Wild Life

Dispatches from a Childhood of Baboons and Button-Downs
by Keena Roberts
$28.00

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Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight meets Mean Girls in this funny, insightful fish-out-of-water memoir about a young girl coming of age half in a "baboon camp" in Botswana, half in a ritzy Philadelphia suburb.
Keena Roberts split her adolescence between the wilds of an island camp in...
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Published By Grand Central Publishing

Format Hardback

Category

Number Of Pages 304

Publication Date 11/12/2019

ISBN 9781538745151

Dimensions 6.25 inches x 9.25 inches


"An unusual and fascinating coming-of-age story. . . Wild Life is a page-turner with universal appeal."—The New York Journal of Books

"The contrast between life in the bush and life in the city, and of how Roberts learns to balance her two selves-the girl in the delta who can do everything adults do and the weirdo who doesn't feel safe in America-is a terrific coming-of-age story. Full of details about field research and bar mitzvahs, what to do when you meet dangerous wildlife or dangerous mean girls, and how reading was her salvation, Roberts' fish-out-of-water story is impossible to put down.""—Booklist

"Wild Life is a moving, thoughtful memoir of a young woman finding her path. Roberts' frank and witty voice is perfect--she navigates both joy and sorrow with a deft, sure touch, and her descriptions of Baboon Camp are so bright and vivid you can smell the dust. I couldn't put it down."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Madeline Miller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Circe

"This episodic, warm exploration of identity and culture is both wide-eyed and surprisingly wise...[Wild Life captures] a carefree girlhood among wildlife and a rougher existence at school in Pennsylvania...An immersive narrative that will have readers admiring the author's mostly charming adventures."—Kirkus

"Roberts's refreshing, upbeat debut is a rollicking memoir of girlhood adventure and matter-of-fact bravery [...] Roberts writes with humor and kindness throughout, especially as she examines white privilege and the cultural differences of the Botswanan [...] Resilient and resourceful, Roberts celebrates an unorthodox life in this endearing memoir."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'}Publishers Weekly

"A riveting account of a swashbuckling, lion-dodging, tough-as-nails childhood and also a perceptive examination of how the geographical and cultural fault lines within one person shift and rupture over time. I couldn't put Wild Life down-this book left me hungry for awe."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'}Maggie Shipstead, New York Times bestselling author of Seating Arrangements and Astonish Me

 
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