Review: Book Luvin' Babes Review--Ruth Harris Goes on Safari
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 25, 2012
One of the great benefits of the Indie Author Revolution is the creative freedom to switch genres, topics, or writing styles. NYTimes bestselling author, Ruth Harris, takes a departure from the women's stories she is famous for telling. In ZURI, the leading lady is a baby rhino.The story begins on the worst day of Zuri's life; the day she is orphaned. Her mother is brutally murdered by poachers for her horn valued at $80,000. Zuri herself barely escapes being butchered into lucrative "bush meat."  Harris weaves the sorry facts about human greed decimating the rhino population, without giving up the elements of good storytelling.The humans in the tale work at the Kihali Animal Orphanage. The director, Renny Kidrow, is an authority on animal communication and is devoting his life to saving the animals. Starlite Higgins is the new female vet, who must prove herself up to the job. Neither she nor Renny are sure she can handle it.While Zuri is the obvious wounded animal in the compound, Harris does a masterful job of revealing the hidden wounds of the humans.  The story balances the personal attraction and problems of the humans, with the rhino's survival struggles. In the process, we learn much about rhino behavior and the seemingly over-whelming odds against them by human poaching.ZURI is Harris' call to action--or at least to care. The book is an interesting, well written story, suitable for YA through adults. Zuri triumphs in the end and leaves us with the hope that maybe, just maybe, global awareness will awaken to the fact that these are animals to be protected, not murdered.Dana TaylorBook Luvin' Babes