I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I wanted to love this book. I really did! I love sea turtles so much and have worked with some wildlife organizations in Florida. Granted, things definitely work differently with how nesting and such is handled in Costa Rica than in the United States. If you did half of the stuff in this book in the United States, you could be arrested or fined. But besides that, I felt like the material didn't match the intended audience. The writing seemed geared toward 2-4 grades, but the material (kidnapping, one mention of sex, alcohol abuse) seemed to be too mature for that age group. Overall, I gave it 3 stars. I think a lot more could have been done with this story without all of the mature elements.

They run The Wild Place Animal Shelter and when I say run, I literally mean these individuals, run. They are constantly moving to assist or comfort the many animals that need their attention. Some of the animals are brought in to them by individuals who drop them off, some are animals who are anonymously dropped off at the shelter, and some are animals who are called in by individuals and the shelter must drive out and makes an animal rescue. Either way, this animal shelter is nonstop action.

In the mail one day they receive a letter from Carlos, a conservationist from Costa Rica who needs their help. The Leatherback Turtles are near extinction and he wants to build a turtle sanctuary. Can they come and help him? Excitement hits the air as some of the shelter employees see this as an opportunity to do something abroad and they immediately start planning. Reality slowly begins to trickle in as they begin to grasp the whole concept of what awaits them in Costa Rica.

I thought this was a fun novel to read. I liked the idea of the unknown and how the group themselves didn’t know all the answers before they set out on their trip. What would they find in Costa Rica? There are poisonous spiders in that area, would they be ready for that? There a huge concern about poachers stealing the eggs and what if they ran into these dangerous individuals out at night on their mission? What about the language barrier they thought they faced? I liked learning about the Leatherback Turtles and the poachers and I liked how the animal shelter worked with Carlos to put his sanctuary on the map so it could be successful.
This novel moved quickly without a lot of extra characters. This was an adventurous, entertaining read about saving wildlife and I think young readers will enjoy it.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Dundurn in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great story to teach kids about wildlife!

Robin is a great character. She’s brave because she’s willing to travel around the world to save animals. She convinces her family to travel to Costa Rica to help a turtle sanctuary. She’s realistic because she is also flawed. She doesn’t listen to her grandmother when she tells Robin not to go on the beach by herself. Robin ends up paying the price for that when she is kidnapped, so she learns to follow her grandmother’s rules.

The setting of Costa Rica was very realistic too. My friend just came back from vacation there, and it was depicted just the way she described it to me. It was very hot but rainy when she got there, just like when Robin arrived . Carlos even says “pura vida,” which is what all the locals say. Though I have never been to Costa Rica, I felt like I was there in this story.

The climax of the story, when Robin is kidnapped, happens close to the end. Since it was mentioned in the description, I thought it would happen earlier. But this was an important turning point in the story. Robin learned what the animals at their rescue shelter feel like when they are kept in cages. She ended up learning from the scary experience.

This is a great story for young readers who are interested in wildlife!

I would definitely buy this book for a child. There is plenty of action and the story is short enough that it should keep children attentive. I loved the family's passion for animals and I feel that looking after animals is an important message for children.

As an environmentalist, it was hard for me not to like this book. I really enjoyed all of the lessons about protecting all living creatures, and standing up for what you believe in. I gave this book a 3 star rating for a couple of reasons; I feel it was a little to heavy on death, and some pretty deep topics for a kids book. I also feel like the situations that the characters endure near the end was not needed, or could have been handled better. I read kids/middle grade a lot because the stories get to the point fast, but I felt this was a little to rushed. All in all, this was a quick, meaningful read, and I would suggest it to any parent who has a kid interested in animals or anything to do with nature.

It might be for 9 – 12 year olds but I really enjoyed this! Very informative and fun to read showing the importance of looking after and protecting animals of all kinds. The passion of this family for going out to Costa Rica and saving the turtles is amazing and of course this being an adventure story, there’s tales of poachers and dangers too. A great little adventure with a strong message.The turtle illustrations at the start of every chapter are a nice touch as well. I would definately get this for a child and even older ones as you learn a lot from this fun story

Robin works at a wild animal rescue foundation and spends her free-time saving baby raccoons and other animals with her family. She reads about a Turtle rescue group in Costa Rica and soon is saving money for plane fare so that she can go and help when the turtles start laying their eggs. 

Although she loves animals, Robin has some valid concerns about the heat, bugs, living conditions and poachers that they encounter in Costa Rica. Her Grandmother and brother are with her, and they all manage to make progress and even get more volunteers to come and help.

Just when it seems like things are going great, they get kidnapped by the poachers. It all has a happy ending, and I'd hand this one off to any of the prospective animal activists kids in my life. The descriptions of the scenery in Costa Rica were fantastic.

This is the first of this author's books I have read and I'd certainly try another in the series. I love the environmentally conscious message and the close look at nature in all it's horror and glory. I'm a bit wobbly on the author's style but that could just be me. Overall and enjoyable read.