Malia is looking forward to delivering her presentation in front of her class. Tasked by her teacher with choosing a topic and preparing a speech, Malia has chosen the plight of the Orangutan due to loss of the rainforests for palm oil production in her home, Indonesia.

Her mum is concerned that her topic may be too sensitive, and warns Malia to check with her teacher. Determined to make an impact in her first attempt at activism, Malia presents her topic without approval. The fallout is unimaginable.

Ari lives with his uncle in Malang, helping him in his restaurant when he isn’t at school. He feels guilty about leaving his best friend and cousin Suri at home in the rice fields in their village, while he gets to study. Something else that begins to feel wrong is how forlorn his uncle’s pet orangutang Ginger Juice is in her cage. Ari remembers playing with her when he was younger, just as if she was a small child and part of the family, but now Ginger Juice has outgrown the door to her cage and couldn’t flee if she wanted to.

Ginger Juice remembers her younger self, playing with the boy when they were both small. She can remember before that too, when her mother taught her how to find food, shelter and happiness. There is no happy now, just a cage and sometimes even worse.

When Ari’s love of chess gets him on the school team, he travels to the city of Surabaya to compete in a competition. Not only does he do well, he is hastily given a piece of paper by a girl he doesn’t know. Later he realises it’s a petition to save Indonesia’s orangutangs.

As Malia’s school life is suddenly under threat, and a move back to her mother’s home country of Canada moved closer, she has to make a tough decision. It involves her school, her teacher and her best friend – but most of all, Indonesia’s orangutangs. Struggling to juggle all that is important to her, Malia makes her decision, and a new friendship with it.

Told in three viewpoints:

A wealthy biracial Indonesian / Canadian girl attending a private school

A boy from a poor village attending a public school and working in his uncle’s city restaurant

A captive adult orangutang remembering life before fires swallowed her jungle

We have seen and learnt of the devastation of palm oil plantations on the jungles of Indonesia, and the resulting plummeting orangutang population. BERANI shows this dilemma from both sides of the argument. For character Malia who is safely supported by wealthy family members, it is black and white – stop cutting down the jungle and taking the orangutangs habitat.

For those not so privileged, it is a matter of survival. Then there are the government departments and large agricultural corporations that benefit financially from the palm oil harvests. Regardless, the largest tree dwelling animal on Earth – the orangutang – shares 97% of human DNA and they are disappearing at approx 3000 a year.

These facts and so much more is included in the back of this deftly written novel, underlining a heartfelt but important story with a solid statement. We must save the orangutang. Some solutions are also included.

Having views from both sides of the argument is informative and helpful for those who don’t fully understand the perplexity of this problem. I know I learnt much and loved the way Malia’s mother let her make her own decision including any consequences that were involved. Two brave middle schoolers stand up for what they believe in, and the chess analogies to life are brilliant!

My favourite part was discovering what BERANI means.

Thought provoking. 

Author – Michelle Kadarusman

Age – 10+

Find Teacher’s Resources here

Learn more about saving the orangutang here

(2022, Allen & Unwin, Animals, Orangutang, Captivity, Endangered, Indonesia, Rice fields, Palm Oil, Deforestation, The Orangutang Project, Chess, Conviction, Courage, Decision, Family, Friendship, Growing up, Poverty, School)