Throughout my various publishing internships, I managed to collect quite a number of books. Some were received as payment for my services, others I found particularly intriguing and actually purchased, and a few I selected strictly based on a striking jacket. Two summers ago, I interned with an independent children’s publisher in Atlanta called Peachtree. It was here I came across Do You Know the Monkey Man?. The title immediately caught my eye and I knew it would make a fine addition to my collection.I DO have a confession to make…I acquire books at a rate faster than I can actually read them. I have wonderful intentions, but many find their way on my bookshelves only to move farther and farther down my “to read” list. Falling behind the new paranormal teen romance, crime thriller, and even trashy beach read (aka Playground) “Do You Know the Monkey Man” waited patiently on my shelf until this past week. Little did I know, I had a quiet gem all along…Thirteen year old Sam Wright wants answers and she is going to do anything to find them. She lost her twin sister Sarah when she was three years old in a horrible canoeing accident, and her father mysteriously disappeared shortly thereafter. Sam’s mother is now getting remarried and she must deal with idea of having a new Stepfather. In addition, Sam has been having strange dreams about her dead twin and an eerie feeling that she is somehow still alive. “Do You Know the Monkey Man” takes readers on Sam’s physical and emotional journey of finding her biological father and discovering the truth about her family’s past.I needed an additional cup of coffee this morning because after getting halfway through the book last night, I quickly realized I would not be able to put it down until I was finished. It was fast paced and suspenseful and my interest forced me to each following chapter. The author, Dori Hillstead Butler, does a wonderful job of relaying the complex emotions of an early teen who is trying to find her place in a broken family.Teens and adults alike can learn a valuable lesson from this book. We live in a world where we are constantly in search of the unknown, the better, the “greener grass” of life. While at times we do find what we are looking for, sometimes along the way we learn to appreciate the life we have and the people who are in it. The message of the story is a beautiful one: there is no single definition of family. Family is a feeling, an emotion. It is comfort, dependability and trust. Family is love.The sequel is entitled Yes, I Know the Monkey Man and I assure you, this one won’t sit on the shelf.
The author's writing tortured me by the cliff hangers at the end of each chapter. For example, at the end of one of the chapters it says, "Oh my god!" "You really are alive!" Samantha is saying this because she thinks her sister is still alive. This = was one of my favorite books I've read. I loved it because not only was it very suspenseful, but it was an emotional story too. Also, I was always looking forward to the next chapter. It is about a thirteen-year old girl who lives her life wondering so many unanswered questions. Where is her dad and why hasn't he kept in contact for ten years? How could he let her twin sister drown in a deep quarry when she was only three years old? And how could her mother let some man whom Samantha doesn't know become her father? She already has a father that is somewhere out there. Samantha goes on a quest to find her dad and she discovers what really happened ten years ago. My favorite character was Samantha, because she never gave up on looking for her dad and she always had hope that her sister, Sarah was still alive. I recommend this book to any reader who enjoys mystery and quest novels.
Do You like book Do You Know The Monkey Man? (2005)?
Do you know the Monkey ManBy: Dori Hillestad ButlerNon-fictionBiographyPages: 193 Do you know the Monkey Man is about a girl named Sam and how her parents got divorced and her twin sister drowned in a lake when they were three. Sam's dad took her twin sister Sarah on a boat ride in the quarry when there family was camping. When they were in the bat the boat tipped and Sarah drowned. They never found Sarah's body. After Sarah drowned Sam and Sarah's parents got divorced and Sam never saw her dad again. Sam is now 13 and she is looking for her real dad but while she is looking for him Sam starts to think that maybe her sister didn't drown in the quarry and that her dad just took her and faked her drowning. You will have to read the book to find out. I thought this was a really good book because I love mystery books. This book always made want to keep reading and I love reading those kind of books. I felt really bad for sam her parents are divorced, her she hasn't seen her real dad in ten years, her sister died, and her mom is remarrying. I would not want to be in Sam's position it would be horrible. When sam went to look for her dad I wanted to keep reading and keep reading the book it was so good. This book will be one of my favorite books for a while. I would be really sad if I had a twin sister and she died. Sam was talking about how Her and Sarah would do everything together and it was sad because they never could because Sarah was dead. This was a very good book and I would recommend it to anyone who loves mystery books.
—Cassa M.
This is a book about a girl named Sam. She has a twin. She was told that her twin sister had drowned. Since the police didn’t find any evidence of her sister’s body in the river, Sam decides to go talk to a psychic to find out if her sister was really dead. And Sam also wanted to know where her father was. And why he stopped sending post cards. So, Sam went searching for her father also. But the psychic told Sam “your sister is alive and doing well.” But, Sam said, “My sister is dead.” Sam didn’
—Mahalia Bennett
I just finished reading Do you No the Monkey Man. The Author is Dori Hillestad Butler. The genre is fiction. It has 193 pages.The main charator is Sam, her real name is Sammatha. this book takes place in Clearwater Iowa. It all started when Sam read some news articlse about her sister Sarah who drowned when she was 3 years old. Ever Since she read all those articles she's been wanting to find her dad and sister. She still thinks Sarah is still alive.If you want to Know more about Sams jorney read the book, and after you read the book I recomand you read Yes I know the Monkey Man. Its wrote By the same auther as Do you know the monkey man.
—Brittney
