How to Be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery - OPTIONAL

How to Be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Rebecca Green, 200 pages.  NON-FICTION  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018.  $20 

Content: Language: G; Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: G.  

BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT – OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW 

Sy Montgomery has always had a deep love and connection to animals.  When she was little she bonded with her family pet dog and wished that she could have the freedom and experiences that the dog had.  As Sy grew up, she became a naturalist and an author about animals, so she has come across many different types of animals in the wild who have taught her about being human.  Sy also discusses some of her closest relationships with her own pets and what that has taught her about living and dying.  

This memoir is unique and I think people who love animals will relate to Sy and be in awe of her many different experiences.  I loved the book Soul of an Octopus by this author, but found this book to be more dramatic and harder to relate to, but this is a memoir so it doesn’t make her experiences any less important.  I think adults will be more interested in Sy’s stories and young adults won’t relate as well.  The content includes talk of suicide and her mother over reacts when she is dating a boy and threatens to take her to the doctor to check her virginity.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson