Review: What the Moon Said

What the Moon Said by Gayle Rosengren

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Well, I finished it and I am still trying to figure out why I found the book a bit more problematic than I expected. One of my Goodreads friends described it as being like Anne of Green Gables, only about the Depression era. I guess one of the things that troubles me about this - and perhaps my respect for Anne of Green Gables colored my perception of this book - was that Anne was continually striving to be honest and good. She had trouble measuring up, but she was usually completely honest about her failures.

In this book, I got the feeling that various characters were excusing their failures. Esther goes against her mother's explicit instructions to not be a friend to Bethany - and makes excuses for her failure to obey her mother. Her mother, in turn, only changes her mind about Bethany, because she saved Esther's life. She didn't really change her mind about the superstitions.

The final realization about love and family is wonderful, but it felt a bit hollow to me. I expected the revelation about Tatiana, but it came so late in the book that, while it provided explanation, it didn't provide redemption for some of the things the mother had done.

Finally, I am not sure what to think about the men preventing the auction of the neighbor's farm by blocking the road. On the one hand, it showed solidarity in the community. On the other hand, it was not completely honest. I think it was necessary, but I also think it might have merited some discussion with the children about why, in some cases, there were reasons to not be completely straightforward.



View all my reviews