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When the Moon Was Ours

by Anna Marie McLemore

ISBN13: 9781250058669
ISBN10: 125005866X

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$19.99

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Synopses & Reviews

Synopsis

Longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

McLemore s second novel is such a lush surprising fable, you half expect birds to fly out of the pages McLemore uses the supernatural to remind us that the body s need to speak its truth is primal and profound, and that the connection between two people is no more anyone s business than why the dish ran away with the spoon.
--Jeff Giles, New York Times Book Review

Anna-Marie McLemore s debut novel The Weight of Feathers was greeted with rave reviews, a YALSA Morris Award nomination, and spots on multiple Best YA Novels lists. Now, McLemore delivers a second stunning and utterly romantic novel, again tinged with magic.

To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.

Atmospheric, dynamic, and packed with gorgeous prose, When the Moon was Ours is another winner from this talented author.

Synopsis

Longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
Stonewall Book Award Honor

"McLemore's second novel is such a lush surprising fable, you half expect birds to fly out of the pages... McLemore uses the supernatural to remind us that the body's need to speak its truth is primal and profound, and that the connection between two people is no more anyone's business than why the dish ran away with the spoon."
--Jeff Giles, New York Times Book Review

Anna-Marie McLemore's debut novel The Weight of Feathers was greeted with rave reviews, a YALSA Morris Award nomination, and spots on multiple "Best YA Novels" lists. Now, McLemore delivers a second stunning and utterly romantic novel, again tinged with magic.

To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel's wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel's skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they're willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.

Atmospheric, dynamic, and packed with gorgeous prose, When the Moon was Ours is another winner from this talented author.

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Average customer rating 4.5 (2 comments)

`	Kaila DeBonville , October 12, 2018 When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore details a story that parents tell their children about when the old water towers fell and a girl who seemed to be born from water, named Honey. Like any birth, she was screaming, fearful of being surrounded by a town who could not, would not, take the time to understand her and how she had lost the moon. This story also tells of a nurturing boy, who was the first, and only person, to approach Honey, giving her his jacket among other things, his time, patience, caring, and love. The story being told of them addresses them at face value, how she had roses growing from her wrist that the town gossiped and thought the petals held magic, enough to make young men fall in love with the one who placed them under their pillows or baked them into sweets. The stories that were told about Honey and Moon criticize our society today, people’s unwillingness to accept something that is different from them, and an unwillingness to love someone they may not fully understand. More importantly, the stories told about the children in this town scream for justice and morality, by calling into question the ways in which people have behaved and perpetuated certain “stories”, more specifically ways of thinking about people, humanity, and society. It brings to light humanities need to understand and how limiting this is as it dictates what we deem important and how we use this knowledge to identify others and ourselves. "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."
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`	Alysha A. , October 05, 2018 (view all comments by Alysha A.) When the Moon was Ours was a stunning book, and one that anyone should read if they get the chance. The imagery within it was like taking a train through the countryside during peak foliage, oohing and awing with each curve. The novel was set at a slow and steady pace, and while at times that could be frustrating because I just wanted to know what happened next, it was refreshing to be immersed in the beautiful language that told the story with such poignant detail. I also loved the trans-representation found within this book, and appreciated that it wasn’t about the physical transition, but it was about the human and soul and Sam’s acceptance of who he is and pride in that. This book was all about what is truth, and what the truth means not only to us personally, but to those around us. It was about the power of truth, and the power that our words have on one another. The book never told anything straight-forward, which was hard for me to adjust to at first, but as I read on I realized it was all a part of the author’s intent to get the reader to interpret the text from the various perspectives she provided. It makes the reader think, and a huge part of that has to do with the magical-realism found on every page. Nothing is quite as it seems, and even now I am left wondering what I might have missed and what I would find if I reread the novel again. I would recommend this story to anyone who is looking to quietly cozy up and enjoy a novel with exquisite prose and a powerful message on some of the facets of the human experience. Just like the roses that one of the main characters grows on her wrists, this book will slowly bloom and make you not only stop and smell the flowers, but consider why you forgot to in the first place.
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