Justin Bieber's Monkey & Gruen's Ape House

Justin Bieber has returned to Newsworthy Novels! Apparently, his pet monkey has been quarantined by German customs officials.

Here's last week's Der Spiegel article "Animal Lovers Blast Bieber for Pet Monkey:"

Teen star Justin Bieber should be separated for good from his pet monkey Mally, the German Animal Protection Society said on Wednesday, echoing criticism from the animal shelter that has been holding the 14-week-old male baby since it was confiscated by German customs officials last Thursday.

Mally, reportedly given to Bieber as a present for his 19th birthday on March 1, should be with its biological mother and kept in an environment appropriate for its species, the society said in a statement...

Another animal welfare group called Animal Public went further. "Mally is only 14 weeks old. Separating her from her mother and taking a living cuddly toy on tour can only be described as animal cruelty," said Laura Zimprich, spokeswoman for the group, in a statement...

"Monkeys aren't domestic pets," said Zimprich. "Taking a capuchin monkey from fellow members of its species and raising it by hand isn't appropriate in conservation. The animal will develop serious behavioral disorders."

For a novel that delves into the animal rights debate (and which features primates) , try Ape House by Sara Gruen (of Water for Elephants fame):

Sam, Bonzi, Lola, Mbongo, Jelani, and Makena are no ordinary apes. These bonobos, like others of their species, are capable of reason and carrying on deep relationships—but unlike most bonobos, they also know American Sign Language.

Isabel Duncan, a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab, doesn’t understand people, but animals she gets—especially the bonobos. Isabel feels more comfortable in their world than she’s ever felt among humans . . . until she meets John Thigpen, a very married reporter who braves the ever-present animal rights protesters outside the lab to see what’s really going on inside.

When an explosion rocks the lab, severely injuring Isabel and “liberating” the apes, John’s human interest piece turns into the story of a lifetime, one he’ll risk his career and his marriage to follow.

Then a reality TV show featuring the missing apes debuts under mysterious circumstances, and it immediately becomes the biggest—and unlikeliest—phenomenon in the history of modern media. Millions of fans are glued to their screens watching the apes order greasy take-out, have generous amounts of sex, and sign for Isabel to come get them.

Now, to save her family of apes from this parody of human life, Isabel must connect with her own kind...

Justin Bieber & Wayne's The Love Song of Jonny Valentine

Posts have been a tad heavy of late here at Newsworthy Novels, what with the Inquisition and sex trafficking and such. So how about some fluff for a change? Something a little light.

Well, you're in luck because Justin Bieber is all over the British press.  For example, here is yesterday's Daily Mail article "Justin Bieber slams critics in Twitter tirade before heading out on the town in London in bizarre gas mask:"

Justin Bieber has launched a Twitter tirade against his critics and told fans he is only judged by one power - God. The 19-year-old singer posted a series of messages to the social networking site speaking out about his partying, relationships and his religion. Justin denied allegations of his recent bad behaviour and said that he didn't have to answer to anyone and wrote: 'im only judged by one power, and i serve him.'... The singer, who was two hours late for his debut concert at the 02 arena, started his rant with the message: 'rumors rumors and more rumors. nothing more nothing less. might talk about them 1 day. rt now im just gonna be positive. cant bring me down'...Justin's rant comes after claims that the reason for Justin's tardiness on Monday was because he threw a 'massive tantrum'. According to backstage sources Justin was in a foul mood after waking up late because of a night out and the 'stroppy youngster locked himself in his dressing room to play computer games'.

(And no, I didn't know what "stroppy" meant either.)

You want a novel on what it's like to be one of the world's biggest pop stars before you're old enough to drive? Enter Teddy Wayne's The Love Song of Jonny Valentine:

Megastar Jonny Valentine, eleven-year-old icon of bubblegum pop, knows that the fans don’t love him for who he is. The talented singer’s image, voice, and even hairdo have been relentlessly packaged—by his L.A. label and his hard-partying manager-mother, Jane—into bite-size pabulum. But within the marketing machine, somewhere, Jonny is still a vulnerable little boy, perplexed by his budding sexuality and his heartthrob status, dependent on Jane, and endlessly searching for his absent father in Internet fan sites, lonely emails, and the crowds of faceless fans. Poignant, brilliant, and viciously funny, told through the eyes of one of the most unforgettable child narrators, this literary masterpiece explores with devastating insight and empathy the underbelly of success in 21st-century America.

What caught my eye about the Daily Mail story was that it mentions Twitter, video games, and Bieber trying to hide his face when he goes out, themes which all come up in the first few pages of Wayne's book.  And in an instance of life not sufficiently imitating art, Wayne's fictional teen idol has his Twitter account managed by his mother.

UPDATE:  some well-written, longer reviews of The Love Song of Jonny Valentine are available at The Literary Omnivore and bookreporter.