Fifteen-year-old Eddie Hall [protagonist of The Ape Inside Me] seems unable to control his temper. Plagued, in addition, by frustrations at home and a lack of self-confidence, he invents a macho alter ego (Kong) to which he assigns blame for the numerous fights he always getting into. Platt casts Eddie as surprisingly likable and uncomplicated, despite his volatility, and Eddie's struggles to gain control of his temper (which he eventually does) will strike a responsive chord among teenagers facing their own individual growing pains. Those in search of the "realistic" stuff of Platt's earlier books won't find it here. What teenagers will find, however, is a simply written, positive story with an obvious, but not too overbearing, message—an appealing combination especially for reluctant readers.

A review of "The Ape Inside Me," in Booklist (reprinted by permission of the American Library Association; copyright © 1980 by the American Library Association...