I don't remember where I first learned about John Scopes and the famous Monkey Trial in Tennessee about evolution vs. creationism. It probably showed up in a dull history class somewhere in the junior high period and I filed away the facts I needed to pass the immediate test and nothing more. I have seen Spenser Tracy's portrayal of Clarence Darrow in the famous court fight with William Jennings Bryan (there was a stirring clip in the Oscars Sunday night) and I have always considered it one of America's finer moments, even though Scopes lost. We learned something during that trial, as a nation, we thought about something and we changed. The nation changed.

Or so I thought.

I thought I knew what I needed to know about the Scopes trial and I've never been that interested in learning more. And then I saw Ronald Kidd's Monkey Town in a Simon and Schuster catalog and was intrigued by the historical fiction idea for YAs and also the sweet hint of school girl crush that Kidd suggests in his story. What I was not prepared for was the massive amount of truth that Kidd has injected into his tale of small town politics. I also didn't think I would fall for HL Mencken, but Kidd got me with the famous newspaperman too - he got me with so many things about this trial that I'm still thinking about it and shaking my head in wonder.

In Kidd's book, which is based on tons of research and interviews with folks who were there during the trial, readers learn that the whole deal was largely a publicity stunt dreamed up by the town fathers to bring outsiders to Dayton, TN. John Scopes really was a teacher but he wasn't a science teacher - he just subbed in that class for a brief period and taught from the state mandated textbook which included evolution. He went along with the idea of challenging the new state law against evolution in the classroom because he thought it would be good for the town to get newspapermen to come and cover the trial. He never expected to be at the center of a carnival and once it started, he quickly realized that he had no hope (no one had any hope) of stopping it.

Monkey Town's narrator is Frances, whose father owns the drugstore and is critically involved in the plan. She finds herself questioning everything about her life during the trial, from what her father stands for to the truth about the Bible and the strengths of her childhood friendships. She's a deep thinker and not one to back away from a fight - I really liked Frances a lot and the more she tried to get to the bottom of the events swirling around her, the more I became attached to her story.

I can not believe that I have learned so many critical details about one of the most important trials in American history from a young adult novel - and I say this as someone with a degree in American History. Kidd has done an outstanding job of writing about a subject that matters more and more with each passing minute, while keeping his history firmly grounded in the stories of the people caught up in larger events they can not control. He gives his readers a lot to think about with this book, and I look forward to reviewing it this Spring.

Speaking of reviews - new issue of Bookslut up with tons of cool stuff. I have an interview with Hyder Akbar on Come Back to Afghanistan, review of Year of the Comets and De kooning's Bicycle and a column on new fantasy titles for YAs. I have read all the other columns so far and there is some wicked cool stuff - especially a rundown of the James A. Tiptree award and a second look at Hesparus Press. There's also a great review of Michelle Tea's new novel in the Girl Interrupted column.

All in all it looks to be another stellar issue. Check it out - all the cool kids get their book news there!