Moonrise

by Sarah Crossan

Overview

From Carnegie Award-winning author Sarah Crossan comes a poignant and thought-provoking novel that explores life, sibling bonds, and forgiveness as a teen tries to reconnect with his brother on death row for a crime he may not have committed.

Seventeen-year-old Joe hasn't seen his brother in ten years. Ed didn’t walk out on the family, not exactly. It’s something more brutal.

Ed’s locked up — on death row.

Now his execution date has been set, and the clock is ticking. Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with his brother, no matter what other people think ... and no matter whether Ed committed the crime. But did he? And does it matter, in the end?

This poignant, timely, heartbreaking novel asks big questions: What value do you place on life? What can you forgive? And just how do you say goodbye?

Acclaim for Sarah Crossan
2016 Carnegie Award winner, One
Shortlisted for the 2016 FCBG Book Award, Apple and Rain
Shortlisted for the 2015 Carnegie Award, Apple and Rain
Shortlisted for the 2013 Carnegie Award, The Weight of Water

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681193663
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	05/08/2018
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	311,168
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Sarah Crossan is the author of young adult novels One, winner of the Carnegie Medal, Apple and Rain and The Weight of Water, both short-listed, Moonrise, Being Toffee, Breathe, and Resist, as well as Here is the Beehive, a novel for adults. She grew up in Ireland and England, taught English in the United States and continues to promote creative writing in schools, and now lives in Hertfordshire. She is the current Laureate na nÓg (Children's Laureate) of Ireland.
Twitter: @SarahCrossan
Instagram: @SarahCrossanWriter

Editorial Reviews

04/23/2018
It’s been 10 years since 17-year old Joe has seen his older brother, Ed, who is on death row for murder. After Ed’s execution date is set, Joe travels to Wakeling, Tex., to be near him in his final weeks. As his brother vehemently denies his guilt and hopes for a stay of execution, Joe, lonely in an unfamiliar place, reflects on their difficult childhood; the good-hearted, protective Ed of his memories; and the shadowed, convicted murderer he sees daily. Crossan (One) masterfully portrays Joe’s intense feelings of confusion, anger, and abandonment through conversational, fluid free verse, with thoughtful rhythm and line breaks. Joe—and even Ed—are sympathetic characters, and readers may shudder at memories of their mother’s neglect and the guilt-by-association Joe experiences as a relative of a convicted felon and death-row inmate. New relationships with Wakeling locals, all of whom have an attachment to the prison, allow Joe a retreat from the heaviness of his thoughts and room to recognize important truths: “We aren’t the worst things we did / or the worst things that happen to us. / We’re other stuff too.” Ages 14¬up. Agent: Julia Churchill, A.M. Heath. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"This exquisitely well-balanced novel-in-verse is painful to read yet almost impossible to put down. . . . Each character is fully realized, with even walk-on characters brought vividly to life with a few deft words. . . . A must-purchase for collections." - starred review, School Library Journal

"Beautifully told and incredibly powerful. . . . Deeply moving and thoughtful, Moonrise is a challenging, potent reminder that there is great injustice in the justice system and questions whether the death penalty is ever a fitting punishment." - starred review, Foreword Reviews

"Brutally emotional . . . Crossan's eloquent usage of language in this deeply affecting novel puts readers right at the heart of a very sensitive and timely story." - Kirkus Reviews

"Touching and heartrending . . . A timely catalyst destined to spark discussions about rights, fairness, and a justice system that succeeds for some but devastates others." - Booklist

"By telling Ed’s story and focusing attention on the kindness and grief of people who have likewise lost relatives to execution as well as the toll it takes on the warden and his daughter, Crossan complicates the sites of empathy and ethics around this issue, making this rarely told story a useful discussion starter." - BCCB

"This contemporary star-crossed love affair is convincing and moving—and also a heartbreakingly timely portrayal of discrimination and bullying." - Horn Book Magazine on WE COME APART

"This is honest, unapologetic realism from a diverse perspective not often seen in fiction for teens. Not to be overlooked." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review on ONE

"Crossan's novel achieves a striking balance between sentimentality and sisterly devotion." - Publishers Weekly, starred review on ONE

"Crossan’s ear is flawless in capturing the cries of a young girl’s heart." - BCCB on APPLE AND RAIN

"Readers . . . will cheer for Apple and Rain." - Publishers Weekly on APPLE AND RAIN

"[The] story is involving, and Apple and Rain are engaging, sympathetic characters. This one is for readers who dote on happy endings." - Booklist on APPLE AND RAIN

"This is a wrenching but hopeful story of displacement, loneliness, and survival. . . . Crossan’s verse packs a punch as she examines the power that difference — but also determination — can wield." - Publishers Weekly, starred review on THE WEIGHT OF WATER

"Graceful, effortless verse. . . . A sweet, well-paced tale [with] a silver lining." - School Library Journal, starred review on THE WEIGHT OF WATER

"A powerful coming-of-age novel about family and discovering how to be true to yourself that is well worth reading." - Booklist on THE WEIGHT OF WATER

"Narrating in image-rich free verse that packs an emotional punch, Kasienka describes what life is like for a new arrival while also exploring universal themes. . . . Memorable." - Kirkus Reviews on THE WEIGHT OF WATER

From the Publisher

★ 03/01/2018
Gr 10 Up—This exquisitely well-balanced novel-in-verse is painful to read yet almost impossible to put down. Told in a series of titled poems, it weaves in and out over a time line spanning most of 17-year-old Joe Moon's life, alternating between the present, in which Joe is spending his summer in a dusty small town in Texas, visiting his older brother Ed who is on death row, and moments in the past. Readers catch glimpses of Joe's early childhood, when Ed and older sister Angela essentially served as his parents, as well as the moments after Ed leaves home, his arrest, and vignettes of the family's life over the intervening decades. As complex as this structure is, the plot maintains its momentum and clarity. This work also manages to be adamantly anti—death penalty, which is delivered with a light touch and integrated seamlessly into the story. Instead, the focus is on Joe and his struggle to come to terms not just with his brother's sentence, but also with the nagging worry that he might come to a similar end. Most impressive, each character is fully realized, with even walk-on characters brought vividly to life with a few deft words. VERDICT A must-purchase for collections serving thoughtful older teens.—Eileen Makoff, P.S. 90 Edna Cohen School, New York City

School Library Journal

2018-03-20
Moonrise encapsulates the decline of the Moon family after the eldest brother, Ed, is incarcerated for allegedly killing a police officer.Joe, Ed's 17-year-old brother, makes the trek from New Jersey to Wakeling, Texas, where he visits his brother on death row before his execution. As the brothers haven't seen each other in 10 years, their exchanges are as intense as they are endearing. As Joe waits and hopes that his brother's fate will be changed, he meets witty Nell, a waitress in a Texas diner, and she brings temporary relief to his lonely and grief-stricken state. But a surprise encounter with a member of Nell's family could have devastating consequences for the budding romance. This is a brutally emotional novel in verse that explores the complexity of the American justice system, the death penalty, and the irreparable toll taken on the families of loved ones who are in the penal system. The characters in this story are all white, but issues of race and class are lightly touched upon—particularly the severity of punishment for individuals accused of killing white law enforcement officers.Crossan's (We Come Apart, 2017, etc.) eloquent usage of language in this deeply affecting novel puts readers right at the heart of a very sensitive and timely story. (Novel in verse. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

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