The One and Only Ivan (2012) by Katherine Applegate

 

🦍 The one and only Ivan is a silverback gorilla. He was 'picked' from his kind by humans, and currently lives at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, where humans can watch him through the glass walls of his 'domain'. Since he grew up in human's home (Mack - the owner of the mall), Ivan has been living like human. His favorite food is yogurt raisin, his favorite pastime is either watching western movies on TV (he has his own TV inside his domain), or working on his art. Yes, Ivan also likes to paint. In short, Ivan is more human than a gorilla should be. He even only vaguely remember about the jungle, and his childhood. Why, he's contented living in his domain (well, a cage really, but her prefers to call it domain). Ivan also lives with his friends - an elderly elephant called Stella, who lives at the next door cage (Ivan's best friend), and Bob, the stray dog, who loves to sleep on Ivan's belly. 🦍 Ivan's favorite human friend is Julia, the keeper's daughter, who also loves to draw and paint. In fact, Ivan gets his art supplies from her. In short, Ivan would have been living contentedly as he is, if Ruby has never come. Ruby is a baby elephant, the Mall's newest 'member', whom they have just taken from her family. They place her together with old Stella. The fact is, Stella is too old to perform anymore with her injured leg, so they need a fresh 'talent' to train. Unlike Ivan, Stella always remembers her previous life in a zoo (elephant remembers, right?), and she's used to tell the others that there are two kinds of human: the kind and the mean; humans in the zoo are the kind one. And when Ruby was 'chastised' by Mack (you wouldn't want to know the details) to learn her actions, something stirred deep in Stella and Ivan's heart. But Stella could do nothing while she's dying, so it's left to Ivan. The question is, what can he do, while he can't even save himself? (Ivan eventually understands what living in a cage means). 🦍 This book is not what I have expected when I picked it up. It has the charming aspects of funny, cute, and tender in it; but it also touches you much deeper. Applegate did a wonderful job of portraying the nature of each animal. And as I was listening to the audiobook, I would also say that Adam Grupper has been equally wonderful in giving each animal character its perfect personification - the sturdy Ivan, the foolish and constantly-chattering Ruby, the graceful Stella, and the laid-back Bob. Ivan is the perfect hero in this alright, but I think I have a soft spot for Bob, haha! On the whole, this is a bittersweet story with a vivid characterization, and also a great way to learn more, in particular, about gorilla. 🦍 I learned an even more intriguing fact from one of Goodreads' reviews, that one and only Ivan was actually derived from a real life story of a gorilla who was also called Ivan. The real Ivan, who was famous as the "Shopping Mall Gorilla", lived - or caged - in a Department Store after being kidnapped from its habitat in Congo. It was then moved - after some protests from some animal protection groups, to Zoo Atlanta, in their Ford African Tropical Forest Exhibit, which mimics the landscape of a natural habitat. You can read more about it here. Needless to say, when I said this is a bittersweet story, I believe the 'sweet' is for the young adult readers' still tender hearts. The reality is much gloomier. When Stella pictured the zoo as a dream place, and also later on when Ruby had been installed safely and happily in a zoo, my thoughts actually were: a zoo is definitely better than a cage, but it's not a place for wild animals. How do we know that they were really happy? They shouldn't have been kidnapped from the first. Now they would never have survived in the wilds. In the end, I had a lot of thinking, and I was not happy. Ah... how I wish I have read this book while I was much more innocent! :( Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Death of a Kingfisher (2012) by M.C. Beaton

