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Monkey (The Five Ancestors Series #2)

Name: Monkey (The Five Ancestors Series #2)
Author: Jeff Stone
ISBN: 9780375830747

by Jeff Stone

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Overview

At 11-years-old, Malao is the youngest of the Five Ancestors. Master of the monkey fighting style, he’s curious and quick, fast and fun-loving. But now, with the destruction of the temple and the deaths of his older brothers and Grandmaster, Malao the fun-loving monkey is forced to face things he’d rather not. As he grapples with these new and unwelcome feelings, Malao has an encounter with a dangerous band of bandits, is adopted by a troop of monkeys commanded by a one-eyed albino, and hears tantalizing rumors of a mysterious recluse called the Monkey King, who is said to act, and look, a lot like him. . . .

After soldiers of the new Emperor, led by Ying, engage in a fierce battle with the warrior-monks, Malao "the monkey" and his brothers rely on the ancient arts to help set things right.

Synopsis

Publishers Weekly

Favorite series and characters come to the fore this fall. As fans of Jeffrey Stone's Five Ancestors series might expect, the second book in his series, Monkey, takes up with Malao (which means "Monkey"), first introduced in his launch book, Tiger. This next installment retraces a bit of the same territory, leading up to the moment when the five orphans "scatter to the winds," and fills in the gaps of Malao's whereabouts while he and Fu ("Tiger") were separated in the previous novel. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Jeff Stone

Jeff Stone practices the martial arts daily. He has worked as a photographer, an editor, a maintenance man, a technical writer, a ballroom dance instructor, a concert promoter, and a marketing director for companies that design schools, libraries, and skateboard parks. Like the heroes of The Five Ancestors series, Mr. Stone was adopted when he was an infant. He began searching for his birthmother when he was 18; he found her 15 years later. The author lives with his wife and two children in Carmel, IN.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Children's Literature

Malao, an orphaned boy who was taught monkey-style kung fu in a monastery by an old mentor named the Grandmaster, finds himself on the run when an older, disenchanted monk returns and destroys the monastery and kills the Grandmaster. Determined to kill Malao and his four brothers, Ying, the older monk, now employed by the Emperor, has some devious designs for power and prestige, and Malao and his brothers must thwart him. This title in the "Five Ancestors" series follows Malao in both his quest to defeat Ying and his quest to discover his own heritage. As Malao and his brothers abandon the monastery following the destruction, they get separated, and Malao eventually finds himself in the middle of a battle between a band of thieves and an equally nefarious band of monkeys. Malao is attracted to the monkeys, as they seem familiar to him. He inevitably befriends a large, white monkey that helps him escape from the thieves and leads him to a village where he is reunited with his brother Fu. Together they battle Ying and his cohorts in a series of confrontations. These conflicts drive the story, but the interest comes in the forms of the brothers. They each possess an animal-like disposition that fits perfectly with the style of kung fu they have perfected. Malao is a monkey style fighter, which befits his playful, carefree personality. He is both chatty and quick, but very efficient as a fighter. Stone plays with these caricatures well and allows their personalities to infuse the action with wild abandon. We see that Fu is a tiger and that Seh, another brother, is a snake, in both their fighting styles as well as their personalities. As only the second book in a possible five-part series,this book solves little. In fact, the lack of any concrete resolution to any of the challenges the boys face is the one complaint I have about an otherwise enchanting little book. 2005, Random House, Ages 12 up.
—Tom Jones <%ISBN%>0375830731

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-Set in medieval China, each book in this series focuses on one of five young orphan monks. Each one is named after a specific animal and is learning a kung-fu-style martial art based on its characteristics. In the opening pages of Tiger and this sequel, their secret temple is attacked by a former student who is attempting to turn himself into a dragon. Their teacher, the Grandmaster, is killed and the five scatter into the forest. This sets up a tense plot that moves quickly from fight scene to fight scene with character and plot development being filled in between battles. Eleven-year-old Malao, the "Monkey," is the youngest monk and is prone to giggling and avoiding baths. Initially uncertain without his brothers by his side, he is befriended by an albino macaque who is the leader of a troop of monkeys. Human/animal interaction is a central theme of both books as is the idea of the "Chosen One" or, in this case, "Chosen Five." While both books begin at the same moment and then follow a separate character, their stories meet at points and the second book takes readers farther along in the narrative. Mysteries abound, with many left unresolved at the end. It is important to read this series in order. Stone has done a masterful job of managing an intricate plot, developing authentic characters, and writing well-described fight scenes. An easy and worthy sell to middle-grade readers.-Kathleen Meulen, Blakely Elementary School, Bainbridge Island, WA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The second in a projected set of interwoven kung-fu adventures revisits incidents from the previous episode, Tiger (p. 236), through the eyes of Malao ("Monkey" in Cantonese)-named after both the fighting style in which he's been trained, and his noisy, restless disposition. Here, he and fellow child monks in various combinations battle their renegade former leader Ying for possession of four scrolls containing mighty kung-fu secrets. Amid much treetop back and forth with a mysterious old macaque, Malao torments his companions with continual chaffing, while participating in hyper-complicated pranks and well-described battles marked by stunning physical feats; though the plot sometimes moves forward in fits and starts, action scenes are fast, furious and often comic. Stone tosses in hints of deeper intrigues, and closes with an inconclusive encounter with a powerful, super-fast new adversary. Stay tuned. Fine fare for fans of lower-budget martial arts films and graphic novels. (Fantasy. 10-12)