Heron Baby Island by Robert Cherney

Heron Baby Island  is a book about a 17 year old boy named Stu, while taking pictures of a bird one day Stu sees Natalie (a girl he’s been crushing on for a while) and together the two try and save the birds from being eating by alligators, something that happened as he watched. The story of their friendship from handling school life to finding something in common that they both care about grows from that point on.

My favorite thing about this book is the fact it shows that you can do something if you put your mind to it. Despite the odds against him, he tries to raise the funds needed, to help protect these endangered birds. The difficulty of his end goal didn’t discourage him in pursuing it. I like stories where teens don’t let their age stop them from trying to make a difference.

The story also made a point that just because some animals are put into shows for all to see doesn’t mean that they are abused or mistreated. Sometimes, what others are able to learn from these shows teaches them an appreciation for animals they would never be able to see up close any other way.

I don’t want to give away any of the ending but if you want to read a story about a teen on a mission against difficult odds, you will enjoy Heron Baby.