West with Giraffes

This charming, if somewhat bittersweet story is a fictionalized account of true events that occurred in 1938--the Dust Bowl was driving destitute farmers west to California in droves and Hitler's power and aggression was on the rise in Europe. Woodrow Wilson Nickel, has watched the rest of his family die from dust pneumonia or suicide (in the case of his abusive father) so he makes his way to New York City to work for a distant cousin on the docks. When a hurricane hits, his cousin is killed and Woody is once again left to his own devices. When a freighter that somehow survived the hurricane comes limping into port, Woody is amazed to see that 2 of the crates on board carry giraffes who have suffered only one broken leg between them. He follows then to quarantine, observes the people around the giraffes--including a young woman photographer who claims to work for Life magazine, and eventually talks himself into the position of driver for the giraffes' cross country trip to the San Diego zoo. The appearance of the customized truck with the two giraffes--named by Woody as Boy and Girl--excites awe, greed and violence along the way. But more importantly, Woody learns about himself and the amazing connection to be had with these two animals. Based on true events, weaving real life characters in with the fictional ones--all of which is clarified in the Author's Notes. I thought the last part of the book blurb on the cover summed it up well: "Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it's too late"