Rating: 
Summary: Zazoo--Beautiful!
Review: "She swam like no one I had known,
this little girl of mine,
as if into a fish she'd grown---
all silver-finned and fine.
But when the surface glazed with ice
that sealed away her paradise
she couldn't bear my sage advice
on nature's sweet design,
and wept--like no one I had known---
this little girl of mine.
But then she slept in air so clear
that she could hardly help but hear
the sound of someone coasting near
along the bright divide.
When she awoke, two slender skates
sharp-edged for carving figure eights
lay winking in the sunlight by her side--
two glinting blades on midnight boots,
longing to be tried.
And now she flies, on nights so cold
the dry canal ice sounds too old
to creak and crack and barely hold
her blades from slipping through--
this under- and yes, over-water,
liveliest, by far, granddaughter
ever to have worn a skating shoe:
this loveliest,
no longer little
girl I call Zazoo."
_________
So is the story of Zazoo, a sweet, vietnamese orphan destined to uncover the buried histories of her small family and those interlinked with it. On the border between childhood and adulthood, this is not only Zazoo's story of growth, but of the maturity of those she loves as they come to terms with the horrific times of the past and as her unifying love binds them to each other.
When one stranger walks into Zazoo's life asking questions about those she has known from her childhood, she embarks on a quest to fill in the missing answers. As she tries to put the pieces of this puzzle together, a river of memories threatens to become unleased, suggesting that some things may be better left alone.
Zazoo is a very strong, magical and poetic story of the destructive and empowering element of love. Richard Mosher's style certainly expresses a lyrical and poetic movement with words, creating an exquisitely drawn setting and well-layered themes. One such passage I find exemplary in this:
"Up the river I rowed, by the light of the shrouded moon and the dim, distant streetlamps. Stroke after stroke, bending my back, glad to be pulling, pulling, bending my legs and pulling again with my mittened hands until I was warm top to toe except in some darker place I supposed must be my heart.
Since a rower sits facing the stern, it was good I knew the river's shallows and angles, the twists where its current was tricky. The moon was so wrapped in snowy clouds that I saw only vague shapes, and steered from old habit. Rowing was fine in the dark, in the falling snow. My boat didn't whisper hero or coward, Gestapo or Vietnam. It didn't whisper at all, only groaned with the pull of it's oars."
Short, but chock full of wonderful and complex concepts, Zazoo is well worth your time.
Recommend? Definitely.
Rating: G, Ages 8 and up for comprehension. Older readers may appreciate its complex beauty further.
Pages: 266 small pages with average to small text size.
When to read? On a rainy day, when you need a mood boost, or nearby a river. . .
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story
Review: I am 15 and this story connected with me. After reading it I was so surprised that a man wrote it! Zazoo's voice is so true to that of a thirteen-year-old girl. The setting is romantic and the three love stories that progress throughout the novel are delicately put. I would reccomend this novel of love, sorrow, accepting differences, and healing the past to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: A Zazoo Review
Review: I found the book Zazoo, by Richard Mosher to be disappointing. I was somehow expecting more suspense than what the book delivered. The novel starts out slow and does not recover.
The book is about the life of a girl named Zazoo. She was born in Vietnam, but when she was just two, she was adopted by a French man. Her new home is a mill located between a river and a canal. The man who adopted her is called Grand-Pierre. He is a seventy eight year old veteran of World War II. Although his memory is fading, Zazoo finds out that memories from the war still haunt him.
One day in October, Zazoo was rowing along the river when she spotted a sixteen year old boy bicycling down a path. They stopped and talked and later in the book found out that they shared connections to Grand-Pierre's past.
Zazoo made periodic trips to the local pharmacy to pick up Grand-Pierre's thyroid pills. The pharmacist, Monsieur Klien was thought by most school children to be a boring old man. As Zazoo got to know him, she learned of his sad past and realized he was anything but boring.
The author of this book describes the people and scenes of the novel beautifully. He uses great imagery to describe the peaceful river. He describes how the river changes throughout the seasons and makes it come alive. Zazoo is described in good detail also. She is a very deep character who expresses her emotions through poetry. These are the good things about the book.
The novel lacked a good plot. It was very slow moving; it lacked the suspense that would make me want to read on. The problems in the book were solved to easily and too quickly. I found certain elements of the book completely unrealistic. For example, Grand-Pierre's memory was almost completely gone, yet, he remembered every detail of the war.
