Philip Skyler learned early in his life that his face would get him into trouble and there was nothing he could do about it. Born with an extreme facial deformity, he became the object of attention. Though medical scientists named his condition Van der Woude syndrome, his classmates, especially the bullies, just called him "Monkeyface". Monkeyface Chronicles is his sweet story of revenge.

Philip's aphorism-toting grandfather used to say, "Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect," and Philip Skyler is about to embark on a life journey of payback that has everything to do with cause and effect. Philip's journey ultimately takes him through the most unusual family circumstances, where no one was really who they seemed to be, whether it was his reclusive scientist father, or his Citizen Kane-like grandfather.

While riding his father's motorcycle to Toronto to escape the dregs of Faireville, Philip has a life-changing experience that transforms him from the dupe he was as a kid into a conquering hero in his twenties. His unforgettable ride brings him to triumph over adversity and redeems him from the world of losers into which he was cast.

Richard Scarsbrook grew up in the tiny rural community of Olinda, Ontario. He lived and taught in Petrolla for nearly a decade, where he acted, directed, and served as a member of the board of directors for the community theatre. In Petrolia, he also wrote original songs, and played the drums and sang in a band called The Know. He also began publishing his first short stories and poems at this time. Scarsbrook now makes his home in Toronto where he teaches creative writing courses at Humber Colege and George Brown College. He also plays and sings in the rock bands The Featherless Bipeds, The Nerve, and Disorderly Conduct, and has performed in venues such as The Rivoli, The Guverment, Healey's Roadhouse, The Opera House, The Tattoo Rock Parlour, The Royal York Hotel, The Hard Rock Cafe and The Black Swan (all in Toronto), The Hard Rock Cafe and The Liquor Store Bar in Ottawa, and The Just For Laughs Studio in Montreal. Scarsbrook's fiction and poetry have appeared in journals and Magazines in Canada and internationally including The Guardian Unlimited (UK), The FISH Anthology (Ireland), Verbicide (US), Prairie Fire, Descant, Matrix, Carousel, The Dalhousie Review, PRECIPICe, Rampike, Storyteller, The New Orphic Review, The Nashwaak Review, The Harpweaver, The Backwater Review, NeWest Review, Lies With Occasional Truth, The Moose and Pussy, Jones Avenue, Surface and Symbol, and Zygote. His stories and poems have won praise and prizes including the 1998 Hinterland Award for Prose, the 2001 New Orphic Short Story Prize, the 2001 Scarborough Arts Council Poetry Prize, the 2002 Lawrence House Centre for the Arts Short Story Prize, and the 2009 Matrix LitPop Award for Fiction. His first book publication was Guessing at Madeleine, a collection of poems which won the 1996 Cranberry Tree Press Poetry Prize. Scarsbrook's first novel, Cheeseburger Subversive (Thistledown Press), 2003) received positive reviews and great reader response.  Renowned author W.P. Kinsella (Shoeless Joe, Dance Me Outside), wrote this in Books in Canada: "Cheeseburger Subversive is a coming of age story written with humour and panache. Scarsbrook has a special eye for the absurd, a wonderful way of looking at the world that turns tragedy into humor. A very funny and heart-warming debut." Cheeseburger Subversive was short listed for The Canadian Library Association's 2004 Young Adult Book of the Year Award, The Ontario Library Association's 2005 White Pine Award, and the 2005 Stellar Book Award. Featherless Bipeds ( Thistledown ,2006), its sequel, was also short-listed for short listed for the Canadian Library Association's 2007 Young Adult Book of the Year Award, and listed for the 2008/2009 Stellar Book Award.  Storyteller: Canada's Short Story Magazine wrote: "Featherless Bipeds remains at all times as tightly focused as the best short stories...Fans of live pop music will enjoy Scarsbrook's wonderful evocations of the characters, venues, trials, and successes of such a career, as well as the experience of making music, both onstage and off. " Scarsbrook's latest novel The Monkeyface Chronicles won the 2011 Ontario Library Association's White Pine Award. CM Magazine called the book a "multi-layered, engrossing, complex tale", and Resource Links said "Scarsbrook is an excellent writer with great comic overtones".  A review by author Ann Ewan (Firedrake, Brondings' Honour) said of The Monkeyface Chronicles, "It reminds me of the books of Paul Quarrington and John Irving, creating an over-the-top yet close-to-real world." 

Richard Scarsbrook's profile page

The Monkeyface Chronicles

Philip Skyler was born with a facial deformity, making him an easy target for bullying and teasing in his small hometown. By contrast, Philip’s twin brother Michael is good looking, athletic and popular, and a star player on his hockey team. When a horrifying act of violence puts Michael in the hospital — brain-damaged and possibly dying — Philip embarks on a journey that will change his life in amazing and unimaginable ways.

Richard Scarsbrook’s third novel for young adults departs from the comical style of his first two books and demonstrates his versatility with a very powerful and dramatic story. The novel is set in a small, fictional town called Faireville, and the author does a terrific job of creating atmosphere. The town is stifling. With a population of under 3,000 people and businesses that are dying or barely scraping by, there are few options or expectations for its residents.

Like many books with a small-town setting, the town is populated with a variety of odd and quirky characters (particularly in Philip’s family), but the strength of this book is that it isn’t a typical quirky small-town book. Instead, the author uses the town to magnify issues of bullying, self-image and courage.

Bullying is rampant in this town — from the members of the local Tabernacle church (who use religion to justify violence) to the worst culprits, the twin sons of the school principal (later mayor). They are cruel and deliberately violent, but there is no immediate justice. Their ultimate violent act, while horrifying to read, sets off the chain of events which directly impact Philip and his family.

There are many dramatic and unexpected twists in this novel, but there is also a liberal amount of humour and irony, which keeps it both entertaining and readable. Sexual references, violent content and language make this more suitable for the older spectrum of the high school reader, but fans of the author’s previous works will not be disappointed.