Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (1030)

Content

Louise (64 KP) rated Moonrise in Books

Jul 2, 2018

Moonrise

Sarah Crossan | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)

7.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion*

I have read the majority of Sarah Crossan’s work so picking this up was a ‘no brainer’.

Edward Moon was forced to sign a confession to a crime he never committed. Moonrise is told from Joseph Moon’s perspective some 10 years later as his brother has had his date set for his execution.

Edward, Angela and Joseph didn’t have the best upbringing when they were kids, their mother was an alcoholic and neglected them. It was down to their aunt Karen to take the up the role of the parent but as a christian had very strict rules. When Edward was seventeen he left home, unable to tolerate the his aunts strict demands. His moment of freedom was short-lived as he gets incarcerated for the murder of a local policeman. 10 years on and Joseph is to make the journey to Texas to find out what really happened and to say his goodbyes as Edwards execution has been scheduled. Joseph moves in to a decrepit motel room and gets by doing chores for the local diner. His month-long stay in Texas is to get to know his brother again only to say goodbye.

This book was just OK, it deals with a topic that is not widely written about in YA books but I did prefer ‘One’ and ‘The weight of water’. In true Sarah Crossan fashion this book is written entirely in verse, it can be read as individual poems or as a story whatever your preference. This book was not as thought-provoking as her other books and whilst the topic is something that intrigues me, I felt it could have been more emotional and had more character development, the emotional side of things just wasn’t captured well in the writing and I think that’s what let it down for me. It’s probably my own fault, as I tend to go into these book with high expectations. I feel like capital punishment could have been addressed more and given the audience more awareness of executions.

Even though I thought this was only OK, I would still recommend trying it for several reasons, 1. the topic, 2. it’s written in verse. 3. Everyone else seemed to love it.

I rated this 3 out of 5 stars.