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West With Giraffes

Lynda Rutledge

Start date: July 1, 2023

Finish date: July 30, 2023

Discussion: Book Discussions

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What Members Thought

Jan 06, 2023 Lindsey Gandhi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: macland-ladies-bookclub, 2023-ng-reading-challenge, 2023-popsugar-reading-challenge

Sometimes there are books that you just have to get to the end to make it worth it. This is one of those books. For 80% of it, I felt like saying, "Ok, get on with the story. Just get to San Diego already!" Then that ending happens and I find myself a blubbering mess crying over giraffes. Overall this was just an okay story for me. If you can hold out till the end, it's worth it. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2024 Laurel Bradshaw rated it really liked it

Shelves: animals, daytimers-book-club, coming-of-age, adventure-stories, 1930s, color-rating-red

4 red stars.

A little slow for an adventure tale, and not enough there for a romance. But it's an interesting imagining of the true tale of driving two giraffes across the country during the dust bowl. Enough historical detail to be interesting. The characters are borderline caricatures, but I enjoyed them, and I have to warn that there are some disturbing scenes involving animals for those who are sensitive. Obviously it is the giraffes who are the heart and soul of the story. I enjoyed it enoug ...more

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May 03, 2025 Shelli rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-i-own, kindle, audio, buddy-read, historical, recommended-by-friend, ni-book-voyage, all-the-feels, better-than-expected, book-voyage

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
1938. The Great Depression and the dust bowl linger. Prevalent social unrest and racial segregation.
Inspired by true events, amazingly, two giraffes survive a hurricane crossing the Atlantic on a doomed ship. This is the story of their 12 day road trip to the San Diego Zoo. Filled with memorable characters and lots of suspense. Featuring real-life figures mixed in. This all combines for a story I fell in love with. A great ...more

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Aug 15, 2022 Krista rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, audibe-ku, time-1900-1949, historical-fiction-usa, highly-recomnd-read, animals, adventure, coming-of-age, setting-usa, historical-fiction

Wow -- what a fantastic journey book took me on! I'm so glad that I finally picked up this book. Why did it take me so long?

I loved Woody Nickel's story about the adventure of a dust-bowl orphan driving two giraffes from New Jersey to San Diego in 1938. Was the story jam packed with adventures and some improbable scrapes? Yes, but it was also packed with heart and pathos for both humans and animals.

Don't wait any longer to read this book. If you're a Kindle Unlimited subscriber it's currently ...more

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Feb 27, 2024 Ellen Librarian rated it really liked it

3.5 to 4 stars. This is a sweet story with an ending that made me think. But the characters were too flat and uninteresting for me to care until the end.

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