Jaguar

Jacob Lansa #2

by Roland Smith

A compelling sequel to the action packed Thunder Cave follows young Jacob Lansa as he joins his father's Brazilian expedition to set up a jaguar preserve and experiences firsthand the environmental destruction and poaching violence in that region. Reprint.

Genres: Adventure, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Action, Childrens, School

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Roland Smith is an American author of young adult fiction as well as nonfiction books for children.
Smith was born in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Portland State University and, following a part-time job at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, began a 20-year career as a zookeeper, both at the Oregon Zoo and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, in 1990, he published his first book, Sea Otter Rescue, a non-fiction account of the process of animal rescue. Smith continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996.
In 1997, Smith published his first novel, Thundercave. The book continues Smith's theme, as teenage protagonist Jacob Lansa follows his biologist father to Africa where the father is researching elephants. The Lansa character also appears in 1999
s Jaguar and 2001's The Last Lobo. Other novels by Smith include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Sasquatch (novel), about a boy who searches for Bigfoot. Peak, the story of a teenage boy obsessed with climbing mountains, Elephant Run and Tentacles(novel). In 2008, Smith published the first book in the series I, Q, titled Independence Hall. Smith's books have won "Book of the Year" awards in Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as in his native Oregon. Smith lives in Tualatin, Oregon with his wife and stepchildren.

Reviews

[Magda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and informative adventure.

[Nick Adair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book back in 2000 when I was just 10 years old and still remember it being a gripping story. I felt the urge to see how well it held up twenty years later, and I have to say I was again captivated throughout the story. It was certainly surprising having themes of murder and indigenous slavery in a young adult book, but it was done as well as you can imagine. I'm happy to have gone back in time with this re-read.

[Anthony Anca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book as much now as I did as a child. This is the First adventure book I read as a kid that really stuck with me. I loved the setting and animal conservation aspects involved in this story. It has held up well considering I first read it in the mid 90's. It is Short and sweet; defiantly a good one. I would recommend it to kids as a mid level experience chapter book. Also any kid who have a fascination with the amazon rainforest, or you guessed it, Jaguars! will love this book.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fast-paced, action-filled story that will appeal to middle grade readers. But, like many a novel written by non-Native authors, it stereotypes Indigenous people. Even though the protagonist is part Navajo, like his father, the Indigenous man who helps them find the jaguars remains a quasi-mysterious figure who has an uncanny ability to track the big cats and seems impervious to mosquitos and heat. In the story, the Indigenous people are victims of logging and gold mining, many succumbing to the desire or need for money and toiling in the mines. In reality, Indigenous peoples throughout Central and South America are the leadership of the movement to defend the land against capitalist predation.

The novel promotes Western science, including the tagging and tracking of jaguars and other threatened species, and the establishment of reserves, as the solution to the problem. This won't work, for two reasons: first, we cannot stop the massive, rapid destruction of the rain forest, or the rest of the natural world, unless we get rid of capitalism. As you read this, Indigenous environmental leaders are being murdered by death squads funded by governments backed by the United States. These political machines are impervious to moral outrage or the love of beautiful big cats and other "charismatic" species. The drive for profit is relentless and backed by law and the military.

The second reason that tagging and reserves will not work is that reserves ban human settlements, including Indigenous people, from the reserve. It sounds good, but in reality Indigenous people make their living from the land. In India, for example, banning Indigenous people from the forests to protect the tiger ironically forced them to hunt the tiger as the only means of making a living. In Kenya, Indigenous people were driven out of the forests in order to satisfy a "carbon trading" deal (if capitalists do a good deed in Place A, it will balance out the bad stuff they do in Place B.) Now, how till those forest-dwelling people make a living if forced into a homeless life in the cities? Hunting elephants is one way.

So, while the book draws attention to the problems of the Amazonian rain forest, it only tells part of the story. Students will have to look to organizations led by Indigenous peoples to get the whole truth.

[Preston Leisure · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. It was a book of adventure. I liked the idea of the explosion on the boat. The story could have gone a completely different way. I wasn't expecting it. I liked how he learned to fly the Morpho.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake Lansa thought that he and his father, Doc were going to be together in Poughkeepsie near Jake's grandfather, Taw, but when Doc decides to go to Brazil to set up a jaguar preserve, he leaves Jake to live at Taw's retirement home. When Jake finally hears from Doc and goes to visit him in Brazil, he is angry that Doc took so long to get in touch with him. Jake's displeasure is soon replaced with sorrow when Doc's best friend is killed in an accident, and Jake's father is going to need him if the dream of setting up the jaguar preserve is ever going to come to fruition.

Jaguar is the second story in the Jacob Lansa series. Once again, Roland Smith provides plenty of action and adventure for his characters and brings them to life. We sense Jake's frustration as he feels that his father does not consider his needs. Although Jake's dialogue seems fairly adult, it is understandable since most of the interactions in Jake's life are with adults. Overall, Jaguar is another exciting entry in the Jacob Lansa series and well worth the read.

