First and very importantly, Thank You CoffeeShopReader! I thoroughly enjoyed The Phoenix Keeper. It was a perfect book to close out a year that required lighter reading due to life challenges. Also there was an added layer of fun as the zoo and location were clearly inspired by San Diego and our world famous zoo.
As phoenix keeper at the magical San Tamculo Zoo, Aila is close to achieving a lifelong dream. Overseeing a breeding pair of critically endangered Silimalo phoenixes and helping to bring them back to their native habitat. There is only one problem standing in the way. The San Tamculo zoo only has a single female phoenix, Rubra. When tragedy strikes at another zoo an opportunity is born to bring a male phoenix to San Tamculo Zoo. However, in order to be selected by the national organization that oversees the endangered birds, Aila will have to prove that their facility is the best place and Rubra is the best bird to have a successful breeding program.
When it comes to taking care of Rubra, and the other aviaries she oversees, Aila is diligent, focused and a dedicated care giver to the birds she is responsible for. But when she has to speak in front of an audience, even if it’s to educate, she nearly collapses due to intense anxiety. In fact intense anxiety pretty much describes Aila regarding any activity outside of caring for creatures. She also doesn’t understand why the zoo has flashy shows like at the griffon amphitheater and resists requests to include her marvelous phoenix. Shouldn’t people just appreciate the animals in their habitats? Why insist on making spectacles of them? However, in order to get ready for inspection to evaluate the San Tamculo Zoo’s phoenix program, Aila has to partner with her loathed nemesis, Luciana of the griffon show. The grudge against Luciana runs deep, starting back in college. But those feelings of intense dislike are tangled with the secret crush Aila had before things blew up.
Can Aila pass muster and secure the male phoenix to start her own breeding program? Will she ever figure out how to be comfortable talking to people? How do they prevent another tragedy like at the other zoo? Is it possible Luciana is a nicer person than Aila has been willing to give credit for?
This was a fun read that falls on the younger side of YA. I’ve always been obsessed with dragons and other magical creatures so imagining a zoo filled with them was a delight. It’s clear how important animal conservation is to MacLean in the way she presents the story. Reading it reminds me that it has been a couple years since I last went to the zoo and that I would like to go for a visit soon! And perhaps that was part of MacLean’s intent in writing this book.
Featured: Not magical but always majestic, Sosuke.