🦜 Judged from the title, I had, at first, thought this was a cozy mystery (this was my first introduction to M.C. Beaton's, by the way). But of course, I was wrong. This isn't just a murder of a bird - though it was the first murder victim - but several chapters later, it's proved to be a proper murder mystery. Police Sergeant Hamish Macbeth, our main character; a red-haired and hazel-eyed intelligent officer, with little or no ambition of stepping up the ladder of police office career, but is contented to serve in the remote village of Braikie near Lochdubh. He's quartered in the police station with his partner, a lazy laid-back veteran who's always hungry, Dick Fraser. Macbeth reports to Chief Inspector Blaire, who hates him and doesn't hesitate to sabotage his works if need to. 🦜 The kingfisher lives in the woods, which the current local tourist director renamed The Fairy Glen. It was found one day hung from a tree branch, with a noose around its neck. This was seen as an attack to The Fairy Glen, who would sabotage this tourist attraction? Maybe old and wealthy Mrs. Colchester who'd objected to the beautiful serene glen (which she owned) being monetized. But just as Macbeth planned to interview her, she was murdered in a cruel scheme. Money, then, became the suspected motive. But it proved to be a very trying case as one by one Macbeth's suspects or next leads became murdered. I've lost counting after the third, but someone counts that there were no less than nine murders in total! 🦜 Two third of the story seemed to be promising. A complex case with a cruel murderer(s), with a hint of love interest for Macbeth, not mentioning the "office politics" in the police station. However, near the end, the mystery became wilder and out of control. And when the suspects became lesser in number, Beaton put in new ones with more incoherent schemes. It felt like the writer, having started the book quite lovely, had no idea how to end it. The ending was very inconclusive, and I still didn't know how few of the murders had been committed, nor why, nor by whom. It was a heap of confusing crimes. Needless to say, this was a disappointing book from a promising series (it is the 27th, and has currently been running on to 38!) Maybe it was a wrong choice from the beginning? Maybe I should have picked another title? Well, if this is your favorite series, please tell me which one I'd better start with. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026

hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

The Dalai Lama's Cat (2012) by David Michie #ReadingtheMeow2025 #20BooksOfSummer2025

🐈 My first choice for Mallika's #ReadingtheMeow2025 has long intrigued me. I don't know why, but I'm always fascinated by Tibet. Reading Herge's Tintin in Tibet more than forty years ago might be the first trigger. Tibet has been some sort of magnet for me ever since. Then, when you add the cat element in it, how could I ever resist? Hence, it had been my first choice, and I'm not disappointed - it's simply delightful and inspiring.

🐈 I love it when an animal tells a story from its point of view. This story is that - the titular cat told the story of its wonderful life, from near death to the highest point that could possibly be achieved by a cat. She was rescued by the Dalai Lama when, as a kitten, she was being snatched from her mother by two naughty boys who wanted to sell her and her siblings. It was in the street of New Delhi, and Dalai Lama passed by in his car from a visit. She soon became Dalai Lama's pet. And people call her various names, from His Holiness' Cat (HHC) - by Dalai lama himself and his entourage; Rinpoche (meaning precious) - by a cafe owner who's a Buddhism enthusiast; Snow Lion; and The Most Beautiful Creature that Ever Lived - by Dalai Lama's chef.

🐈 Living with Dalai Lama, it's no wonder that HHC gets used to listening to many Buddhism lessons as she's always around when Dalai Lama receives visitors. She's even practicing (or trying to) meditation, in fact, she aspires to be a bodhicatva!🐱 And HHC has a lot of weaknesses to be righted; gluttony is one of them. With her status of His Holiness's Cat, there're people who want to please her. And how one pleases a cat if not by offering foods - delicious foods, which HCC could not resist. And that's how she's getting fatter and fatter. But Dalai Lama's advice to a visitor inspired her to overcome her greediness. That's just an example, she is also guilty of pride, jealousy, and insecurity. She is attracted to a tiger tabby, but feels insecure about her own (non) breeding, and so, plays hard-to-get all the time. Is it wise, though? She just have to sit still on the windowsill of Dalai Lama's study, to get the answer.

🐈 In short, this is a book "written" by a cat who tells you her own story, while at the same time imparts spiritual lessons of how to live a happier and more wholesome life. I love it when a cat writes a book, especially if it has a well-balanced proportion between cat's daily life and its interaction with human beings. Of course, HHC's observation on Dharamsala and Jokhang monastery and temple life, brought to me by the cat's point of view every time she perches high on the magazine shelf at the cafe, or while wondering on the Dharamsala streets and alleyways - it made this an even wholesome book. Even if you aren't a cat person, this book is funny, charming, and inspiring, without being preachy.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Reading the Meow 2025

hosted by Mallika

20 Books of Summer 2025
hosted by Annabel and Emma

Cigarette Girl (2012) by Ratih Kumala #IndonesianLit

🚬 I'm proud to say that Cigarette Girl is the best Indonesian historical fiction I've read so far. A highly entertaining story with good plot and pace. Most importantly, it is unpretentious, unlike most of others in the same genre from the same country. This is my second read, and I enjoyed it as much as before.

