Ebook122 pages1 hour
A Nearer Moon
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
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About this ebook
In a small river village where the water is cursed, a girl’s bravery could mean the difference between life and death in this magical story of “perseverance and hope” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) from the author of Parched and Audacity.
Along a lively river, in a village raised on stilts, lives a girl named Luna. All her life she has heard tales of the time before the dam appeared, when sprites danced in the currents and no one got the mysterious wasting illness from a mouthful of river water. These are just stories, though—no sensible person would believe in such things.
Beneath the waves is someone who might disagree. Perdita is a young water sprite, delighting in the wet splash and sparkle, and sad about the day her people will finally finish building their door to another world, in search of a place that humans have not yet discovered.
But when Luna’s little sister falls ill with the river sickness, everyone knows she has only three weeks to live. Luna is determined to find a cure for her beloved sister, no matter what it takes. Even if that means believing in magic…
Along a lively river, in a village raised on stilts, lives a girl named Luna. All her life she has heard tales of the time before the dam appeared, when sprites danced in the currents and no one got the mysterious wasting illness from a mouthful of river water. These are just stories, though—no sensible person would believe in such things.
Beneath the waves is someone who might disagree. Perdita is a young water sprite, delighting in the wet splash and sparkle, and sad about the day her people will finally finish building their door to another world, in search of a place that humans have not yet discovered.
But when Luna’s little sister falls ill with the river sickness, everyone knows she has only three weeks to live. Luna is determined to find a cure for her beloved sister, no matter what it takes. Even if that means believing in magic…
Author
Melanie Crowder
Melanie Crowder lives on the Colorado Front Range, where she is a writer and educator. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of the middle grade novels Parched, A Nearer Moon, and the Lighthouse Keepers series and the young adult novels Audacity and An Uninterrupted View of the Sky. Visit her at MelanieCrowder.com.
Read more from Melanie Crowder
Parched Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Pennies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lighthouse between the Worlds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Way between Worlds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Reviews for A Nearer Moon
Rating: 3.525 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
20 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Took a little bit for me to get into. The main character is kind of bland.
I like the cover and I like the way the two stories meet.
It's alright. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In a small river village where the water is cursed, a girl’s bravery—and the existence of magic—could mean the difference between life and death in this elegant, luminous tale from the author of Parched and Audacity.Along a lively river, in a village raised on stilts, lives a girl named Luna. All her life she has heard tales of the time before the dam appeared, when sprites danced in the currents and no one got the mysterious wasting illness from a mouthful of river water. These are just stories, though—no sensible person would believe in such things.Beneath the waves is someone who might disagree. Perdita is a young water sprite, delighting in the wet splash and sparkle, and sad about the day her people will finally finish building their door to another world, in search of a place that humans have not yet discovered.But when Luna’s little sister falls ill with the river sickness, everyone knows she has only three weeks to live. Luna is determined to find a cure for her beloved sister, no matter what it takes. Even if that means believing in magic. . . .This book came out in September, 2015MY THOUGHTS:I received this book in exchange for my honest review.I’ve been on such a kick lately for middle-grade reads about sisters. Why? I don’t know, I don’t have one… lol. Maybe, it's the wanting of one most my life, or, maybe it's the fact that I suffered through three brothers growing up lol. :) Who knows...The cover on this book is WOWZA!The relationship between the sisters in this book is excellently written and very sweet! The book itself is about family relationships, family values and being true to oneself. It’s about love between sisters, self-sacrifice and acceptance.The author didn’t waste a single word writing this book. She had something to say and said it. No filler. Not only was she precise and pointed with her thoughts, she was graceful and lyrical in her voice and style. Plot flowed from one event to the next seamlessly and effortlessly. There were no huge surprises in this book, but it wasn’t about that, it was about the writing and the girl’s relationship.There is no guessing what emotion was being felt or expressed, as the author’s style is rich with meaning and characterization, and reads easily. You read about grief, and community life, about relationships and how to be strong when facing horrific odds.There’s a supernatural element to the story about the swamp where the community believes it is cursed and a creature of evil lurks below its surface. Luna, doesn’t believe this and is determined to find a way to save her sister.Rumor is that the swamp is cursed and a creature lives below the waters, but Luna doesn’t believe it. Luna prefers to side with science to heal Willow, but this doesn’t work. She then turns to dealing with the swamp itself by attempting to drain it of the putrid water, and she fails. As she slowly accepts that magic may be involved after all, becomes a believer, then she succeeds. Gotta love fantasy stories! It is not the end results that is the important factor, but the journey to self-discovery that eventually leads to peace. This is not just for Luna but for her entire family.The alternating between two perspectives, each building the story, developing character growth and enabling resolution at the end, is all done with brilliant insight.With the theme being sisterly bonds, Luna and Willow’s bond grows almost parallel to Perdy and Gia’s. You see the hurt through Luna’s and Perdy’s eyes and what losing a sister does to each. Each girl is driven by guilt.There are so many aspects to this story to enjoy: fairies, well-fleshed out characters, self-discovery, personal growth and understanding consequences. Love is the main factor, and what people will do for it.I really enjoyed the way the author meshed the two stories together and how the backstories of the two sets of sisters are all mixed up together mirroring their hope for the future.I absolutely loved this story!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5When Luna's beloved sister, Willow, falls ill with the fatal river sickness, Luna will stop at nothing to save her sister's life, even if it means violating their mother's three never-to-be-broken rules: don't go past the bend in the river, don't go below the dam, steer far away from the slick."
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very sweet tale of the bonds of sisters whether they are human or water sprites ;).
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I liked it--3 stars from me isn't bad, it's good, it's a positive, it's on the plus side--but I need a little more to push it from "liked it" to"loved it."
It has a charming fairy-tale feel (I was reminded of good old Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen") and a marvelous precipitating incident at the beginning, so fresh and startling and sad and unexpected--that was great.
The story is divided between two characters, and two much time was spent on one of them, in my opinion, while the other character, ultimately, didn't contribute to the happy resolution of the plot through any skill or other character trait--again, in keeping with the tone of fairy tales, where sometimes things just happen because the person accidentally touched it, or arrived at the right time, or had golden hair--you know the kind of story. But those stories are usually shorter than this, and I can be more forgiving. This is a short novel, but I think it would have been better as a tighter short story.
Nonetheless, as I said, I liked it, but didn't love it, and will look forward to more by this author.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
Book preview
A Nearer Moon - Melanie Crowder
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