Rating: 
Summary: A book about homeless people.
Review: I read the book Monkey Island by Paula Fox. This book is about an eleven year old boy named Clay. Clay's parents left him at their hotel, they didn't just leave him to go to work, but they left him for good. Clay ran to a park and met two men named Buddy and Calvin. Clay ended up living with them in the park in a card board box. I won't say anything else about them, so that you can read the book. I thought that this book was okay. I thought this because, it was probably meant for older readers. I didn't really understand it, because I couldn't relate to them at all. Maybe it's because I've never lived on the streets and I've never been so cold and so hungray that I had to go to the hospital. Before I even picked up this book, I always thought that homeless people were gross and ugly, but now I see that not all of them choose to be on the street, but some have to. I guess that's the reason that I, myself didn't like the book: Monkey Island. Because I couldn't relate to them at all, but now I understand them better.
Rating: 
Summary: A kid homeless
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: G R E A T B O O K !!!!!!!!
Review: I thought that this was a great book and very sad i thought that calvin should not have died but i thought that buddy was much nicer to Clay. I thought this was one of the best books that I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: IN MONKEY ISLAND THE DAD LEFT AND THE MOM WAS THERE THEN SHE LEFT.I THINK THAT THE MOM SHOULD OF TOOK CLAY WITH HER.ONCE THEY LEFT CLAY HE BECAME HOMELESS.HE FOUND A HOME WITH HIS HOMELESS FRIENDS IN THE PARK.THERE NAMES WERE BUDDY AND CALVIN.NOW DURING THE BOOK I THINK CLAY'S MOM AND DAD ARE IRRESPONSIBLE FOR LEAVING HIM ALONE LIKE THAT.CLAY AND BUDDY HAD THANKSGIVING DINNER ALREADY AT THE CHURCH AND THE SAME NIGHT THEY SNUCK IN THE WINDOW GOING TO THE BASEMENT AND SLEPT THERE FOR THE NIGHT.I WOULD OF THOUGHT THAT CLAY WOULD BE IN A FOSTER HOME OR SHELTER UNTIL HIS MOM AND DAD CAME BACK.CLAY AND BUDDY'S FRIEND CALVIN WAS ON THE BENCH,BUT HE WAS IN A COMMA.AFTER CLAY CAME OUT OF THE HOSPITAL FROM SEEING CALVIN CLAY WAS WALKING BACK AND FORTH FROM THE HOTEL TO THE PARK.BUDDY WAS WALKING TOWARDS CLAY AND GAVE CLAY A BOOK FOR CHRISTMAS THAT BUDDY CASHED IN CANS TO BUY HIM THAT BOOK.BY KNOW I WOULD HATE MY PARENTS FOR LEAVING ME HOMELESS THAT LONG.
Rating: 
Summary: Monkey Island does not paint in black and white.
Review: Monkey Island is a novel which presents issues of homelessness in many layers. Communities on the street are shown as sometimes being safer than indoor shelters. Social service agencies are given their share of criticism and praise, with the truth that their effectiveness often depends on the roll of the dice that is which case worker a child or family has. Through it all, Clay guides us on his perilous journey quietly and perceptively. Monkey Island raises more question than it answers, which is very appropriate for the young audience who will encounter it. They need not be given pat responses to complex social problems and this novel forces reflection and hopefully in some, positive action.
Rating:
Summary: An Exciting Adventure
Review: Monkey Island is an exciting adventure. When I was reading this book in my English Class I didn't want to put it down. I recommend this book for anyone who likes adventures of children living and surviving on their own. Can you imagine a life without your mother and father. Then adding the homless thing with it. Clay really showed a lot of character and courage. This book was great and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Monkey Island
Review: My daughter read this book and recommended it to me. I thought that a book with a title like "Monkey Island" was probably a bit of fluff and couldn't be very good. Was I ever wrong! The story centers on eleven-year-old Clay and describes his views and thoughts, which are very believable, as he becomes abandoned, homeless, cold and hungry. The story doesn't turn away from the harshness of Clay's reality, but merely accepts it, as does Clay himself. I was very moved and uplifted by the story. Paula Fox has an incredible gift and uses it well throughout this book. Her descriptions of common occurrences are pure poetry. You can bet that I will read her other books!
Rating:
Summary: Monkey Island
Review: My daughter read this book and recommended it to me. I thought that a book with a title like "Monkey Island" was probably a bit of fluff and couldn't be very good. Was I ever wrong! The story centers on eleven-year-old Clay and describes his views and thoughts, which are very believable, as he becomes abandoned, homeless, cold and hungry. The story doesn't turn away from the harshness of Clay's reality, but merely accepts it, as does Clay himself. I was very moved and uplifted by the story. Paula Fox has an incredible gift and uses it well throughout this book. Her descriptions of common occurrences are pure poetry. You can bet that I will read her other books!
Rating:
Summary: An Exciting Adventure
Review: Paula Fox does an amazing job depicting homelessness in her book Monkey Island. Clay Garrity, an eleven year old boy, is left to fend for himself after his pregnant mother disappears. He meets two homeless men, Buddy and Calvin, who become his new family on the street. They care for him as best they can but the cold and lack of food are too much for Clay and he has to be taken to a hosiptal. Now he has to depend on Social Services to find out what happened to his mother and his new sibling. I thought that Fox's description of Clay's life on the street was exceptional. Her language really flowed nicely and I felt like I was experiencing what Clay was. Fox also had the major dramatic question, "What happened to Clay's mother?". This question was the driving force while I read this book. I was so intrigued that I finished the book in one sitting. The only problem I had with this book was the ending. I didn't think it was realistic. Fox had all of these well portrayed, complex issues throughout the book and the ending just seemed very simplistic compared to everything else. However, overall I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it was well written, that language flowed together, and that it provided a realistic look at what life would be like on the streets. I think this book would be a great tool to help teachers to portray homelessness and/or poverty to their students. This book would really force children to look at and understand the social problems that our society has and help them to relate to, and sympathize with, these problems.
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