The Girl With No Name

January 14, 2013
Chapman tells the harrowing story of her being stolen from her home in Columbia in 1954 at the young age of four by unknown assailants and dropped in the woods to fend for herself. She found comfort and family among a group of monkeys, whose land she happened to stumble upon. The jungle, being an unforgiving place, forced Chapman to learn the ropes quickly, and she found solace in belonging to a group, regardless of species. In fact, as time progressed, she became more comfortable as a monkey than as a human, even being shunned by the indigenous people in the South American jungle. Throughout her time spent in the forest, Chapman learned an important lesson about belonging; “Family is not just about who you appear to belong to... or who you look like... is found anywhere you are loved and cared for.” Unfortunately, this lesson was demonstrated again and again, as one day the little girl was taken from the jungle and began a more difficult life trying to survive the dangers of a “people’s world.” Sold to a brothel, only to run away and become a street-hustler, then later staying with an abusive Mafioso family, life was not easy for the girl of many names, until finally one woman took pity on her and offered her to a better life. This book, which is as much a memoir about the importance of classification and belonging as it is about the endurance of the human spirit, will be enjoyed by those looking for a story of perseverance through even the greatest obstacles life brings.

January 15, 2013
The improbable story of how Chapman was kidnapped from her rural Colombian village at the age of 5 and abandoned in the jungle. According to the tale, pieced together by her daughter, Vanessa James, Chapman adopted monkey ways--eating what they ate, climbing trees and mimicking their calls--until five years later, when she connected with some hunters in the hopes of being returned to her family. Instead, she was left in a brothel on the outskirts of the nearby city. There she was kept in semislavery as a house servant. Gradually, she relearned Spanish and the rudiments of civilized life. Escaping, she fell in with other homeless children and was ultimately taken in by a brutal Mafia family, where she was again reduced to servitude. The book ends when the author, around the age of 14, was rescued by a neighbor's daughter, who offered her a real home in another town. Although ostensibly written as a first-person account by Chapman, the preface by James and the epilogue by novelist Barrett-Lee (One Day, Someday, 2003, etc.) provide a different picture. James explains how she was intrigued by her mother's stories about life among the monkeys and also by the oddity of her own upbringing--for example, having to sit and howl at her mother's feet before being fed. She decided "to piece together mum's tangled memories" about the "magical world" living in the jungle with a tribe of monkeys and the life of a Colombian street child, characterized by "kidnappings, abductions, drugs, crime, murder and child abuse." Barrett-Lee admits that she was given "a huge, unwieldy document" to work with, which she then scripted. An intriguing adventure story that often doesn't ring true. Caveat emptor.

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 15, 2013
Torn from her family at the tender age of four and abandoned in the Colombian jungle, Chapman must fight to survive. This remarkable memoir, coauthored by Barrett-Lee, is based on years of Chapman's conversations about her brutal childhood with her daughter. Her first few, horrifying days in the jungle are presented in vivid detail, as is the troop of capuchin monkeys with which she found refuge and a sense of community over the years. When she casts her lot with hunters who sell her into slavery, her unfamiliarity with basic human concepts is heartbreaking in its entirety. Fortunately, her monkey upbringing has surprising intersections with the talents of a street kid. A well-paced, cliffhanger approach to telling the story makes for a riveting narrative. Chapman's struggles, no matter how outrageous, are made relatable through the deft descriptions of her thoughts and feelings. A constant theme throughout is her strong desire to be someone. Thrilling, upsetting, and powerful, this memoir is a coming-of-age tale like no other.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)