Have you been to a zoo lately? Perhaps you have watched the Netflix show Planet Earth? If so, you may already be aware of the plight of the beautiful orangutan. This beautiful species is critically endangered and it’s time that people worldwide had a better understanding of why. Enter Michelle Kadarusman, acclaimed children’s author whose books shed a light into some of the most far flung places in the world. Places that are near and dear to her heart. Berani, her newest middle grade novel, is the story of three different voices: Malia, social justice warrior, Ari, middle school child working at his uncle’s restaurant and Ginger Juice, a beautiful orangutan being kept as a pet in a cage by Ari’s uncle.

Berani is a story in three voices: Malia, Ari and Ginger Juice. As the chapter’s alternate between the voices of these three characters, we learn about each of them in the first person. We learn about Malia’s family, her mother, Canadian and her father, Indonesian. We learn how she feels in her bones that she is Indonesian even though many around her make assumptions, calling her bule. We learn about Ari and how he is working at his Uncle’s restaurant in order to attend middle school and whose heart is breaking because of Ginger Juice. Finally we learn about Ginger Juice, being held for much too long, who has outgrown her cage and is beginning to deteriorate.

Michelle Kadarusman always writes from the heart. The love she has for the places she writes about is evident throughout all her stories and none more than in Berani. I really appreciate how she takes readers on a journey, to the special places of her childhood and her heart but also grounds them to her current home in Canada. Readers have the opportunity to travel and learn about the wide world around them while still having the connection to home. In really enjoyed Berani’s three different voices, providing readers with three different perspectives of the lives of other living in Indonesia. Each voice was clear and it was easy to navigate the story, never forgetting who the story was centering at any given time because of each character’s clear voice.

I especially loved the discussions about Malia’s activism. There are always consequences of social activism. There is an incredible opportunity for discussion, through this story, about orangutans, habitat destruction, farming culture, livelihood and the world’s reliance on single industries. In Canada, we can link the discussions about habitat destruction and livelihood by comparing with the logging industry or the oil and gas industry.

If you enjoyed The One and Only Ivan, put Berani on your TBR list. I think you will love it even more.