Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear

A gorgeously rendered middle grade graphic novel based closely on the author's experiences, in which a young conservationist overcomes the odds to save and return a sun bear to its natural habitat.

When twelve-year-old intrepid explorer Chang discovered bear poaching near the rainforest by her home in Vietnam, she decided to do everything she could to become a wildlife conservationist. After training herself in wilderness survival skills, documenting her adventures in her field notebook, and disproving all the critics who thought she wasn't old enough, strong enough, or fluent enough in English (often and troublingly considered to be the "language of science") Chang was finally accepted as a rescue center volunteer. But her toughest challenge comes when she's tasked with returning Sorya—the sun bear she raised from infancy—to the wild where she belongs. Because despite being a different species, Sorya is Chang's best friend. And letting a friend go is never easy, even when it's the right thing to do.

Story Locale: near Vietnam's Cát Tiên National Park