YA romance novel about a high school girl in love with an orange orangutan. She develops a crush on her old English teacher later on in the story, and is devastated to find out (spoiler).

[POOOO]

If any of you know the book's name or the author, I'd be so over the moon. Thanks for your help!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

I'm removing the spoiler from your header and placing it here...

"She develops a crush on her old English teacher later on in the story, and is devastated to find out that he is diagnosed with cancer."

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

When did you read it or when was it published?
Author's gender?
Cover?
How does she meet an orangutan? Is it attending the school?
Does she fall out of love with the orangutan?
What happens to the orangutan?
Does the teacher die?

[POOOO]

Oh, my bad.

I've read this book about 2 years ago, and I think it was published in the early 2000s ( let's say 2006-2009).

Author's gender: female

I vaguely remember the cover: a young girl with a dark background is portrayed in the picture. I think there were orange/red flashes too.

The story opens up with a scene of the girl paying a visit to an orangutan in a zoo cage. She talks to it about their relationship, telling it that she's worried about her classmates mocking her for being in love with a monkey. The orangutan doesn't listen to her, swinging from vine to vine without batting an eyelash. The girl leaves the zoo feeling hopeless(?)

Her new English teacher, an old man with kind, blue eyes, appears in her high school a couple of chapters later. The class is studying Shakesperian plays(?), but the girl quickly lost her interest until this teacher shows up. He taught her to appreciate poetry and to approach situations from different angles, which is why I think she eventually fell for him.

The story goes on to show her attempts at flirting with him, and at one point making out, but the teacher discourages such behavior. One day he doesn't show up to class. The next class he's absent again. Somehow, the girl finds out that the teacher was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo a surgery (?). It was he became a completely different person. His eyes became dull and weary. He became more snarky and irritated with the girl. Eventually, she realized that it wasn't love that she was feeling for him and ends up going out with a boy in her class.

In the final chapters, she comes back to the orangutan's cage and breaks up(?) with the monkey.

I hope this makes at least some sense ^^' I've tried searching for this book in my library today with no luck.

[letter_xii]

Life is Fine by Allison Whittenberg

[Rainbowheart]

Life Is Fine for the link.