ME and the MISSOURI MOON: A Middle Grade Review and Giveaway

REVIEW

What do you do when your new best friend believes that you’re somebody that you’re not? When your name is Scarlet Burnes and you’re afraid that if you tell the truth about your father’s hit and run accident that injured your new best friend’s brother, then you push away your conscience (as your “lie-o-meter” registers another lie) and you let her believe that lie.

Whoa. What a premise for Nancy Stewart‘s suspenseful middle-grade novel, Me and the Missouri Moon (Monarch Press, 2024). The protagonist wrestles with a theme that is dear to my heart and implicit in Half-Truths – there is risk in telling the truth and there are consequences when you don’t.

If I was using this book as a mentor text in the classroom, I would begin by talking about the inciting incident. The reader can readily identify how Scarlet is thrust into a deep dilemma when she witnesses her father’s car accidentally hitting a person on a bicycle and her father refusing to stop and help him. He swears her to secrecy with the threat that it’ll be her fault if she tells anyone and he goes to jail. He is well-known to the local police for his unruly behavior when he gets drunk, but Scarlet feels bound to keep his secret.

In this compelling book, Nancy Stewart created a cast of believable characters. Scarlet, doesn’t see herself as brave yet she is determined to defend her mother (the sole bread-winner), and protect her younger sister Billie from their father’s abuse. Scarlet’s new friend, Cricket, turns out not to be the snobby rich girl that Scarlet had imagined and the author hints at Cricket’s own run-in’s with bullies. Henry is a bully/misfit who Scarlet gradually understands and respects after finding out about his abusive father.

RECOMMENDATION

I’m copying Greg Pattridge‘s book reviews in highlighting a few parts I loved about this book:

1. As you might have gathered from the title, the moon is an important secondary character. I enjoyedd how Scarlet confides in the moon and finds comfort in its presence.
2. Scarlet reads Maya D’ANeglou‘s poems and is inspired by her bravery. (I love books with “real” people in them!) Angelou’s words, “Nobody has the right to treat you mean, not even your mama and daddy,” are crucial in Scarlet’s recognizing her father’s threats for what they are.
3. In the same way, I love how Scarlet realizes that even though her daddy is a bully, it’s his problem and not hers. “For the first time in maybe forever, I felt free for worrying about what he’d think, or say, or do.”
4. The setting, a small town in rural Missouri, is an authentic backdrop for the story, and a character too. “You can’t keep a secret in a tiny town like this,” Scarlet observes. The economic impact of it being a poor area and new land development opportunities is also woven into the story
5. Scarlet finds ways to resolve her problems and readers will close the book with empathy for someone they know who might be like Scarlet, and hope for themselves if they’re in an abusive family.

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

As a fellow Monarch author, I’m excited to share a wonderful review of ME AND THE MISSOURI MOON.  D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, at the Midwest Book Review wrote, “In her thinking, Scarlet represents a good girl whose ideals of the right thing are shaken by adult emotional situations that test her ability to stay good.

…..

Stewart introduces many bigger-picture moments and revelations in the course of presenting Scarlet’s life, creating compelling and thought-provoking events and connections that will prove thoroughly engrossing, covering subjects not usually approached in fiction for young readers ages 8-12.

These elements of discovery and contemplation not only give Me and the Missouri Moon a sense of realism missing from many stories for this age group, but invite book club and classroom discussions on all kinds of topics, from flawed family relationships to bigger realizations about parental choices and actions in the world outside the family home.

GIVEAWAY NEWS

If you want to win an autographed copy of this book, please leave a comment by August 27. If you are a teacher, librarian, or home school educator OR start following my blog OR share on social media, I’ll give you extra chances. U.S. addresses only for the physical copy. If you are overseas or in Canada, I can send you the ebook.

Congratulations to Marci Whitehurst who is growing her picturebook collection with the addition of Mushroom Rain.

Make sure you check out Greg’s wonderful MMGM blog with new middle-grade reviews every Monday.