Lion Down

Lion Down by Stuart Gibbs

For once, operations at the enormous zoo/theme park appear to be running smoothly (except for the occasional herring-related mishap in the penguin exhibit) and Teddy Fitzroy is finally able to give detective work a rest. But then a local lion is accused of killing a famous dog–and the dog’s owner, an inflammatory radio host, goes on a crusade to have the cat declared a nuisance so it can be hunted. But it looks like the lion might have been framed, and a renegade animal activist wants Teddy and Summer to help prove it. Soon, Teddy finds himself wrapped up in the middle of his most bizarre, hilarious, and dangerous case yet.

The Good

Natasha protects her children while telling the truth about the crime. This book, along with the rest of the series, focuses on protecting the environment and endangered animal species.

The Bad

Yet again, Teddy doesn’t ask his parents’ permission to leave with strangers on several occasions. There’s a mention of drunk people shooting guns at a party, but the scene isn’t actually in the book. There are also some animal rights activists who free animals from captivity even though it’s breaking the law. Teddy and Summer are “dating” at 13 and 14, but in reality they’re just friends.

Ages

Ages 9+ is great for this book.

My Take

This is probably my least favorite funjungle book so far (but I still do have one more to read). There’s not a ton of action in it, and the conclusion is a bit boring. It’s kind of a let down from the other books in this series. If you’ve read this series up to this point so far, I would recommend reading it, but if you haven’t, start with the first book here.

Review by Kaitlyn