Erin's Response to Chapters 26- Epilogue

1. How would you describe the relationship between John and Isabel?

I can't quite figure this out. So nothing happened with them-- not even close. I didn't want John to cheat on Amanda, but was kind of looking for a little suspense. I can't figure out why Gruen reminded us of John's infatuation with Isabel if nothing was going to come of it. Gruen also made it a point to show us that John was territorial when it came to other men looking at Amanda and he would fantasize about Amanda. But why the attraction to Isabel if nothing was going to come of it?

Was he only attracted to her because of her ability to communicate with the apes and her relationship with the apes? I'm just not sure!

2. What was your reaction to finding out Peter's role in the explosion and capture of the apes?

I wasn't surprised at all. I liked the build up to finding out that he wasn't a good guy. I liked how we trusted him in the beginning and were happy that Isabel had someone she could trust, but I loved reading how that all unraveled. I would have liked to see more of how that all came out. More confrontation and more on why Peter did what he did.

3. Both John and Amanda ended up achieving their professional goals. Amanda ended up getting pregnant and John is excited about having a baby. Do you think this is the end to their problems? Can John and Amanda be happy?

I think they are both content, but why is John leaving Amanda at home alone to go off on these adventurous story assignments when she is pregnant? Maybe John and Amanda both only need professional satisfaction in order to be happy with everything else in their lives. In the book, they had the love, but neither were happy with their careers. So maybe now that they both have their careers in line, their happiness is taken care of. It is obvious that they love each other very much. Hopefully John won't continue to follow Isabel everywhere and his attraction to her will never be acted on.

4. What did you find to be the most intriguing about the bonobos?

They are so smart, so loving, and so human-like. They are great judges of character and are very loyal to those they love. I would absolutely love to get to witness bonobos communicating with each other and with humans!

5. Which character did you enjoy reading about the most?

John's story line was always the most intriguing to me. There wasn't much "action" with Isabel, though I thought she was a great character. I just liked all the drama associated with John- though some of it was over the top and seemed unnecessary. I could have completely done without the introduction of the green-haired kid and the paternity test associated with that. Maybe John needed that to realize that he wanted to be a father? But it was in the last few chapters of the book. I just didn't understand the point of that character or that story. I'm not sure why John went into a meth lab and picked up Booger the dog. There were just some aspects of his story that seemed to be "too much" for me.

6. Was the ending what you expected? Did things resolve the way you thought they would?

Again, I would have liked to see more confrontation in the end, but I am happy with the ending. I'm happy the bonobos are safe and sound and that Isabel has been reunited with them, her family.

7. And finally, any overall thoughts or feelings that these questions haven't addressed? How would you rate this book for others? Any part that you loved? Anything you hated? SHARE!

I would give this book 3 stars out of 5 stars. At least that's what I did on Goodreads. I liked reading about the apes and I liked reading about the world of journalism. I just think that some of the scenes were unnecessary and a waste of paper. I'm excited to read other posts to see if anyone agrees or disagrees. There were a lot of things that I did like about the book, but I feel like the things I liked the most were the conflict and the bonobos, so I'd like to have seen more of how it all shook out and had less shenanigans in John's story.