MERCY ON THESE TEENAGE CHIMPS
Gary Soto
Harcourt Children's Books
Fiction
Hardcover: 0152060227
Paperback: 9780152062156
156 pages

Biology is a tricky thing, especially at 13. Just as we get to that age where we're figuring ourselves out and we exhibit some control over who we are, we go through a volcanic eruption and all the rules change. Our bodies rebel, our brainwaves scatter…and it's hard not to feel like someone --- or something --- else.

Ronnie Gonzalez and his best friend, Joey Rios, have just turned 13. As if their lives weren't already fraught with hardship, this magical new age brings with it a curious side effect: they have become chimps. At least that is how they perceive themselves (and how they believe they are perceived by others). Strange hair forms on their bodies, their eating habits go ape (pun intended) and their wild behavior begins to attract more attention than usual, often leading to the simian comparison.

It is a burst of this feral energy --- Joey scales walls and rafters at school to retrieve a balloon for a girl he likes --- that causes the boys' coach to chew out Joey and send the young man into a depression. Joey climbs up into a tree at home and resolves never to come down. Ronnie, who understands the value of friendship and asserts that he owes it to his brother-in-chimpdom, goes on a journey to find the girl Joey likes, believing that she alone can coax Joey out of the tree.

Like any good quest, Ronnie meets an assortment of quirky characters, some who help him along the path, others who offer obstacles to his goal. It is here where Gary Soto shines, crafting the heart and soul of the book through Ronnie's interaction with these people. While each flirts with being a caricature, Soto masterfully lends each a twist that prevents them from becoming so familiar as to be cardboard cutouts.

MERCY ON THESE TEENAGE CHIMPS is a fun, fast read that offers an amusing glimpse at that awkward age when the body and mind rebel and no one quite feels like themselves anymore. The good news Soto imparts: you adapt to the new body, you make peace with the new brainwaves, and you move on. And everything turns out fine.

   --- Reviewed by Brian Farrey (emohawk@comcast.net).

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