Lexington Willow is a sixth-grader who lives at the Lexington, Nebraska zoo. As a young girl, she was found at the zoo in the aftermath of a tornado, under the protection of an elephant. Her parents were never located, so the kindly zoo train engineer who found her became her legal guardian. Lexington has always shared a mysterious connection with Nyah, the elephant who protected her. As her connection with Nyah grows, Lexington feels the elephant is trying to communicate something. Following her heart and the messages Nyah is sending leads Lex and her friend Fisher on a quest involving hidden treasure, a ghost, and the mystery of Lexington's missing family. Throughout the intriguing plot are woven themes of friendship, courage, and persistence. A compelling story about facing one's fears, this book would be an excellent addition to any middle grade fiction collection.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher Random House Children's for allowing me to receive this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Elephants' Girl
by Celesta Rimington

This is such a hard one for me to review because technically there is nothing bad about it but I just didn't connect or enjoy my reading experience all that much. I felt like the characters were very generic and didn't hook me into the story and the plot took so long to pick up that I found I wasn't interested in picking up the book which is sad because I had such hopes for a magical cute middle grade with the zoo setting.

I do hope that the children that this is targeted to enjoy it more than I did.

2 Stars / D+

I am amazed of how much I love this book. The whole book descriptions of the zoo, the characters and their own emotions were so real. Oh and beautiful book cover too. When I was reading, I felt like I was a part of Lex and her adventures. I liked the magic aspect in each part of the book and how connected Lex was with Nyah. Never read a book like that before. I also really enjoyed the friendship of Lex and Fisher. Fisher always protecting Lex and being a great friend "future boyfriend". But Roger and Lex was just special and well done. It made me cry in the end when Roger gives Lex the special gift. Beautiful story I will buy and share in my classroom with my students to read. Thank you.

I disliked this book, but can see why so many people enjoy it. Personally I found it very slow and overly saccharine. I was also concerned about the ongoing association with Island of the Blue Dolphins, a novel which is hugely problematic and should not, I feel, be lionized.

The Elephant's Girl
by Celesta Rimington


Random House Children's

Crown Books for Young Readers
Children's Fiction , Middle Grade

Pub Date 19 May 2020


I am reviewing a copy of The Elephant’s Girl through Random House Children’s through Crown Books for Young Readers:


An Elephant does not forget, but Lexington Willow cannot remember what happened before she was swept away when she was a toddler. The only thing she knows is the Tornado landed her in an enclosure in a Nebraska Zoo and there an elephant named Nyah protected her from the storm. There was no trace of her birth family so Lex grew up at the Zoo, with Nyah her elephant family, her foster father Roger, and her best friend, Fisher, and the wind whispering in her ear.


At twelve Lexi is finally old enough to help with the Elephants. During the first training session Nyah sends her a telepathic image of the woods outside the zoo. Even as the wind protests Lexi decides to look into Nyah’s message and gets wrapped up into an adventure involving ghosts, treasures and a secret that may lead Lexi to the family she lost. As she begins the search for answers she realizes she must find the courage to leave the area surrounding the Zoo in order to discover who she really is...and why the tornado brought her to the Zoo all the years before.


I give The Elephants Girl five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

The Elephant's Girl was beautifully written. The author did a great job setting up the story and tying everything up at the end. The main character was sweet and interesting, very relatable. The author also did a good job with leading the reader through the mystery of where the main character came from, dropping just the right amount of clues along the way. Character arcs, even side characters, were believable and heart warming. I especially enjoyed the wind's character arc and involvement with this story. I would read it again and read another book by this author! And I hope we can save the elephants in real life.

Lexington showed up in the zoo one day, after a tornado dumped her into the elephant habitat. She's lived in the zoo ever since, as the ward of the zoo's train engineer. She has a special connection with one elephant though--the elephant who saved her in that tornado seven years ago. This story covers Lexington's personal growth as well as her relationships, with a little bit of magical realism thrown in.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of The Elephant's Girl in exchange for an honest review. Simply, I loved this book! The main character, Lexington, drew me in immediately. Her relationships with her friend, Fisher, and her guardian, Roger, were heart-warming and authentic. Even though she was "lost" as a five year old (in a fierce tornado that leveled several towns), she was found by people that love and care for her.

There is a central theme of lost and found running through this story: Lex, Nyha, the elephant, and Amanda, the ghost are all searching for connection, family and home. This is a wonderful, warm, beautiful book. I loved every page.