The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya

by Jane Kelley 

 

 

Book Description:

Two hurting souls,a newly homeless African grey parrot nervously plucking out its feathers, and an 11-year-old Brooklyn girl enduring endless treatments for leukemia - cross paths briefly, recognize themselves as kindred spirits, and understand that somehow they must find each other again. Zeno knows he is a “Booful, briyant bird,” because his late “servant,” Dr. Agard, told him so. Alya, too, knows her family loves her (“Mrs. Logan hugged Alya and stroked the top of her forehead for the 9,595th time”). However, the physical and emotional stress of their respective situations demands extraordinary hope. In one moving scene, a frail Alya manages to open her window in case Zeno should return because “believing was absolutely essential when you had a battle to fight.” Kelley (The Girl Behind the Glass) moves seamlessly between Zeno and Alya’s perspectives, capturing their humor, fear, desperation, and hope, while occasionally offering the viewpoints of supporters like Alya’s brother and Zeno’s new bird acquaintances, who convey the message that “Girl wants Zeno.” An uplifting story of courage, resilience, and cross-species friendship. Ages 8–12. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt

In short:

An orphaned African grey parrot who can speak 127 words. A girl so sick, she has forgotten what it means to try. Fate––and a banana nut muffin––bring them together. Will their shared encounter help them journey through storms inside and out? Will they lose their way, or will they find what really matters?
Here is a story that will remind readers how navigating so many of life’s desperate adventures requires friendship and, above all, hope

About the cover: by Eliza Wheeler http://wheelerstudio.com/category/book-projects/

Jane Kelley’s story is beautiful and heart-felt, and I wanted the cover artwork to convey the emotional quality of the story within.

Jane Kelley is the author of the middle-grade novels Nature Girl and The Girl Behind the Glass. This is her first novel for Feiwel and Friends. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their daughter. janekelleybooks.com. - See more at: http://powerhouseon8th.com/events/book-party-the-desperate-adventures-of-zeno-and-alya-by-jane-kelley/#sthash.84jjPFN6.dpuf

About the author

Jane Kelley lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and her daughter. She is honored to be chosen as the 2013 Thurber House Children's Writer in Residence. Jane says, “I grew up in Wisconsin, near a forest that was my refuge and a source of inspiration. I still love to be in nature, whether I’m exploring Vermont or an untamed corner of our city park. No wonder I wrote my first book about a girl who finds herself by getting lost in the woods.” My mom taught me to love books. Her mother was a novelist. My dad taught me the joy of fixing things. Our house was full of his creative solutions to everyday problems. I read constantly, but I didn’t believe I could be a writer until I was an adult. Now I live in Brooklyn, New York, in the neighborhood where Zeno flew in Alya’s window and that Hannah and Anna hated to leave.

People ask me where I get ideas for my books. Some writers have really exciting lives, but my adventures are mostly ordinary. No sky diving––just school, family, friends and a little travel. Most of my ideas come from what I observe or wonder about.

After reading about African grey parrots, I discovered that they learn, they get jealous -- and self-destructive when they’re bored. I spent so much time thinking about those parrots that creating Zeno became inevitable.

Finding that first nugget is important. The next step is equally crucial. The best inventions happen when people combine totally different ideas. The more different those ideas are, the more interesting the end result will be. No matter how difficult it was or how long it took, I always kept writing. Of course it helps that I enjoy all parts of the process. Planning the story, living in each character, solving the puzzle of rewriting––and exchanging ideas with my readers. Whenever I write, I learn. I enjoy writing non-fiction books for kids, but I also do research for my novels. I wanted my African grey parrot, Zeno, to be realistic––even the parts of him that aren’t so agreeable. Fiction isn’t just about feelings; it’s about what people do and think and the world they live in.

