The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John

"It was Mr. Grice from Social Services who told Martine that she would be moving to Africa. Cape Town, South Africa, to be precise.
'South Africa!' cried Martine. 'Why South Africa?'

'Well,' said Mr. Grice, 'it seems that your only surviving relative is, in fact, living on a game reserve in South Africa. A Mrs. Gwyn Thomas, who, I'm told, is your grandmother.'

Martine was stunned. 'I don't have a grandmother,' she said slowly. (8)

Martine's parents are both killed in an overnight fire on her eleventh birthday, and she suddenly finds herself traveling from England to South Africa. She's going to live with a grandmother who Martine didn't know existed and who apparently isn't enthusiastic about Martine's arrival. However, things become more intriguing when Martine hears rumors about the arrival of a white giraffe at her grandmother's game reserve who no one can track or catch. In Lauren St. John's The White Giraffe, Martine must find out who is more dangerous; her grandmother when she finds out Martine has snuck into the game reserve, or the poachers who think Martine knows more than she actually knows.

AMY