Elephant Touch, by Susan R. Greenway, (Sept. 2024, SparkPress), $14.99, ISBN: 9781684632688
Ages 9-13
Animal lovers and fiction readers will immediately know there’s something special about this meditation on grief, loss, and healing. Quinn is a girl grieving her mother’s loss; she and her aunt visit a Thai elephant sanctuary in hopes that helping care for elephants will bring them some healing. Quinn initially resists the experience, but bonds with an abused elephant, Sumana, who lovingly rests her trunk on the girl. The sanctuary welcomes a baby elephant, Lee Lawa Dee, who witnessed her mother’s death at the hands of poachers and has stopped eating. Quinn, desperate to help save the elephant, insists that Sumana can help Lee Lawa Dee, but is rebuffed by the staff. Using her connection to the elephants and powered by her grief and desire to save a life, Quinn takes matters into her own hands – which may bring consequences for Quinn and her aunt. Greenway writes with empathy and feeling that will leave readers rooting her Quinn, Sumana, and Lee Lawa Dee. It’s an emotional read: Quinn’s reactions to the abuse endured by the elephants before arriving at the sanctuary are a stand-in for the reader. Readers invested in the characters will rejoice at the story’s end. A sweet crush on another volunteer, a boy named Hunter, adds interest. Animal fiction readers who loved books like Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish (2015), and Alina Chau’s Marshmallow & Jordan (also about elephants, 2021). Get this one on your shelves!
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