The Golden Monkey Mystery by Piu DasGupta

What worked:

The plot becomes an adventure when Roma encounters a rare golden monkey. She makes it her mission to return it to its home, but there are many complications to her plan. It’s first captured by bandits, sold, stolen again, and Roma eventually ends up in the middle of the jungle. She reluctantly joins forces with a young boy, but she knows his cousin will be a hindrance. Arabella is a privileged, spoiled foreigner with no helpful skills, so she’ll only make the quest more difficult. It takes all of Roma’s self-control to hold her tongue, although Arabella’s whining and slowness make that challenging.

Roma’s dream is to enter medical school, but women in India are not permitted to attend them. Nevertheless, Roma won’t give up, and she thinks returning the rare golden monkey to its Himalayan home may change the minds of some people. She displays the medical knowledge she’s gained as she encounters different problems. She saves the life of a boy when a king cobra is ready to strike, but she shares how she would have treated a snake bite anyway. She needs to avoid detection from a light sleeper, and she knows an herb that promotes deeper sleep. Becoming a doctor is important to Roma, as she’s sure she’ll be able to save the lives of many Indian women.

The illustrations are clever, and they’re an integral part of the story. The most uncommon thing about them is that they show different scenes depending on how they’re viewed. One picture might display events relevant to the text on that page, but looking at it upside down shows something totally different. Roma notices the same thing, and several inverted illustrations provide clues toward completing the quest. These unique pictures add an innovative twist to the story.

What didn’t work as well:

Some readers may want a more developed adventure, as Roma quickly resolves any issues. The whole story takes place over the course of one day, so more serious complications or description may have been warranted.

The final verdict:

This quick adventure can be enjoyed by all middle-grader readers. Its fast pace is easy to follow, and the Indian jungle may be new to many young readers. Overall, I recommend you give this book a shot.