[Joelle Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very intense, and adventurous. It was about a young boy, named Jacob "Jake" that is 14 yrs old. And his father, that is a zoologist that has been working on a preserve in brazil for a jaguar. While his father is away, Jake stays at a retirement home with a guardian named Peter. He’s gets bored of being around older people, and misses his father, that he also starts to get jealous he doesn’t get to see his father’s jaguar preserve. He also feels upset he’s not able to see his father, so his father calls him and tells him to come down and join him on the onsite. I really didn’t like Jakes attitude that he had against his father. I feel like my grandpa would enjoy this book because he loves reading about "adventures, overall people ending up in danger".

[Dayna Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun adventure, the second in the Lanza series. When Jacob Lanza's father heads to Brazil to start a preserve for jaguars in the remote Amazon basin, he leaves Jake with his grandfather in a private nursing home. Not happy with this arrangement, Jake is thrilled to go visit his father in Brazil and becomes part of a dangerous trip into the uncharted rain forest with his father, his father's new girlfriend, and a mysterious adventurer, who might have another agenda. A great read for pre-teen boys.

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young Jake travels to the jungle with his dad and the team of scientists to save and track jaguars. Along the way there is trouble from an unknown man following them. It has plenty of action towards the end to keep you engaged. This was a required summer read for my 11 yr old son. I like the story, but it moved slow til after about the first 50-60 pages. I found myself saying, 'god is it over yet.'

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake's father is a field scientist and he goes to Brazil to help his friend set up a jaguar preserve. Jake goes down to visit for only a week. But when someone sabotages their boat Jake may need to stay down there longer than planned.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was a good book. The dad is just a really bad dad, and Silver is super mysterious. I also read this in over a year time span, so I've probably forgotten some details. It also had a little, but not as much as you would have thought about jaguars.

[Noah Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a really interesting because it was about a jaguar they had to get and put it in a preserve and there were people trying to stop that.

[Nicole Mosley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting adventure story for kids.

[Tracy Mallett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written for juveniles but our library sponsored Roland Smith to come to the local school and talk to kids. So, I read some of his books and I'm hooked! Great adventure stories involving animals!

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

S-N, L-L, V-M

[Emily Cottle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun adventure story set in the Amazon. Recommended for middle grade fans of animals and the outdoors.

[GD · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is a great book to read over the summer.

[Greg B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining adventure fiction for boys. Roland Smith knows how to move the story along; there are very few slow places. There are some interesting details about the Amazon region. I also appreciated the tie-in to the early twentieth explorer F.W. Fawcett and the mystery of his long-disputed disappearance.

[Luna]

gud

[Parker Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOOK
The hook that kind of brought me in was that Jake’s father forced him to live in a retirement home in Poughkeepsie, while the father travels with his friend Bill. Bill had set up a wildlife preserve for jaguars. This sounded kind of interesting to me so I decided to read it. The father was very untruthful he always said he would be gone this long and ended up being a lot longer than expected.
BRIEF SUMMARY
When Jacob Lansa joined his father in Brazil, his biggest worry was whether Doc (Jacobs’s dad) would let him stay in Brazil or send him back to Poughkeepsie. His father’s expedition to create a jaguar preserve is filled with violence. A massive explosion destroys their boat and Jake is attacked before their journey even starts. There journey will be filled with even more danger up the river.
Strengths
Some strengths of this book were like surprises and unexpected things I also really liked that. There is also a lot of action and adventure. Bravery is also a pretty big part in this book so bravery was a strength. I think this book can open the minds of people and make them feel like they are really there. Another strength was all of the clues came together. This book also gave good life lessons like be honesty to yourself and others.
Weaknesses
I loved this book it was such a good book like me I like adventure and unexpected things. But I can see how some people wouldn’t like it. I think that older people wouldn’t find this book very intriguing older people seem to like more calm books. But teens I feel like they would really enjoy it because it is filled with action and adventure teens like that stuff. Older people might not like surprises or adventure and action.
Warnings
Overall this book was pretty clean I would recommend maybe 10 and up. This book has mild language. But overall this book is clean and I think anyone 10 and up could read this. I think the only reason someone shouldn’t read this book is if they don’t like action and adventure.
Recommendations
I would recommend this book to anyone that likes action and adventure. This book is clean and is a very good read. But if you don’t like action and adventure I would recommend not reading this. I recommend this book for people 10 and up. I really think you should read this book I really enjoyed it.

