The White Giraffe

Written by Lauren St. John and published in 2006, The White Giraffe is the first book in the Legend of the Animal Healer series. It tells the story of orphan Martine Allen, who goes to live with her grandmother in Cape Town, South Africa after her parents’ tragic deaths. Her grandmother lives in a wildlife sanctuary called Sawubona. As Martine wrestles with losing her family and adapting to life on another continent, she learns the value of finding friendship in unlikely places and discovers the power to change her life and the lives of others for the better. St. John is also the author of The One Dollar Horse series, the Wolfe & Lamb mystery series, and the Laura Marlin mysteries. Before becoming an author, St. John was a sports and music journalist. One day while walking down the street, she had a vision of a girl riding a giraffe, and thus The White Giraffe was born, along with the beginning of her career as a novelist. St. John grew up on a game reserve called “Rainbow’s End” in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Along with a bevy of other domesticated and “exotic” animals, St. John had a pet giraffe, and her formative experiences of being immersed in the natural world heavily influenced her writing. St. John supports many conservationist organizations, such as Born Free Foundation and Made Chance Animal Sanctuary, and she is the founder of authors4oceans.org, which encourages the elimination of single-use plastic.

The source material for this guide comes from the 2006 Puffin Books edition.

Content Warning: The guide discusses acts of racially motivated violence and discrimination.

Plot Summary

On the night of Martine Yancey’s 11th birthday, she dreams that she heals an injured goose with the supernatural heat of her hands. She awakens from the dream and realizes that her house is on fire and she can’t escape her room. After using a bed sheet to escape through the window, Martine watches helplessly as her home burns to the ground before her parents can escape. She spends the next few days in grief before learning that her only living relative, her grandmother Gwyn Thomas (whom Martine has never known), will become her guardian. Gwyn lives in Cape Town, South Africa, on a game preserve called Sawubona. Though she is unhappy in her English boarding school, Martine is not thrilled at the idea of moving to South Africa, and a letter from her grandmother stating that she didn’t know she would become Martine’s guardian leaves Martine suspecting that her grandmother is equally unenthusiastic about the arrangement. Left with no other options, Martine boards a plane headed toward her new life in South Africa.

Tendai, a worker at the preserve, collects Martine at the airport, and makes a stop at the home of his aunt, Grace, before going to the preserve. Grace is a traditional healer, and she makes Martine a delicious meal that soothes her body and soul. Before Martine leaves, Grace places her hands on Martine and tells her that she has a special gift, but that having the gift will bring difficulty to her life. She reminds Martine that she must trust her instincts to know how to use the gift. Tendai tells Martine not to tell her grandmother about the visit to Grace. However, when they arrive late, Gwyn instinctively knows where they have been and reminds Tendai not to take Martine to the “crazy” woman’s home. Gwyn, a stern, rigorous woman, wastes no time explaining her house rules to Martine, the most important of which is that she is not allowed into the game preserve. Martine learns that her grandfather was once the game warden but died tragically in a shootout with poachers hunting giraffes. No one speaks of the incident, and when Martine meets the new game warden, Alex du Preez, she gets an uneasy feeling about him and wonders if he knows about what happened to her grandfather.

Though her grandmother remains distant, Martine grows closer to Tendai and helps him to care for injured animals in the preserve’s sanctuary. Tendai tells her about the villagers’ belief that a rare white giraffe lives in Sawubona. Legend states that a child will ride the giraffe and become an animal healer. The story fascinates Martine, and as she begins to fall in love with the landscape and animals of the preserve, she always keeps a watchful eye out for the mythical giraffe. Though she prefers to stay in the sanctuary and learn from Tendai, Gwyn insists that Martine attend school. Classes at the Caracal School are very different from those in England, but Martine finds the social dynamics the same and struggles to find a place to fit in amongst the student body. The popular kids, who have labeled themselves the “Five Star Gang,” invite her to eat lunch with them, but when Martine sees them being unkind to a reclusive classmate named Ben, she’s not sure she wants to be their friend.

One night during a fierce storm, Martine catches a glimpse of the white giraffe from her window and, ignoring Gwyn’s rules, takes her flashlight and enters the preserve in search of the giraffe. She runs right into a deadly cobra ready to strike when, in a flash, the white giraffe races into her path, saving her from peril. Instinctively knowing that the giraffe’s name is Jeremiah, she nicknames him Jemmy and instantly bonds with the mysterious creature. She returns home and somehow manages to hide the evidence of her nighttime exploration, but in the days following, Martine can think of nothing else besides seeing Jemmy again. Though she thinks her secret is safe, Alex du Preez attempts to goad her into telling him what she knows about the giraffe and warns her to stay out of the preserve.

Martine’s class goes on a field trip to the botanical gardens, and when a storm approaches and the students find an injured goose, Martine realizes that her dream is happening in real time. As her hands heat up like fire, she heals the goose, but her classmates call her a “witch” and chase her through the gardens until Ben helps her hide in the shrubbery. Martine tells no one about her discovery of the healing gift, but later as she is working in the preserve with Tendai to dismantle poachers’ traps, Alex du Preez shoots a kudu, and Martine heals it with her hands. Alex once again ominously warns Martine about the giraffe, and she becomes increasingly worried for Jemmy’s safety.

Martine teaches Jemmy to answer her silent dog whistle, and she begins to explore the preserve regularly while riding his back. One day, she spots poachers, and Jemmy takes off on a sprint toward a desolate part of the preserve marked by a gnarled tree. Beyond a curtain of vines, Martine discovers a lush bower where Jemmy hides. Inside the enclave is a cave covered in paleolithic drawings depicting the stories of the Indigenous people of South Africa. One drawing clearly shows a girl riding on the back of a white giraffe. The sight overwhelms Martine, and she begins to understand that she is a part of something much larger than herself. She returns home vowing to protect what she calls the “Secret Valley” but is uncertain of how to protect Jemmy. She later returns to the caves and finds Grace there, who confirms that Martine is the fulfillment of the prophecy in the painting.

When a painting of Jemmy and her dog whistle are stolen, Martine knows that someone is after Jemmy. Martine runs home to find Tendai’s house empty, but the police have captured the poachers. Gwyn knows about Jemmy and says that he is in danger. Martine demands answers, and Gwyn reveals that Martine was born at Sawubona, but when Grace predicted that she would be a healer, Martine’s parents feared for her safety and moved away to England against Gwyn’s wishes. Grace predicted the fire and begged Gwyn to warn Martine’s mother, Veronica, but she didn’t heed the prediction.

Now, Gwyn takes Martine to Grace for help. Grace throws bones to divine a message, telling them that Jemmy is on a ship at the port. Gwyn and Martine race to the docks, and Martine ventures alone onto the boat, where she finds Ben, whose father is a sailor. Ben helps Martine find the key to the lower hold. She descends into the belly of the boat, which is full of crates containing tranquilized animals. She finds Jemmy, but he is injured, and she must use her gift to heal him enough to escape. Riding Jemmy’s back, they escape from the ship just as Alex du Preez arrives. Jemmy kicks him in the head, and they ride off toward the safety of Sawubona. Police arrest Alex for illegal trafficking of “exotic” animals, and Martine says goodbye to Jemmy as he disappears back into the preserve. Grace visits and commends Martine for using her gift well and predicts that she will have many more adventures.