Caffeinated Reviewer

Today I have two middle grade audiobooks to share with you in the Adventurous Ali series. Temple of the Monkey God & The All-Seeing Eye by Tyler Jolley. Narrated by Stefanie Anne, this series is perfect for fans of Dora the Explorer and Indiana Jones.

After Alison Liv Isner is sucked into an old globe that sat on her father’s desk, she wakes beside a campfire in a lush jungle, surrounded by five talking animals. She quickly realizes these are the same friends her mom wrote about in her expedition journal. Now, at the age of 11, she has the opportunity to complete her deceased mother’s unfinished expedition in the Temple of the Monkey God.

With her new found friends - a monkey, a fat rat, a bat, and a burro with a piranha in a mason jar tied around his neck - Ali decides to face the treacherous booby traps inside the temple and save the monkey idol from an evil group called "The Geese".

As she learns more about her deceased mom through her adventure journal, Ali and her friends realize the book is the key to lead them through the tunnels of the dreaded Temple of the Monkey God. If not, their lives are at stake, and Ali will be trapped in the expedition realm forever.

The first audiobook in the Adventurous Ali books is the Temple of the Monkey Gods. Here we meet eleven-year-old Alison Liv Isner. She is finally old enough to read her mother’s journals and while reading in her father’s office she is pulled into an old globe. She awakens to find herself in the jungle surrounded by five talking animals. They are sitting by a campfire and preparing for bed.

The five animals are a monkey, a rat, a bat, and a burro with a piranha in a mason jar tied around his neck. I loved it. Ali soon realizes these are the friends her mother mentions in her journals. She and the animals soon realize she is there to help them finish her deceased mother’s expedition in the Temple of the Monkey God.

Her companions are a hoot from the lipstick to the obsession with shiny things!

The story shares challenges, character growth, and friendship in all forms. It was suspenseful, funny, heartwarming and just the adventure to pull a young reader into the story. I loved the concept, delivery and most of the characters.

Stefanie Anne was the perfect narrator for Ali. Her tone and pitch made me believe she was eleven. She added unique voices for each of the friends and helped build the suspense and allow the reader to connect with them.

Alison Liv Isner’s second adventure starts as a long-awaited reunion with her friends. Swept away to Egypt, she embarks on another expedition her mom never completed. This time, she’s tasked with recovering Pharaoh Zicobus’s sacred headdress. But the Geese are hot on her trail. If they find it first, they’ll have the ability to see the future, and it would bring devastating consequences. Ali and her animal companions have to navigate the booby traps set to keep people out of a great pyramid.

Adventurous Ali: The All-Seeing Eye brings Ali to great challenges where she discovers more about her mother and has to use what she has learned in her first adventure to help get through the pyramid’s tomb without any dire circumstances. Join Ali and her friends as they escape peril to safely secure Pharaoh Zicobus’s headdress.

The first audiobook in the Adventurous Ali books is The-All-Seeing Eye and takes Ali and her friends to Egypt! I love the exploring in this series and the author’s ability to weave in lessons and growth while the gang faces obstacles and works as a team.

Now that we are familiar with the world and its characters we dove into the quest and making the second book feel stronger.

This time Ali and her friends must recover the Pharaoh Zicobus’s sacred headdress. However, the Geese are hot on their tail. Booby traps block the way and together they will need to navigate obstacles, help each other and rely on their human Ali.

I loved the growth we saw in Ali as she learned more about her mom and placed faith in herself. Fans of Indiana Jones will love the traps they encounter and despite this being marketed to middle-schoolers, I found myself swept up in their quest.

Stephanie Ann narrated and I was glad to see her back. Her voice gave a familiarity to the characters.

While each of these stories works as standalone, I would recommend young readers listen or read these in the order of their release. Character growth, friendships and developments combined with the notched up action and suspense will be more enjoyable from the beginning.

Adventurous Ali delivers action, suspense, friendship and magic.

Narration speed: It is important to note that while I listened to this at a much higher speed when I shared with the oldest Royal, she was most comfortable listening at 1.0x

About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

Related Posts

• By Tyler Jolley
• Same Genre