🚬 Whether we, Indonesians, like it or not, cigarette is always part of our culture. For me personally, the aroma of tobacco sticks to my memory. It is something I grew up with. My late father was a smoker until many years later when he stopped smoking. The tobacco smell coming from my father's body or clothes always associated to me the sense of love and protection. No matter how hard life is, it will be okay because my father will there for me. God, how I miss those feelings right now! Nowadays people might condemn cigarettes as silent killer etcetera, but I always have a soft spot for cigarettes, tobacco, and cloves. But enough about me, now about the story itself.

🚬 Tegar, Karim, and Lebas are the offsprings of a wealthy cigarette business owner Soeraja. They are summoned home as their father is dying. Unexpectedly, on his death bed, Soeradja mentions a woman's name they've never heard of, but enrages their mother: Jeng Yah ("Jeng" is a respectable address to a woman, similar to Ma'am). Who is Jeng Yah? And why does their father want to meet her? The brothers decide to solve the mystery and look for the answer by taking a trip to M town, where it all began.

🚬 Parallel with the present line, Ratih Kumala brings us to the past. It all began in the early 1940s when the Dutch was still colonizing Indonesia. A visionary ambitious young man called Idroes Moeris was working as a cigarette roller, but longed to produce and sell his own cigarettes. His time came when the Japanese arrived in 1942 and confiscated Moeria's boss' belongings. Fortunately the boss still keep some cloves and tobacco in stock, which Moeria then bought for his first venture in cigarette industry.

🚬 Soedjagad was Idroes Moeria's colleague, and close competitor, not only in stealing the heart of a pretty girl called Roemaisa - daughter of a scribe - but also in buying the boss's cloves. Roemaisa rejected Soedjagad's proposal because she fell in love with Moeria; and we know who eventually got the cloves. These brought bitterness to Soedjagad, and from then on he was like a thorn in Moeria's flesh, a shadow that shrouded his life.

🚬 Both competitors thrived as two big cigarette industries, but Moeria was always leading with his genius business inventions and good taste in concocting delicious sauce for his clove cigarettes. Soedjagad, meanwhile, was always copying his ideas, but lacked Moeria's secret recipe of the sauce. But it would all change in the hand of their successors.

🚬 Moeria and Roemaisa had two daughters. The elder one is the most beautiful and intelligent. Her name is Dasiyah, but people called her Jeng Yah. The enigmatic Jeng Yah. Dasiyah inherited her father's knack of cigarette making, and was soon entering the industry. How did she meet Soeraja, and what happened then, is an engaging mystery to unfold!

🚬 What I liked most from this book is how Ratih Kumala alternately and proportionally tells the story from the point of view of characters from both the past and present, and was able to connect them so seamlessly, yet we still distinctly perceive the time difference. It is equally amazing how she could explore each character - present and past - beautifully in just under 300 pages.

🚬 I love mostly the portrayals of the three Soeraja brothers. Tegar was made the heir from childhood, but envied his brothers for happily living their childhood, while he was forced to learn about family business. Lebas, the laid-back child, on the contrary, envied Tegar for being with their father all the time, while he and Karim played together alone. And Karim, the calm trustworthy Karim, who later becomes the mediator between the two opposite-pole of his brothers, is satisfied to work for their family business. Lastly I'm satisfied with ending, with the way the three brothers react to the revelation of Jeng Yah and their family secret history.

🚬 On the whole, it is a story about two most important events in Indonesian history: Japanese occupation which led to independence proclamation in 1945, and the 1965 genocide. They are nicely presented through the intricate stories of love and jealousy, ambition and struggles, business intrigues and betrayals, as well as the interesting history of clove cigarettes industry. Cigarette Girl has also been made a Netflix series, currently playing. I haven't had chance to watch it (some people had recommended it), but I'm pretty sure that the book, as usual, would be much better.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

We 🖤 Sibling Stories Week
hosted by Rachel (Hamlette) @ Hamlette's Soliloqui