Official Review: Blossom ~ The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury

LV2R · Post by **LV2R** » 09 Aug 2019, 22:24

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Blossom ~ The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury" by Anna Carner.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Blossom - The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury by Anna Carner is a real account of the author saving a fawn on her land from certain death, naming it Blossom, and then describing experiences of her befriending and protecting the deer.

Anna Carner lives on a farm in Tewksbury, New Jersey with her husband Pino. They have alpacas, horses, a dog, and a parrot. One day in the spring of 1999, she found a fawn only a few days old, dehydrated and exposed from the cold. She immediately went into action to save the fawn. This began her friendship with Blossom. As Blossom grew, there was a threat to her life during hunting seasons. Carner began a campaign to “Please don’t shoot Blossom” and made the deer a collar. Carner shared the ups and downs of what it meant to try and protect a deer. Even more interesting was that Carner shared what her relationship with Blossom and other deer was like.

Taking care of animals in danger was something that the author could do quite well because she was a paramedic in the past. She also had some experience of helping her alpacas. The book included some of the author’s childhood experiences of being burned and having to undergo many surgeries and spending a lot of time in a hospital. These experiences seemed to result in the author’s compassion for animals, and taking care of animals seemed to heal her from her painful past.

There were well-written poems after many of the chapters describing Blossom, wildlife, and nature from the author’s friend, Jeanne Hamilton Troast, who had met Blossom. I especially liked “The Language of Animals” poem. Here is a line from it: “… look into animal eyes … you’ll see their love and share their pain.” (Page 197) This poem described and voiced the author’s understanding and love of animals.

I liked the loving and supportive relationship that the author had with her husband Pino. I also liked the description of their parrot Caruso. Caruso’s opera singing, his happiness, and funny sayings added lightness to some of the heavier subjects that the story detailed.

I best liked the descriptions of Blossom which made me like her personality. She was curious and playful. She was like a pet but still allowed to roam and be a deer in the wild. She seemed to have an intuition about people and situations. I liked the trust that she had with Anna and others. People in the community could give her treats and pose pictures with her. I liked that the book included a picture of Blossom. She looked adorable.

I least liked the threats and ugly attitudes that some hunters and people had about wanting to hunt and kill Blossom, in spite of the campaign to protect the deer with the collar. This shows that there are two extreme sides about hunting deer. A controversial and political topic included was the use of SpayVac, a contraceptive injection, as a way to control wildlife populations. This reveals an issue that most people are not even aware of and is very informative.

I rate Blossom - The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury by Anna Carner 4 out of 4 stars. The author personalized her story of befriending a deer and her attempts to protect Blossom from being killed by hunters. The telling of her story was organized well and included descriptions of other animals living on the farm with her and her husband. The book was edited extremely well, as I did not find any errors.

If you are an animal lover and you like slow-paced stories, you will enjoy reading about Blossom and other animals in this true account. However, if you are a hunter, you may not like the strong stand against hunting that the author had. Otherwise, if you are interested in animal stories and protecting wildlife, you may want to give this book a try.

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Blossom ~ The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury
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Erin Dydek · Post by **Erin Dydek** » 11 Aug 2019, 05:55

I loved the cover on this book and enjoyed your review! I love animal stories and even read The Yearling for fun in high school. Its a slower-paced novel about a boy and a deer so I'm sure I would enjoy this book as well! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this book!

Dr D · Post by **Dr D** » 11 Aug 2019, 06:14

The book really puts up the most agonizing truth of today's world even though we call it "modern". The feeling of love and compassion for animals (especially wild ones) is suffering a tremendous breakdown. And thus hunting is prevailing. The book truly is a good read for that human-animal relationship. And also superbly reviewed.

OuKoyoo · Post by **OuKoyoo** » 12 Aug 2019, 06:21

I am not an animal-lover, and I am not into slow-paced plots; therefore I would not consider reading the book. Anyway, you did a great review. Thank you.

Brendan Donaghy · Post by **Brendan Donaghy** » 12 Aug 2019, 11:18

I think I'd like to read this one - many thanks for a great review of it!

kdstrack · Post by **kdstrack** » 12 Aug 2019, 21:55

It is interesting how the author's experience with burn treatment in the hospital prepared the groundwork for her compassionate work with wounded animals. This sounds like a lovely story. Great review.

BookPower9 · Post by **BookPower9** » 25 Nov 2019, 20:31

The only animal that we have in our house are dogs. We feed them everyday as part of everyday routine. But I have to admit that I'm not an animal lover. Getting this book to read might change my views about the animals. Thanks for he review.