brendaclay 's review for:

The Shade of the Moon by Susan Beth Pfeffer

2.0

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It pains me to say so, but with each Moon book, I'm wishing I'd stopped at Life As We Knew It (which is still amazing). This fourth volume is the bleakest yet. Little brother Jon, now seventeen, lives in a safe enclave with his stepmother and half-brother, while the rest of the family lives as slave laborers in a neighboring town. The entire story is a Lord of the Flies-esque downward spiral of class warfare, inhumane treatment, and horrific deaths. I do think we need occasional reminders that we could all turn savage under the right conditions (so we won't), but this was so awful that I almost gave up on it. There are glimmers of hope, but in their world, they wouldn't be enough to keep me going.