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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
KU
Três histórias paralelas vão sendo contadas e o leitor precisa (e vai) conectá-las ao final. A 1ª é de um casal que procura a filha desaparecida há três anos. Ela andava muito esquisita, rebelde antes de desaparecer e não há nenhuma dica de onde ela possa estar. A mãe desaprovava seu namorado drogado. A 2ª é a de Nikki, uma adolescente órfã que não tem onde ficar após denunciar o acolhedor por tentativa de estupro. A 3ª é de uma idosa, mãe de uma advogada, que, a pedido da filha, acolhe Nikki temporariamente. Certa noite, quase meia-noite, a senhora vê uma criança lavando louça na casa da vizinha, Suzette, sendo que o casal só tem um filho adolescente (Jacob); ela tenta investigar com Nikki que criança poderia ser aquela, se nunca a viram na rua e a vizinha nega que haja qualquer criança em sua casa. Nikki se aproxima do adolescente para tentar descobrir algo, nada. Em um ataque de fúria, por estar sendo investigada, assim como por Mia ter comido algo escondido, ela desaparece com a menina. Jacob fica desesperado sabendo que Suzette pode matá-la se quiser, conta tudo a Nikki e eles a encontram pelo localizador do celular; chama a polícia, a menina é salva. A mulher encontrou Mia (2 anos) na estrada e, em vez de levá-la à polícia, resolveu fazê-la de empregada por 3 anos. O marido desaprovava, mas ela fazia chantagens por ele ter se envolvido com uma paciente. Ambos são presos. Jacob vai morar com o tio e avó. Mia é filha da moça que está desaparecida. Esta foi morta (seus restos mortais são encontrados e há indícios de havia sido mãe) por seu namorado drogado. Ele foi morto há pouco tempo, em uma briga. Assim, Mia fica com os avós maternos. Jacob vai visitá-la (após muita insistência) para se despedir e deixar o cachorro da família com Mia. A avó acha que é melhor para a criança que eles percam o contato (????). Livro bom, mas muito previsível. Assim que vi que a havia uma mulher desaparecida e que uma criança foi encontrada, liguei logo os pontos e sabia que Nikki ajudaria no caso. Ela vai para a faculdade e continua morando com a senhora.
Três histórias paralelas vão sendo contadas e o leitor precisa (e vai) conectá-las ao final. A 1ª é de um casal que procura a filha desaparecida há três anos. Ela andava muito esquisita, rebelde antes de desaparecer e não há nenhuma dica de onde ela possa estar. A mãe desaprovava seu namorado drogado. A 2ª é a de Nikki, uma adolescente órfã que não tem onde ficar após denunciar o acolhedor por tentativa de estupro. A 3ª é de uma idosa, mãe de uma advogada, que, a pedido da filha, acolhe Nikki temporariamente. Certa noite, quase meia-noite, a senhora vê uma criança lavando louça na casa da vizinha, Suzette, sendo que o casal só tem um filho adolescente (Jacob); ela tenta investigar com Nikki que criança poderia ser aquela, se nunca a viram na rua e a vizinha nega que haja qualquer criança em sua casa. Nikki se aproxima do adolescente para tentar descobrir algo, nada. Em um ataque de fúria, por estar sendo investigada, assim como por Mia ter comido algo escondido, ela desaparece com a menina. Jacob fica desesperado sabendo que Suzette pode matá-la se quiser, conta tudo a Nikki e eles a encontram pelo localizador do celular; chama a polícia, a menina é salva. A mulher encontrou Mia (2 anos) na estrada e, em vez de levá-la à polícia, resolveu fazê-la de empregada por 3 anos. O marido desaprovava, mas ela fazia chantagens por ele ter se envolvido com uma paciente. Ambos são presos. Jacob vai morar com o tio e avó. Mia é filha da moça que está desaparecida. Esta foi morta (seus restos mortais são encontrados e há indícios de havia sido mãe) por seu namorado drogado. Ele foi morto há pouco tempo, em uma briga. Assim, Mia fica com os avós maternos. Jacob vai visitá-la (após muita insistência) para se despedir e deixar o cachorro da família com Mia. A avó acha que é melhor para a criança que eles percam o contato (????). Livro bom, mas muito previsível. Assim que vi que a havia uma mulher desaparecida e que uma criança foi encontrada, liguei logo os pontos e sabia que Nikki ajudaria no caso. Ela vai para a faculdade e continua morando com a senhora.