This book was a let down to say the least. I started the book expecting a great mystery and adventure, what I got was something almost predictable, the opposite of what I had hoped for.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange
Review: I got this book because of the cover, with many colors and a beautiful girl rowing her boat on water. But inside was completely different. The book was slow, boring, and unrealistic. The ending didn't seem complete, and most of the characters went undeveloped. I thought this wa going to be a good book, so I kept reading throughout the boring and slow parts, hoping to myself that it would become more exciting, or something would happen. But I found that the boring parts never ended, and the book just dragged on. So, don't read this book if your looking for an interesting one. Don't be seduced by the pretty cover. Remember, its the inside that counts.
Rating: 
Summary: A touching story
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was extremely well written. I liked the poem that continued throughout the story, that was probably my favorite part of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet.
Review: If ever a story merited reading aloud it is "Zazoo," the poignant story of a young Vietnamese/French girl and her journey to self-understanding. Joanna Wyatt gives a touching performance as the voice of the narrator, 13-year-old Zazoo. Born in Vietnam, Zazoo has lived most of her life in France, actually in Burgundy with her adoptive grandfather, Grand-Pierre. Her life is peaceful and serene; she has not questioned her past or Grand-Pierre's life before she came to live with him. The tenor of her days changes when Marius, a 16-year-old French boy, bicycles into her small village. His queries lead Zazoo to think and to ask about the time when France was under the boot of the Nazis. As multiple secrets are revealed we learn of a unique link between Marius and the village pharmacist. We also learn of Grand-Pierre's past, some of which he would not wish to be revealed. "Zazoo," as it explores the years of war, is a rather painful story yet it is one buoyed by love, hope, and forgiveness. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: A TOUCHING PERFORMANCE
Review: If ever a story merited reading aloud it is "Zazoo," the poignant story of a young Vietnamese/French girl and her journey to self-understanding. Joanna Wyatt gives a touching performance as the voice of the narrator, 13-year-old Zazoo. Born in Vietnam, Zazoo has lived most of her life in France, actually in Burgundy with her adoptive grandfather, Grand-Pierre. Her life is peaceful and serene; she has not questioned her past or Grand-Pierre's life before she came to live with him. The tenor of her days changes when Marius, a 16-year-old French boy, bicycles into her small village. His queries lead Zazoo to think and to ask about the time when France was under the boot of the Nazis. As multiple secrets are revealed we learn of a unique link between Marius and the village pharmacist. We also learn of Grand-Pierre's past, some of which he would not wish to be revealed. "Zazoo," as it explores the years of war, is a rather painful story yet it is one buoyed by love, hope, and forgiveness. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Zazoo is splendid!
Review: The novel Zazoo by Richard Mosheris a beautiful drama. a young girl named Zazoo who is originally fom Vietnam is currntly living in France. It is soon after World War 2 and the Vietnam war. Her parrents were killed after accidentily trigering a small bomb. Zazoo's adoptive parent "Grand Pier" has been taking care of her ever since. They live a simple and poetic life full of love. Then one day a young man named Marius visits the lake near Zazoos house. He asks Zazoo an intreeging question, from which many more unfold. Falling deeper, and deeper, Zazoo finds out more about life, love, war, and past then she could have ever imagined.
This book was highly enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the part when Marius and Zazoo were watching Grand Pier peel an apple. That scene was filled to the brim with sensory details. I also liked how the author incorporated actual French aspects. My favorite part was whan Zazoo first met Marius. I did not apreciate how in the prologue it makes you believe that their are actual gosts in this story.
I highly recomend "Zazzoo" to anyone ten and up. The style and charactors are so developed it would be a shame not to add it to your "To do..." list.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: This book is really really good. It is very cultural (it takes place in France.) It is very well-written, too. I loved this book, it is wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: A special book
Review: This is a beautiful book. I am an adult, not a teen, so I can't speak to the reviewer who said it was bad--though I think the fact that the author is a man does not mean he doesn't write well about girls. I think he does. It sure seems to me he can get very well inside a young woman's head. By the way, another reviewer said she was from Korea. She is from Vietnam, not Korea, and therein lies a beautiful part of the story. Mosher brings alive the experience of a Vietnamese girl growing up in a tiny French village. The setting is as much of a character as Zazoo and her Grand-Pierre and Marius and Felix Klein. The story is layered, with each story feeding into the others. I am very impressed and would recommend this book to teens and adults alike.
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