Moonrise

by Sarah Crossan

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2017
SHORTLISTED FOR THE YA BOOK PRIZE 2018
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CBI BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2018
LONGLISTED FOR THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019

'Devastating … Any reader with a heart will weep buckets' Sunday Times Book of the Week

They think I hurt someone.
But I didn’t. You hear?
Cos people are gonna be telling you
all kinds of lies.
I need you to know the truth.

Joe hasn't seen his brother for ten years, and it's for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row.

But now Ed's execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think ...

From one-time winner and two-time Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this poignant, stirring, huge-hearted novel asks big questions. What value do you place on life? What can you forgive? And just how do you say goodbye?

• ISBN10: 140886780X
• ISBN13: 9781408867808
• Publish Date: 7 September 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 February 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

I am now a puddle.

Whenever there is a murder, and someone is convicted and sentenced to death, we automatically feel for the victim's family. This book challenged me to look at it from the other side.

The story is told from the point of view of Joe, a 17 year old man, who's brother had received his execution date after 10 years on death row. Joe was quite young, when his brother was incarcerated, but was determined to be with him during his final days.

I really loved the way Crossan showed them reconnecting. We saw their interactions in the present, as well as flashbacks, which clearly illustrated Joe's love, affection, and admiration for his brother. Crossan also clearly illustrated the emotional toll Ed's impending death was having on Joe. He was dealing with some deep abandonment issues, and this just compounded those.

The issue of capital punishment was what inspired this book, but it was the focus on the family dynamic, which captured my heart. The book is heartbreaking and left me in tears, but there was this underlying idea of family and love, which touched my heart.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[Kelly]

Edward Moon was coerced to sign a confession of homicide at seventeen years of age, legally binding and convicting the innocent young man. Moonrise is a poignant and provoking narrative of seventeen year old Joseph Moon and his brother who is scheduled to be executed in Kirkland Texas.

As children, Edward, Angela and Joseph were often neglected, their mother a verbally abusive alcoholic. Parental responsibilities are entrusted to Karen, their mother's single, Christian sister. At seventeen years of age, Edward escaped the confines of their regimented home only to be incarcerated for the death of a police officer. Edward's execution has been scheduled and despite Karen's disapproval, Joseph begins his journey to farewell his brother. The narrative is incredibly distressing as the responsibility is placed upon Joseph, temporarily living within the decrepit Kirkland motel, abandoned by Karen and Angela.

Capital punishment is a contentious discussion, sanctioned throughout the United States although abolished in Australia. Intense and confronting, the nonlinear narrative explores the familial relationship between siblings. Edward has been imprisoned for ten years and estranged from his siblings and with their mother absent, Karen has denied Angela and Joseph access to their brother.

Sarah Crossan is a monumental storyteller and with so few words is, able to captivate and immerse readers. Tragically, poignantly beautiful.