I don't often give out one star reviews. Those are reserved for books I just absolutely cannot finish because I believe they are written poorly. This book, even though I completed it, almost caused me to break that rule. But even though I didn't like it, it was written well enough that I could finish it. That's the only reason it got two stars.
The only thing positive I can say about this book is that the author knows how to write and this book was an easy read. I'm not going to infer her storytelling abilities in general from this book, but I will say this: this book is the most predictable and 1 dimensional piece of literature I've ever read.
I HATE writing reviews and negative reviews doubly so. But there was something about my frustration with this book that just kept boiling underneath the surface. All I kept thinking was that there was a great book lying beneath the surface of this one, but this wasn't it.
The title of the book makes a promise that just doesn't deliver. "The Moonlight Child" title evokes something ethereal that just doesn't exist. It simply refers to the fact that the first time one of the protagonists see the titular child is through a window during a full moon. That's it. That makes her "The Moonlight Child."
The protagonists are a grandma-type character (Sharon) and a scrappy kid that grew up in foster care (Niki). And that is the extent of their characterizations and most of their growth. Niki has a tiny arc of learning to feel comfortable with this new caretaker, but that's about it. Neither character seems to make any mistakes that have real consequences and anytime their actions create any tension, the author immediately douses that tension with the other character explaining away how they are OK. There were a couple of times where the characters make really dumb decisions, but there aren't any consequences, at all, to those decisions.
The antagonist might as well be a mustache twirling villain. She's basically the Mary Sue of crazy moms. She an over the top narcissist who is deluded in her own thinking and doesn't really suffer the consequences of her actions. Ever. She is ultimately stopped by the protagonist, but the last you see or hear of her is that she's being rescued from a car crash and is in custody. If the character arc of the antagonist continues how it's setup, you know she's just going to talk her way out of trouble. What's really frustrating is that you can see how her story could be improved and it feels like the author loads the gun, she just doesn't fire it.
The deuteragonist (the antagonist's son) is the only interesting character in the book and has an arc that begs to be explored more, but just isn't. He is an mentally abused kid who is trying to break free of his programming and the protagonist, in order to reach their goal, basically uses him to their ends. He goes from being mentally abused by his mother to being mentally manipulated by the protagonists. And the latter is viewed as a positive development. There are two chapters at the end of the book dedicated to the protagonist berating him for his part in the story, rather than realizing he was a victim as well and it took everything in his power to do the right thing even though it could ruin his entire life. I just felt bad for him. I get it, he was 17, but as someone who went through the kind of mental abuse he did and is still dealing with the fallout 20 years later, he was more of a hero of this story than either of the protagonists in my book. He was the only person who had a hard choice to make and he made the right call, even though it literally destroyed his whole world.
Like I said, I feel like there is such a great book lying below the surface of this book, and this book just wasn't it. Maybe if the author had ditched the protagonist and focused on the deuteragonist it would have been better. Or maybe if the protagonists or antagonist had any depth to them or any internal conflict it would have been better. There was just nothing. I felt like I was tracing a straight line.
The only thing positive I can say about this book is that the author knows how to write and this book was an easy read. I'm not going to infer her storytelling abilities in general from this book, but I will say this: this book is the most predictable and 1 dimensional piece of literature I've ever read.
I HATE writing reviews and negative reviews doubly so. But there was something about my frustration with this book that just kept boiling underneath the surface. All I kept thinking was that there was a great book lying beneath the surface of this one, but this wasn't it.
The title of the book makes a promise that just doesn't deliver. "The Moonlight Child" title evokes something ethereal that just doesn't exist. It simply refers to the fact that the first time one of the protagonists see the titular child is through a window during a full moon. That's it. That makes her "The Moonlight Child."
