Judging by the cover art and the accompanying vague summary, you might have judged this to be a fairly childish and lighthearted story about a boy and his pet cheetah. And with regards to this, you likely weren’t the only one.

But there is more to this story than what is covered in the content above that explores the basis of the story; it remains both serious, lighthearted, and surprisingly informative.

The story examines the complications of caring for a cheetah as Jacky’s family helps operate a conservation center aimed at the preservation of cheetahs – both wild and non-wild alike – and the issues that come from trying to raise an animal that is still too feral to be domesticated. It also weaves in the difficulties of a widowed man, at times, struggling to raise his son and ultimately delved into greater depths than I ever expected it to go to.

If I had to admit, I do think there were a few flaws with regards to the presentation of the story.

Lastly, I’ll admit this, the ending made me openly sob. This was the absolute last thing I would have expected when I decided to pick this story up. That said, it was absolutely worth the tears and following lament that followed after I was able to take a moment to recover.

... Last updated on September 21st, 2019, 5:38am

Beautiful art and a heart-wrenching but sweet story so far. The author has done a great job of combining the topics of wildlife conservation along with the lesson that "wild animals will always be wild animals." Jacky's family meets tragedy early on when this lesson is learned the hard way. There are parts that seems like a wildlife lesson, but the best thing is watching the interaction between everyone (and everything) in the wildlife preserve and seeing that develop.

I look forward to ready more very soon!