic image of the woods outside the zoo. Despite the wind's protests, Lex decides to investigate Nyah's message and gets wrapped up in an adventure involving ghosts, lost treasure, and a puzzle that might be the key to finding her family. As she hunts for answers, Lex must summon the courage to leave the secure borders of her zoo to discover who she really is--and why the tornado brought her here all those years ago. - (Random House, Inc.)
Celesta Rimington is an elephant advocate, a musical theater performer, and an active participant in her local writing community. As a teenager, she worked at a zoo in Omaha, which is part of the reason she set her story in Nebraska. She now lives in Utah with her husband and two children, where they have a miniature railroad with a rideable steam train.
celestarimington.com - (Random House, Inc.)
Booklist Reviews
After an EF5 tornado tore through Nebraska, Roger, Lexington Zoo's train engineer, was led by a "misplaced spirit" (ghost) to the elephant enclosure, where a young girl was nestled against and protected by the elephant, Nyah. Amazingly, the girl was unharmed, but her identity was unknown, so Roger took her in and named her Lexington (Lex), with her rescue date as a birthday. Now, at 12, she wonders about her past and her connection with Nyah. Lex begins to uncover the layers of herself as she communicates with the wind, Nyah, and the ghost that helped her after the tornado. As Rimington allows Lex to tell her story, the girl's fears, curiosity, and determination become paramount to the tale. Mixing realism, fantasy, and information about elephants, the author presents well-rounded, often mischievous human characters, and the unlikely focal setting of the zoo entices readers to fantasize about living there. Lex's investigation reveals a puzzle that may contain answers about her past, and readers will eagerly accompany her as she works to crack it. Grades 3-6. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
An orphan girl discovers her true identity with the help of a ghost, an elephant, and the wind. Seven years ago, an approximately 5-year-old white girl was found by an employee in the Omaha zoo's elephant habitat following a tornado. After efforts to locate her family led nowhere, the zoo employee, a white man named Roger, called the girl Lexington after the zoo and became her guardian. Rimington sets this poignant novel when Lex and Roger figure she is 12. Refusing to go to public school, Lex remains mostly isolated at the zoo, much like her favorite character, Karana, from Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960). Readers familiar with this Newbery winner will notice many interesting parallels between the orphaned girls. Lex's day-to-day activities consist of her routine with Roger; hanging out with best friend and fellow zoo resident Fisher, a boy with mixed Thai and white heritage; communing with Nyah, the elephant who saved her the night of the tornado; and listening to the wind. These latter fantastical elements come into the fore when Lexington begins se eing Miss Amanda, the "misplaced spirit" (please, don't call her "ghost") of a Southern white woman who has lost some treasure. Soon, an already engaging tale of life at a zoo turns into a mystery, with Lex and Fisher's efforts not only to locate Miss Amanda's treasure, but also to recover Lex's identity in the process. The book adheres to the white default. A bittersweet ending completes the story's magic and mystery. (author's note) (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus 2020 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
