The New York Times Book Review - Jen Doll
This may be the most charming book I've read all year…Wegelius…peppers his work with delightful drawings, and though the book is lengthy, its heart and mystery keep you turning pages. It's a challenge to build a story around a protagonist who can't speak, and Wegelius does this skillfully, emphasizing qualities that make us human—though not everyone demonstrates them—and that are possessed by Sally Jones, "a very good and fine person," as the Chief aptly puts it.
From the Publisher
"Slyly funny and poignant . . . a thrilling adventure."—Caldecott Medal winner Paul O. Zelinsky
"This may be the most charming book I've read all year. It's a challenge to build a story around a protagonist who can't speak, and Wegelius does this skillfully, emphasizing qualities that make us human." — The New York Times Book Review
"Features a complex mystery, an intricately constructed narrative, and deep characters. Committed, careful readers will be richly rewarded." — Kirkus Reviews, Starred
"A richly imagined and thoroughly unique adventure." — Booklist, Starred
"A thrilling adventure. Prepare to meet the remarkable Sally Jones; you won't soon forget her."—PW, Starred
"A new animal heroine has arrived on the scene. An unusual and oddly charming adventure."—SLJ
"Award-winning Swedish writer and illustrator Jakob Wegelius weaves together a head-spinning story of mystery, intrigue, love and adventure, beautifully translated by Peter Graves."—Shelf Awareness
" . . . gorgeous, clever, and memorable."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2016-09-19
When her friend and partner, the sailor Henry Koskela, is wrongfully imprisoned for murder, Sally Jones works for years to free him. The ape Sally Jones, who can understand speech, respond with nods, write slowly, and play chess, tells her tale by typing on an old Underwood typewriter. Its the tale of the murder of Alphonse Morro, but its far from simple. When Koskela goes to prison for killing Morro (whose bodys not found) after Morro lied to Koskela about the cargo he and Sally Jones were to transport (gunsnot roofing tiles), Sally Jones eventually finds a safe place to stay with singer Ana Molina and her musical-instrumentrepairing landlord, Luigi Fidardo. Thus begins a continent-spanning quest filled with betrayal and intrigue and engineering and music. Set in the very early years of the 20th century, Wegelius award-winning novel won Swedens August Prize for best novel for youth, as did his first book about Sally Jones, not yet published in the United States, and features a complex mystery, an intricately constructed narrative, and deep characters. It has enough adventures for a trilogy at least, but the pacing is slower than modern American adventure novels. Sally Jones is a compelling narrator, and the detailed illustrations by the author add much (and depict a largely white human cast). Short attention spans need not apply, but committed, careful readers will be richly rewarded. (Mystery. 10 & up)
