|
Book Cover |
|
|
|
|
|
Excerpt |
|
Monkeys
Malao's
upper lip curled back.
The warrior monks of Cangzhen Temple--or any temple, for that
matter--were not allowed to have personal possessions. Personal
possessions meant a tie to the greedy world of men, so the monks owned
nothing and shared everything. However, within Cangzhen, weapons were an
exception. Though they weren't supposed to favor any one more than
another, Cangzhen's warrior monks almost always did. Malao's favorite
was called a short stick, and the specific stick he preferred was now in
that soldier's right hand.
Malao hugged his knees tight and began to rock back and forth. That
soldier had helped slaughter Malao's friends and family and burn down
the only home Malao had ever known. And now the soldier planned to walk
away with a souvenir. Malao wasn't about to let that happen.
As the soldier passed under his tree, Malao focused on the rhythm of the
soldier's strides. When the soldier's right arm went backward and his
weight shifted to his left leg, Malao dropped from the tree like an
anvil.
THUD!
Malao's feet smashed into the back of the soldier's left knee and the
knee buckled, slamming to the ground. Malao grabbed the stick and
flipped forward, twisting it out of the soldier's hand and leaping onto
a low-lying branch. He grinned at the soldier and waved the stick.
"Get down here, you little monkey!" the soldier said, staggering to his
feet.
Malao shook his head and scurried to a higher branch.
"Don't play games with me, monk. I see your orange robe. You better not
make me climb up there after you."
Malao turned to leap to another tree when the soldier raised his voice.
"I said get down here!"
Malao stopped. If the soldier raised his voice any louder,
reinforcements might come. Malao had no interest in fighting an entire
garrison of soldiers. He needed to do something, fast. He zipped to the
opposite side of the tree so that he was directly behind the soldier,
facing the same direction as the man, and jumped straight down. He
landed with one small foot on each of the soldier's shoulders.
The surprised soldier tilted his head up and grabbed on to Malao's robe.
Malao slipped his stick under the soldier's chin, pressing his knee
against the base of the soldier's head, and leaned back.
The soldier
choked and teetered backward, letting go of Malao's robe. He swung his
arms wildly, trying to knock Malao off his shoulders. Malao responded by
shifting his weight forward.
The soldier
toppled over, hitting the ground face-first. He struggled, but Malao
held the stick firm until the man's body relaxed. Malao slid the stick
out from under the soldier and rolled him over.
The soldier
was breathing slow and steady. Cautiously, Malao rested one of his bare,
dark-skinned feet on the man's nose and wiggled his toes. The man didn't
flinch.
The soldier
was definitely unconscious.
|
|
|
|
|
Synopsis |
|
After the
Cangzhen Temple was attacked
by Ying, 11-year old former pupil of the monks, Malao, who has the
fighting style of a monkey, finds himself in a pickle. Hok, his brother
who fights like a crane, finds Malao hiding in the trees observing the
goings on at the temple. Hok has Malao create a distraction so he steal
the body of Grandmaster and give his a proper burial.
Later, on his own,
Malao runs into a band of monkey that are making mischief. It seems that
they like attacking caravans and making away with some of the precious
items. They are lead by a large white monkey who keeps appearing to
Malao everywhere he travels. He soon runs into a group of bandits and
notices that the leader looks familiar. He is also helped in his journey
by a strange older man who has also learned the monkey style of
fighting.
While the monkeys and the bandits battle, Malao wonders if the
monkey warrior could possibly be his father. You see, all five of the
young monks are orphans, never having met their parents before they were
given away. Meanwhile, Ying is trying to get back the Dragon scrolls
from Fu, see Tiger, so he can learn what it
means to be true dragon. Malao and Fu meet up and begin traveling to
Shaolin Temple with hopes of being taken in by the monks. But with Ying
is close on their heals, they wonder what has happened to their other
brothers and whether they can make it there without being captured.
Monkey
is the second book of seven in The Five Ancestors series
written by Jeff Stone. It is a young adult fictional story that takes
place China over 350 years ago. The story revolves around five young
monks all between the ages of 11 and 13 and their special fighting
techniques. The main characters in this series are: Fu - Tiger, Malao -
Monkey, Seh - Snake, Hok - Crane, and Long - Dragon.
|
|
|
|
|
Review |
|
A year had past since
it read
Tiger, but
the book had always staying fresh in my mind because I liked it so much.
Finally, when I received a copy of Monkey, I couldn't wait to start
reading it. And, boy oh boy, was I truly happy that I did. The story
takes up right where
Tiger ends,
but just changes its main character from Fu to Malao. With Fu, he was
always so serious. I liked the whimsical Malao and his stinking feet a
little better.
Jeff Stone has created something quite special in his The
Five Ancestors series of books. The books are incredibly fun to read and
kids, especially boys, will love these books. I know I grew up watching
Bruce Lee and loving martial arts movies. Kids today love the same
thing, which is why I think they will eat this series right up. I also
like the fact that each book focuses on a different monk with a unique
fighting style and that the story takes place in 1650 AD.
Overall,
Monkey by Jeff Stone is another excellent book that I highly
recommend for all readers. I am very excited to read the next book in
this series entitled Snake.
I
rated this book a 9 out of 10. |
|
|
