The Incredible True Story of a Child Raised by Monkeys [Paperback]

This book is such a fantastic history of an incredibly unusual childhood. It does a wonderful job of painting the picture and breaks your heart when you read of the experiences this young girl has. While I don’t know that I’d read it again, I am so glad I read it once!

This book is amazing! It captured my attention from the very first page! The Girl With No Name weaves a tale of sadness, determination, cruelty and the human need to belong and to be loved. I definitely recommend this true story to anyone interested in hardship and survival.

The description of life with the monkeys makes this story stand out as a plea for greater respect and protection of wild animals who demonstrate more kindness than do many humans. I would have liked to learn more of Luz Marina,s life after she received her new name.

This is an amazing story. The intelligence and adaptability of this young child is beyond measure. Her eye for detail and resourcefulness for a child so young gives new meaning to what children are capable of. I'm so very glad she found her friend, and her friends daughter, and lived to share her story and to actually find love. I look forward to the next book.

How endearing how after a while the monkeys took care of the little lost girl and she considerd them to be her family. She almost became a monkey herself by learning to climb the trees of the jungle and being able to spend time in the canopy.
Afterwards she encountered humans and felt drawn to them, but was treated miserably until she finally found a caring lady that led her the way to a better life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful rendition. Mariana had the most interesting and heartbreaking life. With no one to love or care for her,she managed to survive all kinds of hardships and come out strong on the other end. A most rewarding read.

Unbelievable. Sad, but happy ending. What a life for such a young child. Marina I am glad you had the story told. I just wish we knew where you came from. Reading kept me up most nights w as noting to know that you were safe. God Bless

The book brings out an incredible story. There are deep feelings involved and the author did a great job of portraying emotions. I loved the parts where the girl worked so hard to make something better of herself. I hated the parts where mankind proved such a disappointment. The book made me think and feel and laugh and cry.

An incredible story of a little five-year-old girl who was kidnapped and left alone in a jungle in Columbia, South America. She learned to survive by joining a bunch of monkeys. After she was rescued, she was put into worse circumstances than being in the jungle. A remarkable book.

This is an extremely fascinating story of a child that survived many horrific situations, starvation, poisoning, thirst, biting stinging insects, prowling animals, loneliness, falls, and worst of all, HUMANS. Even though I hate that it happened to you, thank you Marina for sharing. This part is hard for me to say because it is so cliché but 'I couldn't put it down'.

This was an incredible, powerful, sad and yet heartening story of growing up without personhood, without language, ignorant of anything approaching humanness, and then being tossed into some of the worst human environments imaginable. Luz Marina, as she eventually chooses to be known displays a cunning survival intelligence, learned from her life with animals and beastly humans, and yet retains the capacity to love and be loved. A must read.

Started reading hoping it would be a good book. After I started I couldn't put it down. Very well written and kept me wanting to know what else would happen. Looking forward to know what happened in the other half of the story.

Thought provoking. The trials she went through and memories she was able to share are very interesting. Scary at times. I am glad she was able to live a better life as she got older. I am glad she didn't lose her spunk.

Said to be non-fiction, there are enough holes in the story to sway me to the rumor that it's fiction. However, there's a lot of food for thought here. Who doesn't love a raised-by-wild-animals story? Very engaging.

An excellent read that makes you focus on the life of one little girl caught in the evil of human trafficking. You only need to multiply the heartache of this one into the thousands of lives lost into this horrible evil. This little girl was exceptionally resourceful and the story so clearly reveals the inner thoughts of her mind as she experiences life like no other person you will know.

Unbelievable that a child could survive in the forest by herself! It was interesting how she did it. I don't think I ever heard of anything like this before. I would have like to read about her growing up in her adopted family.

A delightful story, it sounds almost too far fetched to have actually happened, either way I really enjoyed it. I had a wonderful childhood, the only thing I would change is a sixty foot fall at 14 years of age, no broken bones. I'm looking forward to the next book. H Sewell, Clarkrange, TN.

I found the book fascinating and heartbreaking. I agreed with the ghost writer about the stopping point for this book and would love to read the next installment. I plan to recommend this to my book club.

Loved this book, this incredible story. So amazing is the human spirit, when faced with abject poverty and desolation, to find a glimmer of hope when all seems hopeless. And especially a child who had little life experience, could survive and then thrive when she finally found home and security.

What an excellent job everyone did in putting this story together! What a harsh life this tiny child survived and not only survived but ended up having a real and fulfilling life filled with love! ?

Incredibly difficult to fathom how such a young girl could survive a single night in such intense surroundings let alone successfully infiltrate a family of monkeys. This family was kinder, gentler and more humane than their human counterparts with which she spent the latter part of her adolescence. She is truly remarkable!

I believe her unique life has given her the ability to share a poignant view of the world. With her readers as well as her children.
Also, this had good grammar and spelling so I did not feel like I was reading a failed high school paper(sadly, this is fairly fare in the last few years).

This book was interesting--I didn't really know if it was fiction or a true story until I saw the photos at the end (I read it on my Kindle and the photos were at the end of the book). There were some plot lines that I didn't follow very well--they seemed to be inconsistent, but after I realized that it was a true story, I realized that her memories were probably also chaotic.

Fascinating story of a very young child's determination to survive.
Kidnapped and abandoned in the jungle, she observes the monkeys and cleverly adopts their way of life.
When about ten years old she is returned to civilization. She is clever, devious and resourceful as she escapes from multiple bad situations living on the streets and with adults of shady character.

A true life adventure story about an amazing girl growing up on her own and finally finding safety, happiness and a name.

This was a very compelling story. I really enjoyed reading this. Although hard to believe, that this could happen to anyone I do believe it to be true.
I would love to read what happened to her after the end of this book.

thank you for sharing your story. I love it, well, i love the book, of course not the way you had to live. It was real hard for a little girl. It proves animals can be nicer than some people.Wonder if Anna Carmen and the Santosses would ever realize or even care what they have done.You are just one of the victims, thinking about all the streetkids and slaves, it is all so Sad. Looking forward to read the next book about your life. Wishing you a good life. Thank you
Did you ever find your Birth family? With DNA now it should be easy.I would love to meet you.Bucket list wish .Few years to get this done good thing my list isn't long.We will meet on other side maybe. God Bless you and our Family.

The first section of the book, where the girl describes her life living in the jungle among the monkeys, is incredible. The second section, where she describes her life as a homeless orphan in the rough and tumble world of Colombian poverty, is also amazing. That anybody could have gone through all this and survived to tell about it in such a matter of fact way, reminds me of the way survivors from other more well known catastrophes recount their stories. The telling of her story is very simple and straight forward, making the book an easy and quick read, but one that will linger in your memory for quite a while.

Wonderful--as filling me with wonder at the survival of Luz Marina. I'm hoping that the sequel does follow. Can't wait to follow her into adulthood. Well written. The voice of the child is clear and believable. Highly recommend this book to the survivalist buried in each of us.

Moving and hopeful. A wonderful and moving story of courage and hope. My heart goes out to the small and innocent that are abused. It is so sad what human beings do to each other. Marina's story is incredible

This story is simply incredible. It is the human condition to survive facing all odds, to be loved and cared for, and to want a better life This child clearly projects all these wants and needs throughout her struggles and setbacks. Obviously bright, she endures when others have failed. She is a survivor who lifts your spirits and teaches compassion.

This is one of the fastest moving, intriguing books I've ever read! How a young girl ever got to a community of monkeys, was accepted by them, ultimately left them, lived on the streets as a "street child," etc., etc., is nearly unbelievable. Will so look forward to the sequel.