Reviewed by Olivia
Rating: High Five! Favorite book of the year
Who I'd Recommend to: Anyone remotely interested in the universe. Fans of Stargirl, and A Mango Shaped Space.
Fav Quote: (coming soon)]
Summary (from Amazon):
And as streams of light fan out behind the darkened sun like the wings of a butterfly, I realize that I never saw real beauty until now.
At Moon Shadow, an isolated campground, thousands have gathered to catch a glimpse of a rare and extraordinary total eclipse of the sun. Three lives are about to be changed forever:
Ally:
Ally likes the simple things in life-labyrinths, star-gazing, and comet-hunting. Her home, the moon shadow campground, is a part of who she is. She refuses to imagine it any other way.
Bree:
Popular, gorgeous (everybody says so), a future homecoming queen for sure. Bree wears her beauty like a suit of armor. But what is she trying to hide?
Jack:
Overweight and awkward, jack is used to spending a lot of time alone. But when opportunity knocks, he finds himself in situations he never would have imagined.
Told from three distinct voices and perspectives, Wendy Mass weaves an intricate and compelling story about strangers coming together, unlikely friendships, and finding one's place in the universe.
Rating: High Five! Favorite book of the year
Who I'd Recommend to: Anyone remotely interested in the universe. Fans of Stargirl, and A Mango Shaped Space.
Fav Quote: (coming soon)]
Summary (from Amazon):
And as streams of light fan out behind the darkened sun like the wings of a butterfly, I realize that I never saw real beauty until now.
At Moon Shadow, an isolated campground, thousands have gathered to catch a glimpse of a rare and extraordinary total eclipse of the sun. Three lives are about to be changed forever:
Ally:
Ally likes the simple things in life-labyrinths, star-gazing, and comet-hunting. Her home, the moon shadow campground, is a part of who she is. She refuses to imagine it any other way.
Bree:
Popular, gorgeous (everybody says so), a future homecoming queen for sure. Bree wears her beauty like a suit of armor. But what is she trying to hide?
Jack:
Overweight and awkward, jack is used to spending a lot of time alone. But when opportunity knocks, he finds himself in situations he never would have imagined.
Told from three distinct voices and perspectives, Wendy Mass weaves an intricate and compelling story about strangers coming together, unlikely friendships, and finding one's place in the universe.
This book will forever be in my heart. I've seen eclipses before, but I've never seen a full eclipse. I had planned on saving money to go work with tigers in Thailand when I finished college, but I'm seriously considering putting it towards seeing a full, get-dark-during-the-day eclipse. I really can't say if the author did an accurate depiction of what it feels like to see an eclipse, since I've never seen one, but she definitely made it seem like something that people would travel from across the world to see.
I loved the characters. And the issues. And the beauty.
Jack was amazing. I love how we got to see how much he changed, and how I got to cry along with him for leaving the Moon Shadow. (not that he actually cried, but it felt very emotional). I completely felt his feelings, and understood him perfectly. I know that feeling of flying in your sleep, and I definitely would want to learn how to do it whenever you wanted. Especially if I was Jack.
Bree was hilarious, but the end... I just really felt it. The change in her made me want to cry for joy. She was still Bree- mall loving, clothes obsessed, plastic surgery on whatever wasn't perfect about you Bree- but she understood. She understood how much a gift it was to live where you can pick out any constellation. And that was a beautiful transaction to watch.
Ally... well, I hate to use Ryan's words, but she was just Ally. Simple as that. But I loved it. She didn't show any major change, but she didn't need to to be impressive. I kinda want to be Ally now. She has really gotten me into astronomy just as much as she did Bree, or Jack.
The problems were great. Ally and Bree's attempts at changing their parent's minds was really funny. But deeper than that, I just loved Jack's issue with seeing the eclipse, or Ally's with after the eclipse, or Bree's with letting out her "inner geek."
Though I didn't see a ton of actual descriptive beauty until the eclipse, that part was mind blowing. Mind blowing. The only words to describe it.
I loved the characters. And the issues. And the beauty.
Jack was amazing. I love how we got to see how much he changed, and how I got to cry along with him for leaving the Moon Shadow. (not that he actually cried, but it felt very emotional). I completely felt his feelings, and understood him perfectly. I know that feeling of flying in your sleep, and I definitely would want to learn how to do it whenever you wanted. Especially if I was Jack.
Bree was hilarious, but the end... I just really felt it. The change in her made me want to cry for joy. She was still Bree- mall loving, clothes obsessed, plastic surgery on whatever wasn't perfect about you Bree- but she understood. She understood how much a gift it was to live where you can pick out any constellation. And that was a beautiful transaction to watch.
Ally... well, I hate to use Ryan's words, but she was just Ally. Simple as that. But I loved it. She didn't show any major change, but she didn't need to to be impressive. I kinda want to be Ally now. She has really gotten me into astronomy just as much as she did Bree, or Jack.
The problems were great. Ally and Bree's attempts at changing their parent's minds was really funny. But deeper than that, I just loved Jack's issue with seeing the eclipse, or Ally's with after the eclipse, or Bree's with letting out her "inner geek."
Though I didn't see a ton of actual descriptive beauty until the eclipse, that part was mind blowing. Mind blowing. The only words to describe it.
