Shooting the Moon

By Frances O'Roark Dowell

JAMIE THINKS HER FATHER CAN DO ANYTHING....

UNTIL THE ONE TIME HE CAN DO NOTHING.

When twelve-year-old Jamie Dexter's brother joins the Army and is sent to Vietnam, Jamie is plum thrilled. She can't wait to get letters from the front lines describing the excitement of real-life combat: the sound of helicopters, the smell of gunpowder, the exhilaration of being right in the thick of it. After all, they've both dreamed of following in the footsteps of their father, the Colonel.

But TJ's first letter isn't a letter at all. It's a roll of undeveloped film, the first of many. What Jamie sees when she develops TJ's photographs reveals a whole new side of the war. Slowly the shine begins to fade off of Army life - and the Colonel. How can someone she's worshipped her entire life be just as helpless to save her brother as she is?

From the author of the Edgar Award-winning Dovey Coe comes a novel, both timely and timeless, about the sacrifices we make for what we believe and the people we love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Release date: Oct 27, 2009
• ISBN: 9781416998600

Frances O'Roark Dowell

Frances O’Roark Dowell is the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of Dovey Coe, which won the Edgar Award and the William Allen White Award; Where I’d Like to Be; The Secret Language of Girls and its sequels The Kind of Friends We Used to Be and The Sound of Your Voice, Only Really Far Away; Chicken Boy; Shooting the Moon, which was awarded the Christopher Award; the Phineas L. MacGuire series; Falling In; The Second Life of Abigail Walker, which received three starred reviews; Anybody Shining; Ten Miles Past Normal; Trouble the Water; the Sam the Man series; The Class; How to Build a Story; and most recently, Hazard. She lives with her family in Durham, North Carolina. Connect with Frances online at FrancesDowell.com.

Book preview

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Reviews for Shooting the Moon

[Megan Breslin · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

i was ok, the book was not my fav but still ok

[howifeelaboutbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this book in one sitting because I could not put it down. Jamie's an Army brat; her dad is the Colonel and she and her older brother, TJ, have always played war and dreamed of going into combat. When TJ ships off to Vietnam, he begins shipping home rolls of film for Jamie to develop. She's initially upset he's not writing her letters, until she learns to develop film (which had been her brother's passion) and realizes he's showing her more than he could ever tell. The ending is absolutely perfect.

[salsabrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Captivating from the start. I loved Jamie Dexter's character, so whip-smart and sassy. For a Vietnam War story, it never veers to sentimental or sad, and for this it works.

[librarian1204 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Anti war theme taking place during Vietnam war. Told by the daughter of the commander of Fort Hood. -Shooting- refers to photographs taken.
Love this author, she writes a good story every time.

[kimjd_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Twelve-year-old Jamie and her brother TJ have grown up with the mantra, "The Army way is the right way." So Jamie doesn't understand why her colonel father is not thrilled when TJ enlists to serve in Vietnam. As TJ mails Jamie rolls of film from the front and she learns to develop them, her romanticized view of the war slowly changes and she gains an understanding of all the shades of gray that are involved in conflict. A beautiful story that will open middle-graders' eyes to some of the history around the Vietnam War.

[lindap69 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jamie is an army brat, raised to believe in the importance of being a soldier, has a change of heart when her brother is sent to Vietnam and sends her photographs instead of letters. Great voice, beautifully told.

[missboyer3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When twelve-year-old Jamie Dexter's brother joins the Army and is sent to Vietnam, Jamie is plum thrilled. She can't wait to get letters from the front lines describing the excitement of real-life combat: the sound of helicopters, the smell of gunpowder, the exhilaration of being right in the thick of it. After all, they've both dreamed of following in the footsteps of their father, the Colonel.But TJ's first letter isn't a letter at all. It's a roll of undeveloped film, the first of many. What Jamie sees when she develops TJ's photographs reveals a whole new side of the war. Slowly the shine begins to fade off of Army life - and the Colonel. How can someone she's worshipped her entire life be just as helpless to save her brother as she is?

[sgranier_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Booktalk: In 1969, as the Vietnam war continues, Jamie, 12-year-old daughter of Colonel Dexter, Gung-ho commander at Fort Hood, is ecstatic when she learns that her 17-year-old brother TJ has signed up for the Army upon graduation. Surprisingly, her "Hoo-ah" father does not agree with his son's choice and tries to convince his son to change his mind. Despite his father's objections, TJ continues on his original course and after boot camp, he is shipped to Vietnam. Jamie looks forward to his letters from Vietnam, but instead, he sends her rolls of undeveloped film. Through these photos, Jamie begins to see that real war is messier than the war games she and TJ played as kids. When 19-year-old Private Hollister, Jamie's friend from the base rec center, may be transferred to Vietnam, Jamie has to decide if she will use her influence with her father to keep Hollister out of the war.