The protagonists are a grandma-type character (Sharon) and a scrappy kid that grew up in foster care (Niki). And that is the extent of their characterizations and most of their growth. Niki has a tiny arc of learning to feel comfortable with this new caretaker, but that's about it. Neither character seems to make any mistakes that have real consequences and anytime their actions create any tension, the author immediately douses that tension with the other character explaining away how they are OK. There were a couple of times where the characters make really dumb decisions, but there aren't any consequences, at all, to those decisions.
The antagonist might as well be a mustache twirling villain. She's basically the Mary Sue of crazy moms. She an over the top narcissist who is deluded in her own thinking and doesn't really suffer the consequences of her actions. Ever. She is ultimately stopped by the protagonist, but the last you see or hear of her is that she's being rescued from a car crash and is in custody. If the character arc of the antagonist continues how it's setup, you know she's just going to talk her way out of trouble. What's really frustrating is that you can see how her story could be improved and it feels like the author loads the gun, she just doesn't fire it.
The deuteragonist (the antagonist's son) is the only interesting character in the book and has an arc that begs to be explored more, but just isn't. He is an mentally abused kid who is trying to break free of his programming and the protagonist, in order to reach their goal, basically uses him to their ends. He goes from being mentally abused by his mother to being mentally manipulated by the protagonists. And the latter is viewed as a positive development. There are two chapters at the end of the book dedicated to the protagonist berating him for his part in the story, rather than realizing he was a victim as well and it took everything in his power to do the right thing even though it could ruin his entire life. I just felt bad for him. I get it, he was 17, but as someone who went through the kind of mental abuse he did and is still dealing with the fallout 20 years later, he was more of a hero of this story than either of the protagonists in my book. He was the only person who had a hard choice to make and he made the right call, even though it literally destroyed his whole world.
Like I said, I feel like there is such a great book lying below the surface of this book, and this book just wasn't it. Maybe if the author had ditched the protagonist and focused on the deuteragonist it would have been better. Or maybe if the protagonists or antagonist had any depth to them or any internal conflict it would have been better. There was just nothing. I felt like I was tracing a straight line.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
erg zielig verhaal. komt er snel doorheen! denk wel dat het een boek is dat ik snel weer vergeet, het had niet echt de plottwists of de spanning die ik verwacht had, maar wel een heel mooi einde
Such a good book! It pulled me in from the beginning. I kept wanting to read to see what happened next. I loved the connection between Sharon and Niki. There was nothing redeeming about Suzette. She was a nasty person who thought only of herself. I felt sorry for her son Jacob and the little girl Mia she brought into their home for all of the wrong reasons. Fortunately, the book ended well.
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Actual Rating: 3.5/5
Good story, well written... just... the suspense was lost on me I guess.
Good story, well written... just... the suspense was lost on me I guess.
The Moonlight Child is a howcatchem as opposed to a whodunit. You know that a crime is being committed, who is doing it, and most of the important details almost immediately. Which leaves the excitement to be drawn on how are our two main characters, Sharon and Niki, going to bring the villain to justice. There are some mysteries that linger, like where did Mia, the little girl who was kidnapped, come from, and how does this other storyline tie into the greater storyline, although your first guess will probably be correct. There are parts that felt pretty well written and realistic: the writing for Mia felt genuine, Sharon's "boomer-speak", and there was a paragraph about the Flemings' son Jacob writing a personal essay that was completely fictional that I could heavily relate to. However during a lot of this story you hear about events and traits that define the characters more than see them. You hear about Niki's past, Jacob's bullying, Sharon's relationship with her daughter, but we seldom experience those moments. The whole story feels like a not-so-secretly Christian book, there's a lot of judgmental writing about anyone who does drugs, and it has the same quality of a Christian movie/book. It's not a hard book to read, it keeps a nice pace, but too many times I thought the characters were acting more to serve the story than how they would act. I wouldn't recommend this book.