About the Author:

Jane Kelley is the author of the middle-grade novels Nature Girl and The Girl Behind the Glass. This is her first novel for Feiwel and Friends. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their daughter. janekelleybooks.com.
- See more at: http://powerhouseon8th.com/events/book-party-the-desperate-adventures-of-zeno-and-alya-by-jane-kelley/#sthash.84jjPFN6.dpuf

Jane Kelley is the author of the middle-grade novels Nature Girl and The Girl Behind the Glass. This is her first novel for Feiwel and Friends. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their daughter - See more at: http://powerhouseon8th.com/events/book-party-the-desperate-adventures-of-zeno-and-alya-by-jane-kelley/#sthash.84jjPFN6.dpuf

About the Author:

Jane Kelley is the author of the middle-grade novels Nature Girl and The Girl Behind the Glass. This is her first novel for Feiwel and Friends. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their daughter. janekelleybooks.com.
- See more at: http://powerhouseon8th.com/events/book-party-the-desperate-adventures-of-zeno-and-alya-by-jane-kelley/#sthash.84jjPFN6.dpuf

3 Importent Definitions:

African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) - also known as the Grey Parrot, is a parrot found in the primary and secondary rainforest of West and Central Africa. Experts regard it as one of the most intelligent birds in the world. They feed primarily on palm nuts, seeds, fruits, and leafy matter, but have also been observed eating snails. Their overall gentle nature and their inclination and ability to mimic speech have made them popular pets, which has led many to be captured from the wild and sold into the pet trade. The African Grey Parrot is listed on CITES Appendix II, which restricts trade of wild-caught species because wild populations cannot sustain trapping for the pet trade. Like many large parrots, the African Grey is a long-lived bird. The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database states the longest reliably recorded longevity for the species in captivity as 49.7 years. Also acknowledged are claims of captive African Grey parrots reaching the ages of 73 and 93.
Intelligence ( Talking bird) Unlike other parrots, wild African Greys have been documented imitating the calls of several other species. Irene Pepperberg's research with captive African Greys, most notably with a bird named Alex, has scientifically demonstrated that African Greys possess the ability to associate simple human words with meanings, and to intelligently apply the abstract concepts of shape, colour, number, zero-sense, etc. According to Pepperberg and other ornithologists, they perform many cognitive tasks at the level of dolphins, chimpanzees, and even human toddlers. In general, it has been shown that African Grey Parrots are able to learn relatively quickly, though they are limited to simple and non-abstract mediums of thinking. They have been shown to be able to make cognitive inferences, but, like apes, have inter-individual differences in intelligence. Their sociability and intelligence can make African Grey Parrots excellent pets. They have a devoted following among parrot owners. However, the same qualities mean African Greys require a special commitment by their owners to provide frequent one-on-one interaction and supervised time out of their cages. They must be kept entertained and busy with people and toys or they may become stressed and develop self-destructive behaviors. African Greys require large cages, varied diets that include fresh foods, and plenty of safe and destructible toys. If not provided with these items, African Greys quickly develop unpleasant behaviors and may eventually develop health problems (such as feather-plucking) that are difficult to remedy.

Leukemia is cancer of the body's blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system. Many types of leukemia exist. Some forms of leukemia are more common in children. Other forms of leukemia occur mostly in adults.
Leukemia usually starts in the white blood cells. Your white blood cells are potent infection fighters — they normally grow and divide in an orderly way, as your body needs them. But in people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells, which don't function properly.
Treatment for leukemia can be complex - depending on the type of leukemia and other factors. Leukemia and its treatment can lead to other health problems. In 2010, globally, approximately 281,500 people died of leukemia. In 2000, approximately 256,000 children and adults around the world developed a form of leukemia, and 209,000 died from it.
Estimated new cases and deaths from leukemia in the United States in 2013:

• New cases: 48,610
• Deaths: 23,720

Zeno of Elea (/ 490 BC – ca. 430 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. He is known exclusively for propounding a number of ingenious paradoxes. Zeno argued against the commonsense assumption that there are many things by showing in various ways how it, too, leads to contradiction. Since Zeno's arguments in fact tend to problematize the application of quantitative conceptions to physical bodies and to spatial expanses as ordinarily conceived, the paradoxes may have originated in reflection upon Pythagorean efforts to apply mathematical notions to the natural world. Zeno's paradoxes have had a lasting impact through the attempts, from Aristotle down to the present day, to respond to the problems they raise.

• In this capricious world nothing is more capricious than posthumous fame.

• The goal of life is living in agreement with nature. - See more at: http://politicalquotes.org/taxonomy/term/11674#sthash.2Dbgi3GY.dpuf

  Extravagance is it own destroyer

• The goal of life is living in agreement with nature. - See more at: http://politicalquotes.org/taxonomy/term/11674#sthash.2Dbgi3GY.dpuf

  The goal of life is living in agreement with nature. - See more at: http://politicalquotes.org/taxonomy/term/11674#sthash.2Dbgi3GY.dpuf
   The goal of life is living in agreement with nature

• We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say

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  Better to trip with the feet than with the tongue.
  

