Jennifer D. (Jennmarie68) reviewed Kasey to the Rescue: The Remarkable Story of a Monkey and a Miracle on + 217 more book reviews
So those of you that read my reviews regularly know that I am an animal lover, so this book is an automatic favorite of mine. While the monkey obviously was a huge part of the story there was so much more to this book.
This one was kind of in reverse for me emotionally, I normally cry at the end of a book - but this one had me crying right from the start. As Ellen makes her way to be with her son and she explains what happens, and what is going on in her mind I instantly began to tear up. I'm not a mother yet, so I can only imagine the rollercoaster that you go through emotionally when you find out your child has been seriously injured. The emotional connection was so strong for me with this book. It took me through fear, happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, joy, and contentment.
I did love Kasey, he was always getting into mischief! Once Kasey was introduced to the story there was always something going on. However this was more of a story of a family trying to learn to live new lives in the face of a tragedy then it was a story about a monkey. Kasey becomes an integral part of the new lifestyle that Ellen and her family take on but there was so much more that the family had to deal with to become what they are now.
This story is so touching. I really connected with Ellen and her family right from the beginning. I'd say that even if you aren't the animal lover that I am you would still enjoy this book so much!
This one was kind of in reverse for me emotionally, I normally cry at the end of a book - but this one had me crying right from the start. As Ellen makes her way to be with her son and she explains what happens, and what is going on in her mind I instantly began to tear up. I'm not a mother yet, so I can only imagine the rollercoaster that you go through emotionally when you find out your child has been seriously injured. The emotional connection was so strong for me with this book. It took me through fear, happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, joy, and contentment.
I did love Kasey, he was always getting into mischief! Once Kasey was introduced to the story there was always something going on. However this was more of a story of a family trying to learn to live new lives in the face of a tragedy then it was a story about a monkey. Kasey becomes an integral part of the new lifestyle that Ellen and her family take on but there was so much more that the family had to deal with to become what they are now.
This story is so touching. I really connected with Ellen and her family right from the beginning. I'd say that even if you aren't the animal lover that I am you would still enjoy this book so much!
McGuffyAnn M. reviewed Kasey to the Rescue: The Remarkable Story of a Monkey and a Miracle on + 112 more book reviews
This book and monkey won me over quite easily. Ms. Rogers captures the human-animal bond well, especially "assistance animals". The importance of Kasey was to not only to Ms. Roger's son, but the entire family.
The book was humourous and entertaining, but also very touching and heartwarming. This is not your "typical" pet book, and one not to be missed.
Enjoy!
The book was humourous and entertaining, but also very touching and heartwarming. This is not your "typical" pet book, and one not to be missed.
Enjoy!
Kaarla V. (hestia74) reviewed Kasey to the Rescue: The Remarkable Story of a Monkey and a Miracle on + 11 more book reviews
As a recent member of Planet Motherhood, I identified with this book right from the beginning. Ellen Rogers is a divorced mother of five and former marketing executive who suddenly finds herself living a parents next-to-worst nightmare: her eldest son, Ned, is rendered a quadriplegic after a car accident while studying in college several hundred miles away from home. The whole familys world is turned upside down without warning, and Rogers must include in her long list of responsibilities serving as a personal care assistant for her son.
Amidst all the chaos of raising a couple of still teenage daughters and another son just starting college, while also caring for Ned, Rogers finds out about Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled, an organization dedicated to train and provide highly intelligent and sociable monkeys as helpers so that seriously disabled people can lead more independent lives. Theres a waiting list, however, and after almost a year of waiting and several situations that make everything seem harder, the family finally get Kasey, a highly trained monkey with a diva attitude to match. While learning the ropes of caring for this demanding little animal, and about the rigid social hierarchy of monkey world, this close-knit family of six (plus two dogs) must also learn that forging emotional bonds, even between animals and humans, requires time and patience. The strict routines into which the family must acquiesce in order to keep Kasey happy and functioning at a high level give much needed structure to a former improvising team. What shines through in this story is the fierce love among all the family members, including the teenage sisters, who sometimes can come across as spoiled brats.
And thats another excellent element of this book: the author does not try to make her children and herself seem more sympathetic than they really are. Her descriptions of Ned especially are by turns blindly adoring and objectively reported so as to make him look like a fussy child at best and like a neurotic nagger at worst. Even though the author does not give in to facile sentimentality, I found myself crying already in the first chapter. There are also quite a few good laughs though, so the book achieves some kind of understated balance.
Amidst all the chaos of raising a couple of still teenage daughters and another son just starting college, while also caring for Ned, Rogers finds out about Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled, an organization dedicated to train and provide highly intelligent and sociable monkeys as helpers so that seriously disabled people can lead more independent lives. Theres a waiting list, however, and after almost a year of waiting and several situations that make everything seem harder, the family finally get Kasey, a highly trained monkey with a diva attitude to match. While learning the ropes of caring for this demanding little animal, and about the rigid social hierarchy of monkey world, this close-knit family of six (plus two dogs) must also learn that forging emotional bonds, even between animals and humans, requires time and patience. The strict routines into which the family must acquiesce in order to keep Kasey happy and functioning at a high level give much needed structure to a former improvising team. What shines through in this story is the fierce love among all the family members, including the teenage sisters, who sometimes can come across as spoiled brats.
And thats another excellent element of this book: the author does not try to make her children and herself seem more sympathetic than they really are. Her descriptions of Ned especially are by turns blindly adoring and objectively reported so as to make him look like a fussy child at best and like a neurotic nagger at worst. Even though the author does not give in to facile sentimentality, I found myself crying already in the first chapter. There are also quite a few good laughs though, so the book achieves some kind of understated balance.
