Monkey Island (American Library Association Notable Book) (ISBN 0785703616)

Monkey Island Review:
Monkey Island is a thrilling novel about young boy named Clay Garrity who is abandoned by his mother and father. He is trying to survive by eating scraps out of his neighbor's trash but one night he gets caught. Once he gets caught he tells his neighbor about his situation and when she mentions calling the police he runs out into the streets of New York where he meets his new best friends, Buddy and Calvin. They are both homeless and they both help him survive out on the streets. However after about three months he catches pneumonia and goes to the hospital. After fully healing he goes to live with two foster parents until they find his mother and new baby sister. Monkey Island is an exciting adventure novel that takes readers of all ages on an enjoyable journey. I would recommend this book to all juveniles. I enjoyed many aspects of this book but I mostly liked how the book showed and taught many different character traits to its young readers. It taught bravery because Clay was very brave to take off into the streets like that. It also taught responsibility because when Clay was homeless, even though he had Buddy and Calvin, he still had to be fully responsible for himself. And it also taught respect. Even though Clay didn't know Calvin and Buddy at first meeting he still respected them enough to be taken care of and to be taught by them. These are just a few of the character traits shown in this book. I also liked the characters. Clay Garrity is a brave eleven year old boy who has to survive on the streets. He shows courage and responsibility all throughout his stay on the streets of New York. Buddy and Calvin are two homeless adults that are very wise when it comes to the streets. Together they help Clay survive the wild and hostile streets of New York. These characters add intensity to the book and make it that much more interesting. Finally, I like the setting. This book takes place in New York during the present time. The New York setting adds the intensity to Clay being homeless because of the people and the places. Everybody talks about how the streets of New York are supposed to be one of the worst so this makes the thought of Clay being homeless stronger. The setting makes the book a better read by making it more gripping to the reader. Monkey Island was a very interesting book to me. The book taught many character traits such as responsibility and respect. It also has interesting characters and a gripping setting. I would recommend this book to all child readers. -Byron N.

INAPPROPRIATE FOR READERS UNDER 16:
Do not be fooled by the title, book cover, or reviews from school literary magazines, this is a mature book. MONKEY ISLAND deals with: * Child abandonment--neither parent can handle the stress of their lives so they leave their child money on the table and leave separately with no notice; the child has no other support from family, friends, the law, teachers, etc. * Cultural and racial discrimination against Italians and African Americans. See pages 77-78 where a group of young men carrying chains and baseball bats terrorize the homeless and refer to them with a series of derogatory names; this is where the book derives its title. * Domestic abuse--a father beats Tony, a character in the book, and his family * Graffiti in the "poison box" (elevator)--about bathroom and relationship practices * Bullying--both in the welfare hotel and at his school--fear of punching and loss of personal items of value to others * Homeless people--who are kind to the boy, but one ends up dying of alcohol abuse Students of sociology and anthropology may find it insightful; younger students will find the mature themes disturbing and frightening.

Good detail, but very PC:
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it was a fast read and paced well. On the other, it was very politically correct, which can be shallow in its own way. The story follows eleven year old Cody. One year ago his father was laid off, and now Cody has sunken to the level of street urchin, abandoned by both his impoverished parents. The backstory is a little implausible with the details left vague. The idea is probably to get the reader to wonder if he/she might one day be homeless, too. On the street Cody falls in with two homeless people. One of them is a former school teacher (just to strengthen the child-reader's feeling that the life of the homeless person is very close to their own). The other homeless person he falls in with is a laborer who just couldn't find work. My mixed feelings probably came out in the above plot summary, but they are as follows. This book vacillates between giving pared down details of scenery etc that are on a child's level as far as reading goes, but that don't sugar coat things, vs really superficial and politically correct treatment of the homeless. This could be just my prejudice talking, but I get the feeling that younger people who don't live under a roof do so because of a bigger problem than not being able to find work. Cody's laborer friend Buddy is very clean cut and puts in his 8 hours collecting cans for 5 cent refunds. Cody's former school teacher friend is supposedly an alcoholic (which seems to me to be a realistic reason to be homeless), but stays sober throughout the book. There is also no exploration of any kind of inferiority complex. Cody's friends are always talking about how they are just as good as anyone else and come across as confident and self-assured. It seems that really if someone were always told they were not quite as good, that they would start to believe and act that way, which can be a huge reason for someone to get stuck in a rut in life. How to get something that subtle into a children's book where there aren't so many words available for each chapter and where the audience necessarily has limited life experiences is a problem. It would be cool if this were done though, because children are at the point in life where they have maximum social mobility to get out of ruts. This book is well written and is a quick read. However the treatment of the homeless was very politically correct and seems to give a very simplisitc view of the struggles they have in life.

A review of Monkey Island By Kailey;5th Grader:
This book is filled to the end of each page with mystery, some excitment and creepy action while you read about the life of an 11 year old boy in New York City. The book Monkey Island is by the author: Paula Fox. Paula Fox was born in the year 1923 and was left in an orphanage in New York city, the same setting as this book. She was abandond by her mother and father, just as her made up character Clay was, in the book Monkey Island. Monkey Island is about an 11 year old boy named Clay, who was abandoned by his father. Soon enough, his pregnant mom also disappears without a trace..... Clay decides to go and search for his mother in the vast city of New York when he puts himself in the care of Buddy and an alcoholic Calvin, two other homeless guys. Clay winds up in the streets, the hospital, Henry and Edwina's house (the couple he lived with after he got out of the hospital), and in the women's shelter. With much determination to find his mother, he stops at nothing to try and find her. Finaly, Henry and Edwina try to look into an agency to look for his parents. But it's up to you to solve the mystery. Will Clay ever find his parents...Or will he be lost without hope of ever having a family? Will Calvin live...or die too soon? Pick it up to solve the mystery for Clay, because you never know what adventures are waiting for you inside Monkey Island. Monkey Island: By Paula Fox

A Thirteen Year Old Girl's Perspective:
Monkey Island by Paula Fox is about a boy named Clay who wakes up one morning with his mom gone. Although he thinks she'll back sooner or later, she doesn't come back. Luckily, his mom leaves him money while she's gone. Unfortunately, the money doesn't last long and Clay ends up on the streets with his new friends Calvin, Gerald, and Buddy, learning to survive in the "wild". They live a traumatic and eye-opening life on the streets together. They had rough tines with a bunch of teenagers saying "Monkey Island' while laughing at them. Sadly, all four of them get beaten bad especially Buddy, being called out of his name. Though the cold and snow, Clay ends up with the pneumonia and in the hospital. When Clay ends up in the hospital with pneumonia, Mrs. Greg, an agent of the Social Service, comes to interview him. Mrs. Greg asks Clay, "Do you know what Social Service people do?" Being free-minded, Clay replies,"Yes. Where they don't help you until after three months or even longer? My mom did that." Clay didn't want foster parents but he knew had to deal with it. Though his foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Biddles buy him clothes and feeds him well, he's not so happy. So will he ever find his mom? Fox's Monkey Island teaches an important lesson of the need to be satisfied with what you have and quit complaining about how you can't get what you want. Fox has an obvious message in her writing. This novel would be good for teenagers and even the whole family. Think about it, how would you feel if your mother or father left you alone and never came back? You wouldn't believe how much you need to learn.