My 10-year-old and I listened to this title on CD and found it well written, interesting and informative about the circumstances surrounding the Scopes Monkey Trial. The protagonist, 15-year-old Frances Robinson, is based on a friend's forebear who lived through the trial in Dayton, Tennessee when she was 8. The author characterizes John Scopes as a willing participant in Frances's father's publicity stunt--arresting Scopes for teaching evolution (part of the state-distributed textbook). The big boys arrive, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, and H.L. Mencken--all of whom are clearly delineated, Mencken most lovingly in his irascibility.

Of course, Frances comes of age amid the trial, realizing that Scopes is an unlikely crush and that her father and his cronies are mortal. Of course, the guilty verdict seemed a surprise to both listeners, even when the older of us knew the outcome in advance. There are some threats of violence (townspeople want to lynch Mencken for disparaging Dayton & its residents), implications of hanky-panky (when Scopes's opponents pay a woman to kiss Scopes while a photographer takes incriminating pictures), and perhaps a less flattering depiction of Bryan, all of which makes for a fine read.

As always, the students will tell. ( )

My 10-year-old and I listened to this title on CD and found it well written, interesting and informative about the circumstances surrounding the Scopes Monkey Trial. The protagonist, 15-year-old Frances Robinson, is based on a friend's forebear who lived through the trial in Dayton, Tennessee when she was 8. The author characterizes John Scopes as a willing participant in Frances's father's publicity stunt--arresting Scopes for teaching evolution (part of the state-distributed textbook). The big boys arrive, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, and H.L. Mencken--all of whom are clearly delineated, Mencken most lovingly in his irascibility.

Of course, Frances comes of age amid the trial, realizing that Scopes is an unlikely crush and that her father and his cronies are mortal. Of course, the guilty verdict seemed a surprise to both listeners, even when the older of us knew the outcome in advance. There are some threats of violence (townspeople want to lynch Mencken for disparaging Dayton & its residents), implications of hanky-panky (when Scopes's opponents pay a woman to kiss Scopes while a photographer takes incriminating pictures), and perhaps a less flattering depiction of Bryan, all of which makes for a fine read.

As always, the students will tell. ( )

A curious take on a pivotal event in american history. Before reading this book, I didn't realize just how much of this trial was a complete publicity stunt. So, while enjoying this story, I actually learned something in the process. Always a plus! ( )

Fifteen year-old Frances Robinson's world is turned upside down when her teacher and crush, John Scopes, is charged with teaching evolution as part of a scheme orchestrated by her father to bring publicity to Dayon, Tennessee. The controversy that erupts and the people the trial brings to town, such as H.L. Mencken, Clarence Darrow, and William Jennings Bryan, cause her to rethink her worldview and reexamine her relationship with her father.
Monkey Town does a better job of tying historical events in with an exciting, interesting plot, and a protagonist who makes a difference in the story, rather than just observing events as is often the case in historical fiction. Frances is integral to the story, most obviously when she convinces her neighbors not to attack H.L. Mencken.

Frances spends the summer working at her dad's drug store and rubbing elbows with all those involved in the Scopes Trial during 1925. After Frances' father decides it'll bring a lot of publicity to bring a trial about teaching evolution to Dayton, TN, Frances starts to question what she's always been taught about religion and her dad after the Scopes Monkey Trial begins in her town. ( )