• Man seems to be deficient in nothing so much as he is in time

• Well being is attained by little and little, and nevertheless is no little thing itself.
  

• It is in virtue that happiness consists, for virtue is the state of mind which tends to make the whole of life harmonious.

• Happiness is a good flow of life. 

• Fortune bids me to follow philosophy with fewer encumbrances.

• Follow where reason leads.
  

• A bad feeling is a commotion of the mind repugnant to reason, and against nature.

• All things are parts of one single system, which is called Nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with Nature.

• By silence, I hear other men's imperfections and conceal my own. 

• Fate is the endless chain of causation, whereby things are; the reason or formula by which the world goes on.

• No evil is honorable: but death is honorable; therefore death is not evil. 

• That which exercises reason is more excellent than that which does not exercise reason; there is nothing more excellent than the universe, therefore the universe exercises reason.

• The avaricious man is like the barren sandy ground of the desert which sucks in all the rain and dew with greediness, but yields no fruitful herbs or plants for the benefit of others.

• The voice is the flower of beauty.
  

 My Review:

Although cancer and death are a part of a the story, the story never becomes depressing as Kelley balances humor and seriousness.  From the first page to the last I couldn't put the book down.

Zeno expects everyone to think he's smart and beautiful.  He’s an African grey parrot with a red tail. If he thinks a little too well of himself, Well, he does speak 127 words (Guess what words was the 128th and 129th), including a few in Greek. His owner was a professor of Greek Literature, so Zeno occasionally quotes the Greek philosopher Zeno. The  proud parrot suddenly finds himself homeless (through the death of his devoted servant (known in human circles as his owner).

A lot of the humor in the story comes from Zeno’s mistakes. He doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does. For instance, he refers to a statue of an angel as a Parrot-Man. He's expecting admiration.  What he finds is that even the other birds don't care about him; it rains at night; and nobody is feeding him.  He's not happy.

There is a little girl in a hospital bed in her room.  She's not happy either.  She's developed cancer and they are treating her, but she can't do anything either.  She can't even walk anymore. Alya's body is still struggling to deal with the chemo treatments.
Day after day she lies in her bed, exhausted and losing hope. Her state of mind was in such a worse state that, when her best friends bring her to read "the secret garden" she stop  reading it the moment she accouter the word - death.

Zeno has one thing on his mind: banana nut muffins. So when he sees one sitting on the girl’s window sill, he knows it’s meant for him. When Zeno tries to steal the banana nut muffin from her windowsill, Ayla thinks they might be friends.  But Zeno gets carried away trying to find a safe place to live his bird life and they lose contact.
This chance meeting is the beginning of a long, hopeful, and confusing journey to friendship. The bird and the girl get a little worse for wear before the word comes along the "bird vine" that Ayla needs Zeno. The parrot is trying to figure out how this confusing place called Brooklyn works. More importantly, what kind of trees do banana nut muffins grow on?

As Zeno flies around Brooklyn, he is challenged by other birds. He has to escape from a cage. He has to find his way home through a storm. He has to learn the real meaning of “home.” But most importantly, he has to find his way back to Alya’s window.

While Zeno is completely free for the first time in his life, the girl Alya feels like a prisoner in her own house. His brusque arrogance is exactly what she needs to snap her out of her despair. As for Zeno, no one has needed before; this makes him feel special.

This book deal with larger ideas than an average animal story: (1). The importance of hope and how hope can be a gift from one person (or bird) to another, (2) Meanings of friendship - both characters begin thinking mostly of themselves, but by the end of the book their awareness and caring has expanded to include others.(3) Looking at different kinds of friendship - as Zeno meets new birds and Alya struggles to find common words with her old friends. (4) The meanings of freedom - "Zeno briyant. Zeno Great Escape. Zeno bite door. Zeno free". "Free good! Free Kathekon!'. "Zeno free! Zeno not pet" (5) The meanings of home - "You free! Free good! Free fly home..." (6) The meanings of loyalty - Zeno saved the dove Bunny from the hawk and when Bunny lose his strange and the other doves in the flock kept flying back home. Zeno said "Zeno need Bunny. Bunny need Zeno" and it stay with bunny all night long rubbing his beak along the back of Bunny neck.  (7) Zeno's name allows Kelley to incorporate something from this Greece philosopher wisdom.