Push Monkey’s protagonist is a charming 17 year old spitfire called Sunny, who decides to travel around working Renaissance festivals with a group of other “Push Monkeys”, people who push the human powered rides. I wanted to read this book because the setting of working at Ren Fairs appealed to me, and on that count it definitely delivers an insiders look into Ren Fair subculture. Because most of the book is in the “voice” of Sunny, Push Monkey reads like a YA novel - which isn’t necessarily bad, just not what I expected. There are definitely some dark parts which take it out of the YA realm (for example, Sunny hooking up with someone in their 30s like that is not a gross predatory thing, there is also a sexual assault scene, but at least that was treated like the violation that it was), but I think Push Monkey would be most enjoyed by people who are fans of YA and also interested in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes of traveling Ren Fair workers. At times the narrative meanders, but the details of the subculture are interesting enough to keep a reader wanting to know more. One small issue that I have: the back cover of the book mentions Sunny’s father’s arrival at the fair, but this doesn’t happen until about 90% of the way through the book. Overall I enjoyed reading Push Monkey, but more because of the setting that the narrative or writing itself.
