Monkey Island

by Paula Fox

Book Overview

Nothing in his white middle-class childhood has prepared Clay for the small park in New York City that during one terrible winter becomes home, or for old Calvin and young Buddy, who become the family... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0531059626
• ISBN13: 9780531059623
• Release Date: September 1991
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

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.

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.

Powerful

I read this book when I was about eleven or twelve, and at seventeen it still sticks out as one of the most powerful books of my childhood. Very few young adult books capture the beauty and the pain that Monkey Island does. So many young adult novels are pure fluff. Monkey Island, however, deals with a topic very serious: homelessness. By using an eleven year old boy as the main character, it made being homeless seem more personal and real. I recommend this book entirely to pre-teens, teens, or even adults. It is a wonderful story that truly has no age range.

GREAT STORY AND WONDERFUL ENDING!

I give Monkey Island five stars because it was a wondeful book and I really enjoyed reading it. I would recommend this book to anybody. The beginning is a little hard to get into and the story is sad but the ending is really happy. The book was well written and I hope you read it.

A wonderful story, rich in imagry

I am so thankful that I found this book. I read it in one sitting and am looking forward to sharing it with my 6th-graders. Many of my students are only a few steps away from Clay's street hut. It is for them that I want to shed a light of hope. I think this book can help me do that for them. It is also a great book to read to children who have what they need to stay warm and well-fed. It will afford them the opportunity to get to know someone their age that must go without and take chances that have very uncertain outcomes.