Butler, Dori. Do You Know The Monkey Man? NY: Scholastic Inc., 2005. 193 pages. (Mystery)Do You Know the Monkey Man was about a girl named Samantha Wright who did not know her father all her life because he disappeared when she was only three years old. He disappeared right after Sam’s twin sister died in the old quarry……. Or did she?!Now she is thirteen and wants to find him. She sets about looking for him by asking around her family, looking at the library and going to see a psychic who said her twin sister was alive . None of these things help Sam find her dad, but out of nowhere her friend said she could find a detective online. They found a detective and emailed him. He emailed back three days later and said that he thought that he had found a match! Sam called him but he didn’t answer so she left a message saying who she was. He never called back so Sam called him again four days later……….and the phone number was changed. Will Sam ever find her dad, or if her sister is still alive???
I enjoyed this book because I was drawn into it. Dori made this book a suspenseful and sensitive take on a family’s crisis brought on by a thirteen year old girls search for the truth! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys meaningful stories. Including guys, just because the book is about a girl’s story doesn’t mean guys won’t like it just as much as I do!!
Lexi Swartzenegger
