Title: The Girl Who Chased the Moon
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Country: U.S.A.
Year: 2010
After reading The Sugar Queen I decided I wanted to try other books by Sarah Addison Allen; I chose this one becauseI liked the girly cover the sample was really cool. It’s a romantic, magical realism novel, which is characteristic of the author. I like it, I think she's a good writer but this book has two parallel stories that could easily not be related. One is really good, the other is... not.
This is the tale of two women. The first is Emily, a recently orphaned teenager who moves to Mullaby, North Carolina to live with her grandfather. The other is Julia, who has moved back to Mullaby to take care of her father's business and hopes to go back to her normal life in Baltimore soon. Julia will have to face her own past to settle matters she thought she had already left behind while Emily will have to deal with her mother's past, one which will make a whole town judge her without her knowing.
Emily and Julia become friends from the beginning and share a lot together, but neither of them is crucial in the other's story. I loved Julia's tale, but Emily's tasted a bit too much of paranormal teen romance. It's not that bad, really, but I'm gonna let myself whine and rant this off my chest.
There were too many fantastic elements surrounding Win, the guy Emily ultimately gets with. Yes, yes, it's called magical realism for a reason, but there was too much magic and not enough credible human reactions (Let's lock ourselves up in a closet so you can see me glow in the dark-Okay!). Yet, it was not the magic what bothered me the most, it was the constant similarities with certain series of popular books that made me want to slap theauthor book shut (someone's been reading too much Twilight).
First off, there's Emily's passiveness in reaction to everything. I understand she's the new girl in town who wants to blend in, so I didn't let that bother me, but then lo and behold! Paranormal Boy appears. This boy, Win, posseses a lot of information Emily desperately needs, but he denies it to her even though he tells her he knows a big deal about Emily's mother. Not only that, he flaunts it in her face, claiming they have a history together she can't even begin to imagine. And then he disappears, as misteriously as he arrived.
Later on, as Emily finds out Dulcie (her mother) was a cruel person who shamelessly led Win's uncle to suicide, Win finally gives her a detailed version of the story and points out how his family hates Dulcie and now that she's dead they hate Emily as well. Yet, he does not blame Emily for her mother's sins and agrees to be friends with her. But being friends is not enough, because a supernatural, overwhelming and uncontrollable force attracts the two of them, making them say and do things they never thought they would. No, it's not just love. Love is for ordinary humans and Win is no ordinary human, bitchplease, he glows in the dark. Actually, he glows under the moonlight, thanks to a genetic feature passed down for generations in his family. And to top things off, there are no ghosts in Emily's bedroom, that's just Winstalking watching her sleep at night. Ugh.
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Country: U.S.A.
Year: 2010
After reading The Sugar Queen I decided I wanted to try other books by Sarah Addison Allen; I chose this one because
This is the tale of two women. The first is Emily, a recently orphaned teenager who moves to Mullaby, North Carolina to live with her grandfather. The other is Julia, who has moved back to Mullaby to take care of her father's business and hopes to go back to her normal life in Baltimore soon. Julia will have to face her own past to settle matters she thought she had already left behind while Emily will have to deal with her mother's past, one which will make a whole town judge her without her knowing.Emily and Julia become friends from the beginning and share a lot together, but neither of them is crucial in the other's story. I loved Julia's tale, but Emily's tasted a bit too much of paranormal teen romance. It's not that bad, really, but I'm gonna let myself whine and rant this off my chest.
There were too many fantastic elements surrounding Win, the guy Emily ultimately gets with. Yes, yes, it's called magical realism for a reason, but there was too much magic and not enough credible human reactions (Let's lock ourselves up in a closet so you can see me glow in the dark-Okay!). Yet, it was not the magic what bothered me the most, it was the constant similarities with certain series of popular books that made me want to slap the
First off, there's Emily's passiveness in reaction to everything. I understand she's the new girl in town who wants to blend in, so I didn't let that bother me, but then lo and behold! Paranormal Boy appears. This boy, Win, posseses a lot of information Emily desperately needs, but he denies it to her even though he tells her he knows a big deal about Emily's mother. Not only that, he flaunts it in her face, claiming they have a history together she can't even begin to imagine. And then he disappears, as misteriously as he arrived.
