By Svara Jayasinghe
Summer of the Monkeys is a realistic fiction book by Wilson Rawls.
One summer in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, a Jay Berry Lee, a 14 year old boy, unexpectedly finds a tree full of monkeys. Jay is very curious about the monkeys because they had never been seen before. Jay is puzzled until his grandpa informs him that the monkeys are circus trained and have escaped. Whoever safely returns the monkeys to the circus will receive a certain amount of money for each one. Once Jay finds this out, he wants to catch the monkeys for the money. His dream is to have a pony and a gun. But, since his family doesn’t have much money, his mom and dad can’t afford it. If he managed to catch the monkeys and turn them in, he would be able to get his pony and gun. At first this is his plan, but then his grandmother gives him an idea. Instead of using the money to buy something for himself, he could use the money to put Daisy, (his younger twin sister) through surgery to fix her crippled leg. Now Jay is torn, not knowing what to use the money for, his pony and gun, or Daisy’s leg. But first, he still has to catch the monkeys. Jay thinks that it will be a piece of cake, but it is not as easy as he imagines.
What happens next? Does Jay catch the monkeys? If so, what does he use the money for? Read the book to find out!
I would rate the book an 8 out of 10. I would rate it an 8 because it is funny, sad, adventurous, and thrilling. The only thing I think could have been better, was there could have been more detail and explanations at times. Overall, it was a good book and I suggest reading it.