[nmkimdykstra · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Personal Response:I loved this book. I got the audio book version for a cross country road trip with my dad because I thought he would be interested in the Vietnam era theme. However, I absolutely fell in love with this book. In my opinion, it is just such a sweet story, and it now ranks up there with "Penny from Heaven" as one of my favorite middle school level books.School/Library Uses:I really haven't encountered a lot of fiction books about the Vietnam War for this age group, I think this would be a great addition to a unit on the subject. Also, this would be a good book to use for a book discussion group in a school library or public library setting.

[tinkdust21 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this book and the rich characters that Dowell developed. The main character is one that kids will relate to well. The only thing that kept me from rating this higher is that the ending feels very rushed and thrown together so it isn't as satisfying as one would hope.

[melodyreads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brother goes to Vietnam, and he does return. This story is about his little sister, and how she changes her opinions as she develops the film that her brother sends home and prints the pictures. Good story.

[jen1redmini · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jamie Dexter has been raised in the Army. The Colonel, aka Dad, has raised Jamie and her older brother, TJ, in the ways of the Army. All is well, until Jamie's brother enlists. Then we find out the Colonel's real feeling about this way of life.Meanwhile, Jamie keeps receiving packages from TJ. These packages are disappointing... no letter, no description of the combat, just a roll of film. Jamie must learn how to develop the film in order to receive her brother's message. Surprisingly each roll has a shot of the moon. Find out what Jamie discovers through the film, what happens to TJ during the war, and what's up with the pictures of the moon... read Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell.

[momccarthy_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Twelve-year-old, Jamie Dexter's brother, TJ, is about to leave for Vietnam. She is so envious that he gets to live out her dream of exciting military engagement. As an army brat, daughter of a Colonol, Jamie has played army forever. The story revolves around TJ's way of letting Jamie know what war is about. Still at home, Jamie learns a number of lessons on growing up, using her brain, caring for her family.

[shelf3employed · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Atheneum has another great book and Junior Library Guild selection in Shooting the Moon, the story of twelve-year-old, Jamie Dexter whose brother is about to leave for Vietnam. This is another historical fiction novel; this one taking place during the Vietnam War. Jamie is an Army brat. Her father is a Colonel, her mother is a dutiful and cheerful Army wife, and her older brother, TJ, has just enlisted. For a child born on a German Army base and raised on a steady diet of hooah and little green army men, life could not be much better. But as she volunteers at the base rec center and learns to develop the rolls of film arriving steadily from her brother, she begins to realize that life and love and war are more complicated than the "Army way" had taught her to believe.Shooting the Moon, (reflecting her brother's penchant for taking photos of the moon), is a slow and thoughtful look at a difficult period in US History. Neither irreverent, nor uber-patriotic, Shooting the Moon can be read quickly, but will not be easily forgotten.

[millme_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written story. Different view of the Vietnam War.

[abbylibrarian_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When Army brat Jamie Dexter finds out her big brother TJ has been sent to Vietnam to fight, she's ecstatic. Her father, The Colonel, has raised Jamie and TJ to support the army way and to take pride in fighting for their country. Jamie declares that if she was allowed to enlist, she would immediately do so. Since she can't go fight, Jamie looks forward to her brother's letters. She's sure they're going to be filled with all the action and adventure going on at the front, so she's surprised when TJ sends her a cannister of film and asks her to develop it for him. Puzzled, Jamie learns to develop film and soon TJ sends more and more cannisters. As Jamie begins to get a look at what's going on in Vietnam, the things her brother can't write home about, and as Jamie befriends an army private who works in the rec center, she begins to change her opinion about the war. The ending seemed really abrupt and although I appreciate the fact that it wasn't completely depressing, it seemed like it tied things up a bit too neatly. I thought it was interesting to see Jamie's perception of the war and of her father change throughout the book.

[horomnizon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A children's book about the Vietnam War? Yes, absolutely - one that every child should read....it should be added to curriculum right now (let's say around 5th grade or so). While the story takes place on a military base and from the perspective of a young (almost 13) girl, it is a story about war and about the perception of war. While Jamie and her brother grew up playing with toy soldiers in their yard, their Colonel father is less than thrilled that his son has enlisted and will be going to Vietnam. When letters come for her parents, Jamie receives rolls of film from her brother. She learns from another soldier how to develop the film and begins to see what war is really about - through the lens of her brother, a medical technician. She learns about her father and herself through these discoveries. While the ending may seem a little bit quick to tidy things up, Jamie trying to understand what her brother is saying through the pictures is masterful. So is her attempt at friendship with another girl whose brother is also deployed. All in all, an excellent story that reminds us that war is not just a game that young children play. Unfortunately, a lesson that too many learn in too serious a fashion.(A note that I did not find the book in any way disrespectful to soldiers. The opinion expressed about Vietnam was that at that time, the American troops should have been gone - they had done all they could.)