Later on, as Emily finds out Dulcie (her mother) was a cruel person who shamelessly led Win's uncle to suicide, Win finally gives her a detailed version of the story and points out how his family hates Dulcie and now that she's dead they hate Emily as well. Yet, he does not blame Emily for her mother's sins and agrees to be friends with her. But being friends is not enough, because a supernatural, overwhelming and uncontrollable force attracts the two of them, making them say and do things they never thought they would. No, it's not just love. Love is for ordinary humans and Win is no ordinary human, bitchplease, he glows in the dark. Actually, he glows under the moonlight, thanks to a genetic feature passed down for generations in his family. And to top things off, there are no ghosts in Emily's bedroom, that's just Win
Ok, ok, maybe it's not that bad... truth to be told it's a nice story with enough drama to be credible and enough amount of fantasy not
to make it OVERLY extraordinary. Plus it has an uncomplicated, rational ending with a twist that made me smile
On the other hand, Julia's story rocks and is completely different.
Julia is determined, hardworking and tough as nails. But she was not always like that, Mullaby remembers her past as as a moody, troubled teenager that had to leave for a reformatory because of self-destructive behaviour (though that's not the official story). What I like about Julia is that no fairy godmother changed her into who she is with the flick of a wand, it took her years of therapy to get her there and she says so herself.
But even now, there are parts of her past that she eventually can't keep ignoring and put her in a vulnerable situation, one of which is Sawyer.
Now Sawyer is a confident, proud and charming young man the term "archetype of southern men" describes well. (Note: Southern as in from the southern states of U.S.A.) He's extremely cavalier and I love him for that. And I guess so does Julia. They are just meant for each other, you can just picture him holding her still while she whines and throws her tantrum- cause she’s learned to show her anger and emotions a little too well in therapy.
Sawyer was Julia's high school crush. Back then she thought he could save her but she learned the hard way that only herself should carry the weight of her future. She has to save herself.
Both characters changed in the years apart, Julia learned through tough personal experience and Sawyer... just grew up. This is a big theme in the book: change. The reason why Emily couldn't believe her mother had been such a horrible person so long ago was because she had known a competely different Dulcie. Emily's mother was a selfless, devoted woman who fought for making the world a better place, whereas Dulcie the teenager was a selfish, spoiled, cruel girl.
Other themes are forgiveness, prejudice and redemption. Other characters are Stella and Hollly, who may have been mean back in school, hanging out with Dulcie, but that doesn’t make them evil. Julia herself couldn't believe how Stella was so eager to become friends with her and help her out- in her own way.
On the other hand, Julia's story rocks and is completely different.
Julia is determined, hardworking and tough as nails. But she was not always like that, Mullaby remembers her past as as a moody, troubled teenager that had to leave for a reformatory because of self-destructive behaviour (though that's not the official story). What I like about Julia is that no fairy godmother changed her into who she is with the flick of a wand, it took her years of therapy to get her there and she says so herself.
But even now, there are parts of her past that she eventually can't keep ignoring and put her in a vulnerable situation, one of which is Sawyer.
Now Sawyer is a confident, proud and charming young man the term "archetype of southern men" describes well. (Note: Southern as in from the southern states of U.S.A.) He's extremely cavalier and I love him for that. And I guess so does Julia. They are just meant for each other, you can just picture him holding her still while she whines and throws her tantrum- cause she’s learned to show her anger and emotions a little too well in therapy.
Sawyer was Julia's high school crush. Back then she thought he could save her but she learned the hard way that only herself should carry the weight of her future. She has to save herself.
Both characters changed in the years apart, Julia learned through tough personal experience and Sawyer... just grew up. This is a big theme in the book: change. The reason why Emily couldn't believe her mother had been such a horrible person so long ago was because she had known a competely different Dulcie. Emily's mother was a selfless, devoted woman who fought for making the world a better place, whereas Dulcie the teenager was a selfish, spoiled, cruel girl.
Other themes are forgiveness, prejudice and redemption. Other characters are Stella and Hollly, who may have been mean back in school, hanging out with Dulcie, but that doesn’t make them evil. Julia herself couldn't believe how Stella was so eager to become friends with her and help her out- in her own way.
Even though Emily gives Sawyer and Julia something in common to care for, she is not a crucial puzzle piece for their getting together. Julia's story is strong
and awesome by itself and, in my humble opinion, the main one- she's the girl who
chases the moon afterall, which, as she told Sawyer, stands for happiness.
Although you could say the moon is Win and Emily chases him but oh well.
More than a tale of two women, this book could be the tale of a town, bringing together two (or more) women. All in all, thumbs up for this one!
More than a tale of two women, this book could be the tale of a town, bringing together two (or more) women. All in all, thumbs up for this one!
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