Last Friday, I finished reading The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave Eggers. This animal fiction novel is about Johannes, a free dog that keeps watch over an urban park by the sea and gives updates to the park's elders, three ancient Bison. His friends, a seagull, a raccoon, a squirrel, and a pelican, help him make sure that the Equilibrium is maintained as the Assistant Eyes. One day, when he is fascinated by the rectangles outside of a huge new building, Johannes is captured by a group of Trouble Travelers, humans who cause issues in the park, and his friends have to help free him. The next day after waking up, Johannes has a revelation that the Bison need to be free and begins coming up with a scheme to do so with the other animals. Then, a boatload of goats arrives to eat the weeds in the windmill area of the park and Johannes learns a shocking truth from one of the goats, Helene, that changes his view of the world.
This novel was absolutely beautiful. Even though Johannes could come across as arrogant sometimes, I really enjoyed his adventures and how much he cared about his friends. He was incredibly noble in his determination to free the Bison from their enclosure and I had no idea if he and his friends would be able to succeed or not, adding an element of suspense to the book. I was also nervous that Johannes would be once again captured by the humans especially after he saved a young child and the people around got a good look at him. I especially loved Johannes's friendship with Bertrand, a seagull. Bertrand liked to take risks around the archery field and it really made sense why Johannes was so afraid that something bad would eventually happen to him. The Eyes & the Impossible recently won the Newbery Medal and I can't imagine a better choice. While this novel did make me teary-eyed towards the end, I thought the conclusion was wonderful. Additionally, the illustrations are as beautiful as the story. As a story of friendship and freedom, I recommend this book to anyone, young and old.
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