From the author of What Elephants Know, a 2017 ALA Notable Children's
Book and winner of the 2017 South Asia Book Award for Children's and
Young Adult Literature, comes this stunning companion novel about the
complex relationship between people and nature coexisting in the
Borderlands of 1970s Nepal.
Thirteen-year-old Nandu lives in the newly established Royal Elephant
Breeding Center on the edge of the jungle. Here, the King's elephants
are to be raised under the protective watch of the stable. Nandu-along
with his adoptive father Subba-sahib, his mentors, friends, and the
rest of the elephant drivers-is tested by man and nature as earthquakes,
drought, wild herds, and rumors of poachers threaten the Center.
When Nandu's world is thrown into turmoil, so, too, is the world of Hira
Prasad, the Center's powerful bull elephant. An unbreakable bond of
brotherhood drives Nandu and Hira Prasad together as they struggle to
maintain the delicate natural order of life in the Borderlands.
Dinerstein's poetic prose and scientific expertise come together in this
breathtaking tale that transports the reader to the center of dangerous
conflicts and heartbreaking friendships.