The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Allen, Sarah Addison. The Girl Who Chased the Moon. Bantam Books (2010). ISBN 978-0-5538-0721-9

Plot Summary

                Emily is relocated to Mullaby, North Carolina when her mother dies unexpectedly.  She is taken in by her Grandpa Vance, who she didn’t even know existed until a few days before she arrives. When Emily  meets Win, she realizes that she not only has to deal with being the new person in a very small town, but she also has to deal with the reputation her mother left behind all those years ago.  Win and his family have a secret and thanks to Emily’s mother, the whole town now knows that secret.  Win and Emily must now try to forge their own relationship and hope history doesn’t repeat itself.

                Julia has had a troubled life.  She got pregnant at 16 by the love of her life, Sawyer.  Little did she know that he didn’t love her back.  After escaping Mullaby when she was pregnant, the death of her father brings her back to set his affairs in order.  She planned to only stay 2 years before leaving, but Sawyer, and fate, have other plans.  The Girl Who Chased the Moon is full of secrets, relationships and a little bit of magic. 

Critical Evaluation

                The Girl Who Chased the Moon is a great adult genre book that all ages can enjoy, including teens 15-18.  One of the main protagonists is a teenage girl and the other one has had enough teenage girl problems to be very relatable.  This book is all about growing up and learning to face the past.  No matter how many mistakes Julia may have made, she learns that she needs to come clean about what really happened and face who she was and how she’s changed. 

                Sometimes a lot of pressure comes from who our parents are, or who our siblings are.  Emily has to deal with the bad reputation her mom left behind.  Trying to prove she is nothing like who her mom used to be is harder than Emily thought.  Her journey to acceptance, especially by those who hate her most, is one all can relate to.  Sarah Addison Allen books are great because they are not only wonderful stories, a lot of times they are love stories, but they also incorporate a little bit of everyday magic.  These books are by no means fantasy, and yet the reader goes away feeling like anything is possible. 

Reader’s Annotation

Can you ever really escape the past?

Author’s Information

Sarah Addison Allen is an adult fiction writer.  She has a B.A. in Literature and chose that major because she couldn’t believe she could get a degree in reading.  She has written four awesome novels and is a New York Times Best Selling Author. You can find out more about her here: http://www.sarahaddisonallen.com/index.html.

Genre

Adult Crossover

Book Talking Ideas

I would talk about how this book shows the reader the everyday magic that surrounds all of us.  This book teaches that no matter what bad things happen to us, there are ways to deal with it and come out on top.  This book may seem like a sappy romance, but in reality it contains people who tell when a cake is being made miles away, wallpaper that changes with your mood, and a family whose men glow in the dark.

Reading Level/Interest

14 / 15+

Challenge Issues

This book does deal somewhat with teen depression and cutting.  Julia, one of the main characters, cut herself a lot when she was a teenager and it is mentioned often throughout the book.  The reasons why she did it are explained quite clearly, several times, so I would tell challengers that the topic is handled very well and explained.  It is a safe way for kids to come in contact with a cutting experience and it by no means promotes or condones the practice.

Why Include the Title?

I included this title because I feel like Sarah Addison Allen, and The Girl Who Chased the Moon in particular, are well suited for older teenagers.  One of the main protagonists is a teenager, which makes the book relatable from the beginning, but the other themes in the book will interest teens as well.