Congo!

By: J. Lucy Boyd

Narrated by: Erica L. Risberg

Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Whitney Anderson is a fifth grader and president of a mystery club. She and her friends help find a missing boy, but soon Whitney is headed to a strange country- Monaco - full of adventure and a man who follows her, leaving her expensive presents. Mystery follows Whitney to the Congo, in the heart of Africa, where she must find her kidnapped baby brother before time runs out.

Although Whitney misses her best friend and her life in North Carolina, she finds that she is strong enough to solve any mystery in her path. Come along with Whitney as she leaves the world of friends, bicycles and curfews and enters the wildest rainforest on earth. You just might find some adventure yourself!

©2012 J. Lucy Boyd (P)2012 J. Lucy Boyd

The Most Creative Book I've Heard in Ages

What made the experience of listening to Congo! the most enjoyable?

I could sit back and feel like I was there. It took me back to childhood at first, riding my bike with my friends. Then, I felt the freedom of living in Monte Carlo. Then, the raw excitement and courage I would have to muster to survive in the jungle. I listened in just two sittings because I couldn't stop.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Congo!?

Without giving anything away, I loved her time with the tribe in the jungle and the ending.

Which character – as performed by Erica L. Risberg – was your favorite?

It has to be Whitney, although I loved Ben, the bad guy, too.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I cried when the baby was kidnapped from her and I laughed at her trying to figure out boys. I cried a few other times, too, like when she kept getting uprooted.

Any additional comments?

This book reads better than a typical book made for middle grades because it doesn't talk down to anyone. I forgot I was listening to a book for kids, other than some of the narrator's interpretations. But, it doesn't have anything a parent wouldn't want a 10 year old to hear. It teaches about dfferent countries and family and responsibility but is so exciting you can't stop to eat or sleep.