Hang the Moon: A Novel

Written by Jeannette Walls

Narrated by Jeannette Walls

“A rollicking tale.” —The Washington Post *“Propulsive.” —Associated Press * “Wild, smart, energetic.” —Los Angeles Times * “Brilliant and effervescent.” —NPR

From the #1 bestselling author of The Glass Castle, the instant New York Times bestseller a “rip-roaring, action-packed” (The New York Times) novel about an indomitable young woman in prohibition-era Virginia.

Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of the biggest man in a small town, the charismatic Duke Kincaid. Born at the turn of the 20th century into a life of comfort and privilege, Sallie remembers little about her mother who died in a violent argument with the Duke. By the time she is just eight years old, the Duke has remarried and had a son, Eddie. While Sallie is her father’s daughter, sharp-witted and resourceful, Eddie is his mother’s son, timid and cerebral. When Sallie tries to teach young Eddie to be more like their father, her daredevil coaching leads to an accident, and Sallie is cast out.

Nine years later, she returns, determined to reclaim her place in the family. That’s a lot more complicated than Sallie expected, and she enters a world of conflict and lawlessness. Sallie confronts the secrets and scandals that hide in the shadows of the Big House, navigates the factions in the family and town, and finally comes into her own as a bold, sometimes reckless bootlegger.

“You’ll fall in love with Sallie on the very first page and keep rooting for her all the way through to the last” (Good Housekeeping) in this thrilling read that “goes down easy…like the forbidden whisky that defines the life of Sallie Kincaid” (Associated Press).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Mar 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781508279211

Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls graduated from Barnard College and was a journalist in New York. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, has been a New York Times bestseller for more than eight years. She is also the author of the instant New York Times bestsellers The Silver Star and Half Broke Horses, which was named one of the ten best books of 2009 by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Walls lives in rural Virginia with her husband, the writer John Taylor.

Reviews for Hang the Moon

[himomnme · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Girl grows I to a strong woman discovering family lies

[Kristine · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book! The narration was wonderful. Kept moving at a good pace, lots of twists and turns.

[Deb Krsnich · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoy Jeanette Wall's ability to plop you square into the messed up lives of her characters and have you care about their outcome, even in their most flawed moments. This book allowed me to peer into history to a time and place that was unfamiliar to me and yet understand the pain whereupon the character drew her strength.
I listened to it on audiobook and the narrator was perfect.

[riccardo l · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Was this a bad parody of a bad southern novel or just a bad southern novel? Only the author knows for sure. And she would’ve done herself a big favor by having a professional actor do the reading. Her accent is inconsistent and sounds fake. The real tell is that “hollow” in Appalachia is pronounced “holler.” Anything here was done in Faulkner and done better.

[Diane Seamon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great plot that was very believable. It kept my interest. The author is a wonderful reader and a great researcher.

[Jody Thomson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very well written. I was intrigued right away. Nice flow to it. Also, quite empowering for women

[Amy Fortin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful story! Sally’s story speaks to my own I dependence. She’s the kind of woman I hope I would have been in that era.

[suzywells · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story about a time period I wasn’t familiar with! Learned a lot!

[Kate McPhaul · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. Caveat: I am a big fan of Jeanette Wahl's. she mentions Lee Smith in the acknowledgements who is also one of my favorite authors...this is terrific story, made better by hearing author read it.,

[Becki Basley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another great book by a great author. No one thought she would amount to anything even though her daddy ran their Virginia town but Sallie Kincaid will prove them all wrong.

[Angie Lewis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jeannette Walls spins a fascinating tale based on various people and stories from early 20th century history.

[amyuskoski · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was just barely okay. Lots of death and sleeping around. Problems just seemed to keep popping up and forcing a solution to the last one and nothing seemed on purpose. At times it was hard to put down just to see how one particular bit of drama ended, but it was all the same intensity and type of drama and got old.

[AnnetteTrimbleWilliams · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a saga! Would love to see this made into a miniseries. I really appreciated the author's comments at the end about researching the appropriate period language. It's annoying when author's don't do this. So far, I've enjoyed everything Jeannette has written. It's gritty, but manages to involve your feelings and tug your heart strings at the same time.

[Chris Scott · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book itself is solid but the author is not my favorite narrator. I played the audiobook at around 1.5x and it made the narration a little less bad. Twists and turns along the way, not scary, but just good storytelling.

[stephanie clay · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There’s a good story here. For me, the narration took so much away from the book itself. There was no emotion or translation of emotions that should’ve been felt by the book in the narration and that was a huge missed opportunity.

[chrissy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jeannette Walls can surely weave together a fabulous story!

[Val Menzies · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The author/ reader did an amazing job of bringing the listener into Sally’s story, one of courage, character, fearlessness, kindness and fierce loyalty after a rather loveless childhood as the daughter of a ruthless man who murdered her mother and sent Sally away. Great read.

[gregory schmidt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Whew! What a ride! I loved this book so much that I was sad when it was over. That’s when you know it’s good. Totally different from The Glass Castle, but the writing is just as good. Bravo!

[Jamie Brower · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoy this author’s sense of details and authenticity. Very good read

[jamiew321 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I used to read books all the time now that I’m in my 50s I don’t have time to read. Now I listen to books while I’m working, going to bed, or driving because sitting down hold a book now is too time consuming. I really loved this book! I also really loved the author’s reading of it. So many books have voice actors, they can be very annoying. Sometimes I can’t even get through the first chapter of a book because the voice acting is so horrible. This simple reading from the actual creator of the words was perfect. I can’t wait to listen to more of her work!!!