Surf Monkeys

Choose Your Own Adventure #131

by Jay Leibold, Ron Wing (Illustrator)

While surfing in California, a surfer disappears and the reader must investigate the disappearance, a search that leads to a gang called the Surf Monkeys

Genres: Choose Your Own Adventure, Childrens, Adventure

118 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Pseudonym used by Jay Montavon. Author of fifteen books in the original Choose Your Own Adventure series, including the five-book "Secret of the Ninja" saga.

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I met Jay Leibold, Surf Monkeys is among his Choose Your Own Adventures I would inquire about. In the Dedication and About the Author sections, he mentions a surfer girl named Pat Reed as the impetus for this book. Are its events based on something that happened to her, or just on her general advocacy for health of the oceans? I'd be curious to find out. You are from Indiana, but have maneuvered into spending the summer with your uncle Dave on the California coast. You made a friend named Jorge at Surfer's Cove who taught you to ride the waves, and already you're proficient. One day when Jorge doesn't appear at the Cove, you're horrified to see his surfboard wash up with a shark bite in it. You suspect foul play rather than a real shark attack, and wonder if the Surf Monkeys, a group of young surfers, knows anything about Jorge's whereabouts. Will you join them to access information, or are you better off looking for Jorge by yourself?

The Surf Monkeys, led by a guy named Carlos, are all about two things: surfing the day away, and guarding the ocean from threats such as the oil rig recently erected near a fault line in the water. This has them nervous and bothered Jorge as well, but is it connected to his disappearance? To join the Surf Monkeys you'll face a stiff initiation challenge, which means either riding a huge broken-down roller coaster or shooting a dangerous pier on your board, both in the dark of night. You might find your first lead on Jorge when a drunken man threatens you outside a tavern called the Oiled Gull, but your big break comes when you overhear Carlos and the guys heatedly discussing Jorge. Seemingly afraid of legal repercussions, Carlos wants to skip town awhile and go surfing in Baja, Mexico, but is it wise to tag along so you can find out more? Maybe Jorge is much closer to the Cove than you know. You may be better off letting the Surf Monkeys leave and continuing to search on your own. If you meet a recluse named Earthquake Joe, he'll tell you a major quake is about to hit the Cove and could cause environmental disaster if the oil rig doesn't hold up. You have to locate Jorge before the earthquake, but where is he?

Decide against joining the Surf Monkeys in the first place, and you know you'll have to turn up a lead shortly or go to the police. Jorge's immigration status is a big question and you don't wish to get him in trouble, but you're not about to let him vanish without a word of protest. Scanning a shortwave radio, you catch a suspicious transmission between the oil rig—codename Alpha Yankee—and the Polar Bear, a tanker ship set to sail for Alaska. The police could help, but will they lend a hand to a kid like Jorge, mixed up in sabotage accusations from an oil company? Maybe you should seek help from the Surf Monkeys, who evidently knew Jorge well and are opposed to the oil rig on principle. If Jorge is in danger, can you and the Surf Monkeys get him to safety? Your friend's well-being is a priority, but you're worried about the oil rig as reports firm up that an earthquake is coming. If the rig cracks under that stress, the ocean could flood with oil for years.

With only nine endings, Surf Monkeys is a deeper dive and better written than most Choose Your Own Adventures, but doesn't quite succeed as a compelling mystery. The reason for Jorge's disappearance is hard to swallow; resentment toward an accused saboteur is understandable, but why risk kidnapping charges when all you have to do is file complaint with a police department that has already shown sympathy to the rig workers? The premise doesn't compute, which is a shame because a lot of Surf Monkeys is good. Jay Leibold demonstrates a skillful writing touch and keeps the story from wandering too far into politics. Ron Wing contributes outstanding illustrations, especially his depictions of surf life on the Cove. I'll rate this book one and a half stars, but it could have gone higher were the kinks ironed out.

[howie · Rating 5 out of 5]

now this is high art, nothing like a choose your own adventure book

[Ivy]

This is not a gamebook. This is a novella with multiple, very similar endings masquerading as a CYOA by asking the reader to flip around the book to follow the story and presenting eight whopping choices overall in the 125 page book (and not to compare to the super good CYOA Cave of Time but… nine endings???). This is like when Clue 1985 had 4 theatrical endings and nothing really mattered which is fun but like, this is a very poor attempt at the form. Like it’s not good quality. If I were a kid who was like, wow, I love CYOA because I have so much agency in my little 9yr old self!! And Surf Monkeys was presented to me? I’d be mad. I’d say give me an actual CYOA. And that’s my scathing review

[Colton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavily inspired/ripped off from the plot of Point Break, which came out a year before this. I liked the setting and environmental themes. The problem is that this really should have just been a straightforward book about a teen surfer rescuing his friend from a dangerous oil rig. Every plot thread just amounts to a slight variation on the same theme. This story doesn't take advantage of the CYOA formula productively, and thus feels repetitive and boring. The whole book feels frustratingly limited. It's a shame, because the premise (though unoriginal) is cool, but the execution left me confused as to why the author didn't do more with the story.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son and I both enjoyed the unique format of a choose your own adventure book. However after one of his early choices ended abruptly in death, my son started to feel pressure to pick the “right” choice. In addition, the themes in this book felt a little advanced for my Kindergartner; we read it because I don’t like to discourage him from picking up and reading books he finds at the little free library unless they are clearly out of his age range. He’s been introduced to such a variety this way, and I hope it helps him stay a lifelong reader!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let the record show that my character died a horrible, yet fantastic, death. On top of that, his friend is still missing. Honestly, I'm really bad at making choices that will actually lead me to my goal. It's a good thing that my real life is kind of boring, I don't think I could make choices like this in my actual life.

Author: Jay Leibold
Publisher: Skylark
Publication Date: 1992

[JKR · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story flow of this book is rather awkward, especially in the beginning, where you alternate between worrying about a missing friend (perhaps killed by a shark while surfing) and just ... surfing.