Books with title Summer of the Monkeys

Drawing from his teenage years, Todd Strasser's novel revisits a tumultuous era and takes listeners on a psychedelically tinged trip of a lifetime. With his girlfriend, Robin, away in Canada, 18-year-old Lucas Baker's only plans for the summer are to mellow out with his friends, smoke weed, drop a tab or two, and head out in his microbus for a three-day happening called the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. But life veers dramatically off track when he suddenly finds himself in danger of being drafted and sent to fight in Vietnam. If that isn't heavy enough, there's also the free-loving (and undeniably alluring) Tinsley, who seems determined to test Lucas' resolve to stay faithful to Robin; a frighteningly bad trip at a Led Zeppelin concert; a run-in with an angry motorcycle gang; parents who appear headed for a divorce; and a friend on the front lines in 'Nam who's in mortal danger of not making it back. As the pressures grow, it's not long before Lucas finds himself knocked so far down, it's starting to look like up to him. When tuning in, turning on, and dropping out is no longer enough, what else is there?

Twelve-year-old May is living in a desolate situation with only her grandmother, who is depressed about the absence of May’s mother, and her father, who works long hours and is almost never around. Due to her circumstance and her resentment over having to live in a low-income neighborhood, May often finds herself picking fights and getting into trouble. But when May is caught graffiti-ing her least favorite teacher’s classroom, she is faced with a choice: expulsion or one-on-one summer school with the teacher she most detests. Begrudgingly, May chooses summer school and ultimately learns that her teacher has a secret past - and might just hold the key to answers no one else will give May about her mother.

When seven-year-old Gregory finds out that he has to spend the summer at his Grandfather's farm, he is not happy about leaving his friends in the city and all the plans they have made. But he soon becomes enchanted by life in the country: the animals, the river, and the vast fields of wheat. As the days pass, Gregory also learns many lessons about life and family. Set in a world that is vastly different from today, adults can take a humorous trip down memory lane as they experience Gregory's many adventures. And children will learn what things were like in a time not so long ago.