Do You Know the Monkey Man? : A Novel

What happens when everything you thought was true about your life turns out to be a lie?Thirteen-year-old T.J. always believed that her twin sister and her mother were dead—because that's what her father had told her. But Mom and Sam are very much alive. And now they want T.J. to be part of their family.Life with Joe, her troubled but well-intentioned father, is all T.J. has ever known. Joe's erratic lifestyle has meant lying to social workers and searching through garbage cans for food. But T.J. loves him and the grandmother who has provided stability in her life.When T.J. reluctantly visits her mom and Sam for the first time, she is stunned by how similar she is to her twin sister in many ways, even though their lives have been very different. But while she is drawn to her new family, she is also wary of becoming attached to them and hurting her father's feelings. When Joe suffers a debilitating accident and tries to ensnare T.J. in another web of lies, however, her loyalties are finally tested. Now she must confront the truth about her family, even if it hurts the people she loves.In this thought-provoking companion to the popular Do You Know the Monkey Man?, author Dori Hillestad Butler has created a highly readable, complex portrait of a family in crisis. Her skillful portrayal of T.J., a conflicted adolescent struggling with her identity and reacting to family pressures, will resonate with readers. Samantha’s quest to answer her questions about her past sets in motion a chain of events that will change her life forever For thirteen-year-old Samantha, life consists of too many unanswered questions. Why has her father not tried to contact her all these years? How could he have allowed her twin sister to drown in Clearwater Quarry when they were only toddlers? And how can Samantha’s mother expect her to accept some man she hardly knows as her new father? Samantha already has a father out there. Somewhere. A fateful decision sets into motion a chain of events and confrontations that will change Samantha’s and her family’s lives forever. As she sets out to find her father and discover what really happened the day her sister was presumed drowned, she uncovers painful secrets that threaten to destroy her family all over again. Readers will be drawn into Dori Butler’s dramatic, suspenseful, and sensitive story of one family’s crisis unwittingly brought on by an adolescent girl’s search for the truth. What happens when everything you thought was true about your life turns out to be a lie? Thirteen-year-old T. J. always believed that her twin sister and her mother were deadbecause thats what her father had told her. But Mom and Sam are very much alive. And now they want T. J. to be part of their family. When T. J. reluctantly visits her mom and Sam for the first time, she is stunned by how similar she is to her twin sister, even though their lives have been very different. But while she is drawn to her new family, she is also wary of becoming attached to them and hurting her fathers feelings. Then when her father suffers a debilitating accident and tries to ensnare T. J. in another web of lies, her loyalties are finally tested. In this thought-provoking companion to Do You Know the Monkey Man?, Dori Hillestad Butler creates a complex portrait of a family in crisis. Her skillful portrayal of T. J., a conflicted adolescent struggling with her identity, will resonate with readers. When Samantha was three, her twin sister died, her parents divorced, and her father left. Sam's life has never been the same. Now that she's thirteen, Sam can't stop wondering about her past. Why hasn't her father tried to contact her all these years? How could he have allowed Sarah to drown? And how can her mother expect her to accept some man she hardly knows as her new father? Samantha already has a father out there. Somewhere. A fateful decision sets into motion a chain of events and confrontations that will change Samantha's and her family's lives forever. As she sets out to find her father and discover what really happened the day her sister drowned, she uncovers painful secrets that threaten to destroy her family all over again. Dori Hillestad Butler's sensitive story draws readers into a suspenseful mystery about a flawed but loving family trying to heal. Cover; Title Page; Dedication; Acknowledgments; Contents; Chapter One; Chapter Two; Chapter Three; Chapter Four; Chapter Five; Chapter Six; Chapter Seven; Chapter Eight; Chapter Nine; Chapter Ten; Chapter Eleven; Chapter Twelve; Chapter Thirteen; Chapter Fourteen; Chapter Fifteen; Chapter Sixteen; Chapter Seventeen; Chapter Eighteen; Chapter Nineteen; Chapter Twenty; Chapter Twenty-One; About the Author For 13 year old Samatha,life consists of too many unanswered questions. Why as her father not tried to contact her all these years? How could he have allowed her twin sister to drown in the old Clearwater quarry when they were only three? And how can Samatha's mother expect her to accept some man she hardly knows as her new father? Samatha already has a father out there. Somewhere. Thirteen-year-old TJ tries to cope with the emotional upheaval in her life when the father who kidnapped her ten years earlier and raised her under a different identity is injured, and she goes to visit her recently-discovered twin sister, mother, and future stepfather. While Searching For The Father Who Left Her And Her Mother Ten Years Ago, Thirteen-year-old Samantha Begins To Believe That The Twin Sister Who Supposedly Died When They Were Three Years Old Is Still Alive.