Laurie Halse Anderson’s middle grade novellas in her Vet Volunteer series generally concentrate on stories concerning pets in Dr. Mac’s veterinary practice. Each of the books features one of the vet’s 11 or 12 year-old volunteers. In the book, Manatee Blues, Anderson departs from pets and instead builds her plot around the plight of an endangered coastal marine mammal, the manatee. The result is a book with a lot of atmosphere, chock full of facts about manatees, their habitat, their habits, and efforts to save them. Those educational aspects are nestled in an interesting story line.


The Story

Dr. Mac invites her two granddaughters (cousins Maggie and Zoe) and their friend, Brenna, to accompany her on a working vacation to Florida. Brenna, a volunteer at the clinic, is excited because the highlight of the trip is a visit to a manatee rescue and rehabilitation center. She has read much about manatees and is anxious to see them up close.

In Florida, Brenna and her friends soon come face to face with the cruel realities of the effects of population and growth on manatees when they witness the rescue of Violet, who has been injured by the propellers on a boat. Suffering from a punctured lung and deep gashes in her back, which have caused a severe infection, Violet is in serious trouble.

Add to that the discovery of a manatee calf, separated from its mother, in danger of drowning as the tide rolls in, because it’s caught in a fishing line. Gretchen, head of the rescue center, and her personnel, do their best to save both of the new arrivals. When funding for the continuation of the center’s work falls through, a depressed Brenna inadvertently provides a solution to the problem when she confronts a reckless boater who turns out to be a high-priced baseball player.


Characters

The series features recurring characters, and Anderson does a good job of maintaining the basic personalities through each of the books. In addition to the vet and the young volunteers, each book introduces adult characters specific to the story. Generally, one of these adult characters, along with Dr. Mac, takes center stage in the plot. In Manatee Blues, Gretchen, the rescue center director, emerges as the adult personality with most impact. Brenna and Gretchen bond, and this becomes a central relationship developed in the book.

Brenna is a well-developed main character. She is a bold and impetuous spirit who feels out of place in more refined settings (on a river cruise, she’s confused by multiple forks, but handles the situation graciously by watching those around her.) She exhibits a lot of grit when she reprimands the popular ball player for navigating his speed boat in a reckless manner in manatee waters. She does more than just give lip service to her beliefs about protecting the animals – she does something about it!


What the Story Teaches

As with other books in the series, the plot is interesting and educational at the same time. The story has a sufficient amount of tense moments, as when Violet is bobbing motionless in the water, or the baby calf is floundering in the tide. These are life and death situations, and the author presents them with detailed description and emotional impact.

The educational value of the story is strong. Anderson’s research on manatees is obvious as she presents many facets of these fascinating creatures:
• Habits and nature of manatees
• Conditions manatees need to survive
• What and how much they eat (up to 100 pounds a day!)
• How their body differs from pets (e.g., an elongated lung)
• What conditions presents danger (boating accidents, water temperature changes, water condition changes, etc.)
• Treating manatees (removing them from the water, transporting them, sedating them, tube-feeding them, etc.)
• Length of recuperation time (severe injuries could require up to a year of rehab before release back to the wild)


Final Thoughts

This short (120 pages) book is written at a reading level appropriate for middle grade youth. The chapters are short and well formatted with good hooks at the end. The subject matter is very appropriate for the age group.

Overall, Anderson does an excellent job of blending the facts about manatees with a good fictional story. As in all the books in the Vet Volunteers series, the opening chapters set the stage and re-introduce all of the characters with sufficient information to make it unnecessary to read the books in any specific order.

Manatee Blues is a wonderful little book. It would be of interest to any young person interested in animals. It would also be useful as part of a teaching unit on endangered species and conservation efforts.


__________________
The complete Vet Volunteers series to date:
Fight for Life
Homeless
Say Good-Bye
Trickster
Manatee Blues
Storm Rescue



Recommended: Yes