Book Review: The Monkey who fell from the future by Ross Welford

How do you feel if you swap your place with the future? It will be thrilling to live in the future of your life. However, there are possibilities of having your future circumstances be quite different. Ross Welford highlights this theme in the story by using a combination of thriller and comedy. The author targets readers belonging to the 9 and above age groups.

The story begins with the year 2425 when digital technology vanished completely from the Earth after it was hit by a meteorite. The space-borne virus which came along with the meteorite causes infertility among humans and only those who are immune to this germ can continue life on Earth. Ocean Mooney, one of the lead characters in the story belongs to the year 2425 and lives by selling fish in the market. One day, she saw a boy putting up posters about a fish fair which boasted about the items of the Wonder age - computers, silicon chips, microwaves, TVs and technology related to films etc put on the offer. This incident will have a great impact on Ocean as she never comes to know that she will be transported back to the Wonder Age (2023).

Now the author terms the 20th century as the Wonder Age due to various advancements in technology and other incredible stuff invented and used by the people. Now, we are introduced to the two main characters Thomas and his genius cousin Kylie. One can relate to Kylie who is smart and thirsts to invent new interesting gadgets which aid society in a better way. Kylie visits Thomas and his parents before she attends a prestigious institution for a genius like herself. Thomas on the other hand doesn’t like Kylie for her strange scientific knowledge especially about time travel as he doesn’t understand it. There are many incidents which drive Thomas to dislike Kylie. However, the cousins don't know that the invention of the time tablet changed their lives.

Kylie designs her time tablet which aids her to communicate with the people living in the future. They are invited to the popular show Andy and Des to showcase their invention. On the other hand, Ocean and her pet monkey Pierre visit the fair. Due to some accidents and bad weather, the fair caught fire and destroyed all the items displayed there. Following the tragic circumstances Ocean and the other characters travel to Culvercot where they visit Thomas’s uninhabited home. They discover the time tablet which is buried in the garden of the house. The story reaches the climax when Ocean turns on the time tablet. At the same time, the tablet malfunctions at the show which results in unexpected scenarios - Pierre and Ocean are transported to the year 2023 whereas Kylie and Thomas are transported to 2425.

The author throws a central argument in the story through Kylie. Though Kylie is portrayed to be a genius and believes in science and its discoveries, she doesn’t have a strong base on how there are many future possibilities or one has many futures when her cousin Thomas questions her regarding it. Thomas also expresses his inability to grasp or is confused why Kylie invented the Tablet in the first place if she doesn’t want to know the future of her life. This is something the readers should ponder about it.

The rest of the story revolves around the hilarious and thrilling adventures of key characters on a mission of coming back to their places within 48 hours and saving the future of humanity. Finally, it's a very hilarious and thrilling adventure on time travel for the readers.