“It can be very hard to accept how disappointing life is, Harper, because that’s what it is, and you have to accept it. With faith and time and hard work you reach a point where . . . where the disappointment doesn’t hurt as much, and then it gets easy to live with. Quite easy. Which . . . is in its own way a disappointment. But. There.”
“Sorry, Hannah. For someone with your brains, it will be a waste of time. You’ve just got to squeeze what you can out of it and wait for college. Then you can show the world how awesome you are.”
“Her father didn’t have time to take her to see one at the zoo. He didn’t have time for anything. He went to work every day before Hannah went to school, and in the evening he worked at home. When Hannah asked him a question, he would say, ‘Not now, I’m busy, maybe tomorrow.’ “
“The night before her birthday, Hannah went to bed tingling with excitement – she had asked her father for a gorilla! In the middle of the night, Hannah woke up and saw a very small parcel at the foot of the bed. It was a gorilla but it was just a toy.”
“Hannah was frightened. ‘Don’t be frightenend, Hannah,’ said the gorilla, ‘I won’t hurt you. I just wondered if you’d like to go to the zoo.’ The gorilla had such a nice smile that Hannah wasn’t afraid. ‘I’d love to,’ she said. “
“When they arrived at the zoo it was closed, and there was a high wall all around. ‘Never mind,’ said the gorilla, ‘up and over!’ They went straight to the primates. Hannah was thrilled.”
“Hannah rushed downstairs to tell her father what had happened. ‘Happy birthday, love,’ he said. ‘Do you want to go to the zoo?’ Hannah looked at him. She was very happy.”
“They opened the front door, and went outside. ‘Come on then, Hannah,’ said the gorilla, and he gently lifted her up. Then they were off, swinging through the trees towards the zoo. “
“At the Rainbow Street Shelter, Logan and Hannah find a talking parrot, an old black Labrador, a three-legged goat, a puppy that looks like a peanut—and a surprise that just might be the best thing in the world.”