Kathryn Erskine (Children's Literature)
In this sensitive story of one girl's summer during World War II, readers will learn about love and loss and friendship. Young Celie becomes the proud owner of Charley the monkey and is kept busy trying to anticipate and rectify all of Charley's antics. At the same time, she meets the rather annoying Joey, who has been sent to live with his stern grandmother next door. Eventually, begrudgingly, Celie becomes friends with Joey and they share their fears and hopes against the backdrop of war. Joey accompanies Celie on a clandestine trip to the city to try to find Celie's recalcitrant brother who has run away from home, presumably to sign up for active duty. Meanwhile, Joey's family is undergoing its own trauma as his father is missing in action in the Pacific. As Charley becomes more uncontrollable, Celie realizes that a wild animal cannot be kept as a family pet, and must face giving him up. This is the only part of the novel that falls flat, since the relationship between Celie and her monkey is not nearly as compelling as her relationship with Joey or the other members of her family. Still, readers most likely will be able to identify with the pain of giving up a pet. They undoubtedly will enjoy this convincing, realistic view of a summer while their country was at war. 2004, Farrar Straus and Giroux, $16.00. Ages 8 to 12.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 14))
Celie's strong 12-year-old voice focuses the semi-omniscient third-person narrative, eloquently revealing her attitudes about the severe 1943 Gloucester, Massachusetts, community spirit, which is much too serious for the kind of childhood her Dad thinks his children need. He brings home a rhesus monkey. Celie's pure delight with the wild animal she names Charley is hardly dampened by Mom's realistic wet blanket; the monkey's well-being requires specialized habitat and care, complicated by limited time and resources in their home due to sacrifices to support the war. It's not the "I-told-you-so" parental point of view that guides the plot, but Celie's inner adventurousness, heretofore never explored, that will delight readership, as she learns to make friends with an unlikely chap, from her way of thinking, reaches out to help her brother, despite their rivalry, and puts the welfare of Charley above her heart's desire. Though it's obvious what Charley's destiny will be, the charm of a young girl exploring the Massachusetts coast and exploring life farther than she has ever done is evoked in historical details and veridical characters. No monkey business about it. 2004, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 176p, $16.00. Category: Fiction. Ages 9 to 12. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Timnah Card (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October 2004 (Vol. 58, No. 2))
In the summer of 1943, Celie's dad brings home Charley, a rhesus monkey. No one in their tiny town has ever had a monkey for a pet, but twelve-year-old Celie needs something to hold on to--especially now, when the war has begun to take local boys and men, who return home only when they're damaged or dead. Partial deafness has kept her father home, but her older brother, Ben, plans to join up next year when he turns eighteen. When her mother signs on to work in the factory, filling in for the men gone to fight, Celie needs Charley more than ever. Her mom, on the other hand, thinks Joey Bentley is a better companion for Celie--a gentle, well-read boy, thirteen-year-old Joey is staying with his grandmother while his dad fights in the South Pacific and his mom goes to school to be a mechanic. Though initially opposed to friendship with a boy who doesn't know how to climb a tree, Celie grows to like Joey and even depend on him for help with the increasingly aggressive Charley. Wartime slogans and billboards--"Hitler smiles when you waste miles"; "Every time you decide NOT to buy something, you help win the war"--combined with the regular air-raid drills and rationing (and the death of Joey's father in battle) help convey the period realities that underpin the fears Celie has for herself and her family, fears that cause her to cling to Charley. The societal push for personal sacrifice for the greater good makes poignant Celie's final decision to give Charley to the local zoo, where he can receive better care than she can provide. Humorous episodes provided by the monkey's antics and Celie's sledgehammer-like personality balance the dark themes of wartime danger and sacrifice, and the combination of animal story and historical novel broadens the potential readership, making this book a good choice for middle-schoolers approaching historical fiction for the first time. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Farrar, 165p, $16.00. Grades 4-6.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2005)
Celie's best friend has moved away, and her family is entrenched in various war-at-home (its 1943) projects. Lonely, Celie befriends a visiting neighbor and spends the summer caring for a monkey her father brought home. Characterization is sacrificed for an overabundance of plot lines. However, the problems with keeping a wild animal are well-portrayed, and Celie's struggles in this arena are intriguing. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2004, Farrar, 165pp, 16.00. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.