Grady McClarty, 70, is asked by the Oklahoma Historical Society for an oral account of the escape of a leopard from the Oklahoma City zoo in the 1950s. Instead McClarty writes a remeniscence, as if he were telling the story as the five year old he was when the escape took place.

Grady, his six year old brother Danny, his mother, and two uncles all lived in seperate apartments adjacent to his grandparents house. The reminiscence is not just about the wild animal's escape and the terror it caused within the city, but also about his family members attempts to put the war years and experiences behind them and learn how to continue the lives they once expected before grief, psycholgical scars, and recognition of racial injustice became part of them. ( )

Easily read, "sweet" story whose narrator is looking back at a time when he was five years old in Oklahoma City in the 1950's. Grady and his older brother Danny live with their widowed mother but also close to their grandparents and two uncles Frank and Emmett, also survivors of WWiI.

Grady serves at the narrator of the story which is set around the escape of a leopard from the nearby zoon. People get frantic as live goes on the the city. Segregation is still in force and the boys take it as normal. Their uncles are having difficulty reentering post-war life especially in relationship with their father who owns a car dealership.

This is definitely a story about family. ( )

Harrigan, Stephen. The Leopard is Loose. digital. 2021. Penguin Random House Audio.

Five year old, Grady McClarty, is about to have one of the most tumultuous and momentous summers of his young life. Post World War II Oklahoma City is fraught with racial tensions and a false sense of tranquility. When it's announced that a leopard has escaped from the local zoo, the city is gripped with fear and excitement. Grady and his older brother are equal parts terrified and intrigued, while their two uncles are excited at the prospect of bagging the wild animal. World War II may have ended before Grady was born but he can feel the effects all around him even if he can't understand it. His widowed mother, Bethie, is still grieving and fearful for her sons and his two uncles are erratic and suffering from alcoholism and PTSD, yet still determined to act as father figures for their nephews. Told through the naïve and youthful view of a five year old, The Leopard is Loose, tells what it's like to start viewing the world through a new lens. The underbelly of segregation, WWII trauma, family dynamics, and the complexity of right versus wrong are digested piece by piece by Grady, who is the heart and soul of the novel. Wonderfully narrated by George Guidall, whose distinct voice brings an authenticity and energy to young Grady. A coming of age novel that is filled with humanity, grief, possibility, and hope. - Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN ( )