Review : Moonglass

Posted by Kay on June 5, 2012 7:28 am in 4 stars reads | 2 comments

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
Pages : 232
Genre : YA, Contemporary fiction
Stand Alone
My Rating :

What it’s about :

Anna’s life changed forever when her mom died; the years have passed but she still carries the weight of her death on her shoulders. Then her father decides they will move from the beach where her mom passed away to the beach where her parents first fell in love, and Anna isn’t sure how to deal with the change.

Leaving her life and her friends behind, she is, surprisingly, quickly charmed by her new home and the people she meets. There she will discover secrets about both of her parents and maybe, finally, make peace with the past.

My Thoughts :

Moonglass isn’t a long novel; at 232 pages, it is a book that can easily be read in one sitting. Jessi Kirby’s writing has a beautiful simplicity, that made it easy to relate to her characters, especially Anna. There are many YA contemporary novels dealing with death; it’s a common subject because it is sadly an inevitable part of life, yet not all authors can touch the subject in a way that feels real to me. I am happy to report that Kirby did that; even though Anna lost her mother years ago, I felt the pain of her grief through the pages.

It is not innocently that I mentioned that Moonglass is a quick read. It is, in my opinion, a strong point in its favor. The book could easily have had a hundred more pages. Anna meets plenty of new friends, she takes part in different activities, and there was enough material to create many more side stories : love triangles, friends falling in love with each other, disagreements with said friends etc. Even though I loved the scene, the characters, the stories, I was glad the author kept her focus on Anna’s personal story. It made it a  much stronger one.

I found the novel had many strengths other than its length : Anna’s relationship with her father, loving yet complex, felt true. They have strong moments, fun moments, difficult moments. I appreciated that Anna actually enjoyed spending time with her father rather than being the grumpy teenager who wants nothing to do with her parents. The romance, while being part of the story, is very mild. A sweet touch in Anna’s life, but not its only focus. I loved that Anna wasn’t one of those girls whose brain stops working when she falls in love. Without being a perfect seductress, she is the one who actually tries to get Tyler’s attention, the one who makes the first moves. It was so refreshing! We need more girls like Anna in fiction, really!

I do think the book needed just a little more of something to be more memorable; the writing was good, the story was good, the characters were good, but none of this stood out in a big way for me. However, as contemporary fiction goes in the YA world, it was certainly a cut above many others I have read. While the story has more depth than what is usually considered a “beach read”, I do think it is a great summer read that will make you wish for the sand and the sea.