[Everardo Duenas · Rating 4 out of 5]

my book is jaguar the genre is fiction its about this teen ager who has to stay with his grandpa but he gets a fax from his dad saying he can go to brazil for a week and it ends up being more than just a week and they have a job for him to go and fly a little plane they call the "morpho" so he can train to get a jaguar for a presurve. And he has to take it apart so he can learn how it works and he finally does so they make him fly it and test it with a radar and little tacking collars so he can track. a mercenary named silver who knew his dad wanted to find the lost city of muribeca full of gold but then a guy named tyler came and messed it up and he tied every one up when silver was gone. this book was person vs mother nature becuse they go to brazil and try to get a jaguar for a presurve. i think the theme is explore the world when the opertunety comes but watch out

in the book it says that jake almost fell from the morpho but he caught onto the vine but then he saw a bird named scarlet who looked at him he was scared that the bird might want to peck on his arm and he would let go and fall but he fell down anyway but he was still ok and then he see's silverhe tells silver what happened with tyler trying to find silver and how he gives the tracker to the jaguar collar and sent him on a wild jaguar chase and stuff like that but what surprised me was that they found a little golden jaguar in the river the size of half of a sandwhich and just threw it back in.

in my opinion i liked this book because it has good diolge and it was the type of book that you would read and love and get hooked on reading and never want it to end but sadly and hapily bookes end some times in a good way like yay i dont have to read this book any more and badly like aw it cant end like this all different. i like the quote when will you be back, in a month or two showing that the book is going on to a second one.

in conclusion i rate this book 5 stars because its the best book ive ever read and i will continue the series and keep reading it i would recomend this book to every one in my friends list in the good reads so they have something to read and to pass the time with. think about it have you ever read a book and said wow i like this book i never want to stop reading it this book is the type of book you would say that you cant stop reading this is a great book to read.

[Braidon · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book loved it

[Brian]

I think the book was way better than our old book. The book was exiting and amazing. This book was not boring at all.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake's father, Doc, has headed to Brazil to help his friend Bill set up a Jaguar preserve. His mother is dead so Doc has installed Jake in a retirement home with his grandfather Taw. After a month of not hearing anything, Jake is getting worried. Then one day Doc sends a fax to tell Jake he has bought him a plane ticket for Brazil. When Jake arrives, his dad is not there to meet him, but he meets Bud. Jake realizes that Doc only wants him to visit for a week, not stay and help him. Jake meets Flanna, his dad's girlfriend and he is even more upset. At this point everything changes. The boat his dad and Bill bought explodes. Bill is killed, Bud breaks his leg and Doc is badly burned. Bud convinces Doc that Jake should stay and learn how to fly the ultralight to help them track the jaguars until his leg heals. There is a lot of adventure, some scary situations and lots of information about the rain forest. I wish I had this book when I was teaching about the rainforest, it would have been a great addition to that unit.

[Nadene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fourteen-year old Jake, is staying with his grandfather while his father goes to S. America to help set up a Jaguar preserve with a friend. After 1 mo. of no communication from his dad, he is finally contacted and invited to spend his spring break with him. Soon he discovers that his dad plans on staying there indefinitely and has a girl friend. Jake is upset at first, then after a fatal accident, Jake digs in and helps track jaguars, learns to fly a small airplane—ultra lite, and later helps save a character’s life while putting his own in danger. He learns to understand his father’s love of exploring the wild while his dad learns about the responsibility of parenting. This book is a good example of the author’s research in writing. It lags some and spends lots of time in the beginning with Jake living with his grandfather at a senior center and their love for his daily adventures. Good coming of age.

[Blake Wyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Jacob Lansa joined his father in Brazil, his biggest worry was whether he would get sent back to Poughkeepsie. But his father's adventure to create a jaguar preserve is set with violence and Jake is harshly attacked before their journey even begins. I liked this book Jaguar by Roland Smith because it gave very descriptive words on how Jake gets attacked before the journey begun. I also like how the author tells the story so clear, you can picture the whole entire thing in your mind what's happening. I imagine Jacobs father to be very kind and passionate about animals existence. This book was one of my favorite books because of the things I just said.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read this book because a senior social studies teacher I work with created a unit around it, and I have to read something before I teach it to my students. We are using it because it hints at the idea of competing interests in the rainforest, and that can be used as a launching point for their individual projects. However, I just found all of the characters to be wooden and uninteresting, and that made it hard to keep reading. Also, I was disappointed that the jaguars were not all that central to the story.

[Ian Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

jaguar is an amzing book.how would u feel if ur boat just out of nowwhere blew up? jake was confused and so was everyone else.but then they figured out who blew it up. it was someone who was accualy triing to help them he blew up their boat so they would have to ride in his he knew they were not safe.

[David Belokonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book! The action and suspence pulled me into the story and made me want to read it straight through! I wish I would have known before reading this book that it is the second book of a three book series. I don't think it adversely affected the story but the first book may not be as good after already reading the second...

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the strong points of this book is the relationship between the son (Jacob - Jake) and the father. Roland Smith excels at the short juvenile/YA book based in anthropological and geographical settings. He chooses exotic locations, for example in this book it is the Amazon Basin. Then he adds some conflict and mystery. These are quite well done.