Review of Elephant Run by Roland Smith

Betrayal, loyalty, love—and
elephants

Elephant Run
by
Roland Smith

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Fourteen-year-old Nick left Burma when he was five years old, leaving behind his father on his teak plantation. Now it’s 1944, and Nick’s mom wants him away from the blitz in London, but she doesn’t realize the war is coming to Burma also.

In fact, Nick gets to Burma just before the Japanese do, and there’s no time to carry out Nick’s dad’s plan for getting him and the daughter of his head elephant driver to safety in India.

When the Japanese come to the plantation, they keep Nick there but send his father to a labor camp.

Nick will learn to work hard to avoid getting beaten, he’ll learn Japanese, he’ll see cruelty, learn about betrayal and he’ll gain new friends.

He’ll ride the very elephant that attacked him; he’ll risk his life to get information about the Japanese plans; and he’ll discover why his great-grandfather built fireplaces in every room of a house in the tropics.

Elephant Run by Roland Smith (Hyperion Books, 2007) 318 pages.

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Book Rating

Offensive Language	Mild—Gd; dmn; stupid, weasel, scroundrel, bloody, liar, insane, mad—meaning insane; ass—meaning jackass; "you have no honor."
Sex, Nudity, Reproduction	Mild—mention of babies born; concern about girl being safe from men, someone tries to get into her bedroom at night; mention of nudity, not sexual or graphic; some people in underwear, not sexual or graphic; a kiss, not graphic.
Drugs and Alcohol	Mild—smoking by adults accepted; one person has chewed nut that's a mild narcotic.
Violence	Extensive—bombings; explosion that kills some people, not graphic; beheading, shooting, beating with cane and baton, slapping, somewhat graphic; punishments described, somewhat graphic; threats to kill or harm people or their family members; animals killed, including tigers; elephant attacked by tiger; elephants attack people, somewhat graphic.
Dishonesty/Criminal Behavior	Moderate—lots of lies, plans to escape; eavesdropping, searching enemy information; disguises; outlaw.
Witchcraft, Fantasy, the Supernatural	Mild—Burmese believe in spirits that must be appeased; mention of place being haunted.
Other Concerns	Some gruesome details about corpses; throwing up; mention of death marches; details of forced labor camps.
Positives	Brother loving and supportive; soldier is kind; father regrets not trying to keep family together. Boy sees consequences to others of his choices. This book will introduce you to Burma in World War II, its customs, its attitudes toward the Japanese and the British, and best of all, its elephants.