Blow Out the Moon

by Libby Koponen

Peppered with black-and-white photographs, illustrations, personal letters and documents from the author's own youth, this humorous and touching coming-of-age story follows a young American girl as she attends an English boarding school in the 1950s.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Boarding School, Middle Grade, Biography Memoir, Young Adult, Childrens, School

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

Reviews

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Insight To British Culture
This young adult book had more examples of what the Brits say or won't say,or what they do or wouldn't do in several situations than any other book that I have ever read.It really made me feel that I was there with the character.My Air Force father was stationed in England when I was a kid,and I remember a lot about their beautiful Country,and am an avid Anglophile.Much better than any travelogue of England to give you a real feeling for the culture.The info on the schools was really interesting,as well.

Really engaging story of an American family's 18-month stay in England.I read my library's copy.Highly recommended for all ages and especially other Anglophiles.

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been fascinated by stories with a boarding school setting (still am, obviously)! This one is narrated in first person by young Libby. Through her eyes, the reader gets to experience an English boarding school for girls in 1958. Libby is an American child, which causes quite a few difficulties at first. As the school term progresses, however, Libby becomes more comfortable as she learns to just be Libby; not just an American temporarily “trying” at being more English, but a regular girl, known for her vivaciousness and creativity amongst the others.
The beautiful cover with small picture squares, and the photographs scattered throughout, add much to this wonderful book! I’m so glad the author decided to share her boarding school experiences in this way!

[Sasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I requested this one as part of my young adult lit class final project on boarding schools. It didn't get to me for a month after I finished the semester through the magic of inter-library loan, but I'm glad because I would have wasted time on this one. First of all, it's a children's book, and there's no maturity in it that may have YA crossover appeal. It's extremely juvenile and twee. Not that it's that bad on its own, since this is a kids' book, just saying this would have been super frustrating for me in the middle of my end-of-semester hair-pulling-stress-fun time.

This one is a nonfiction about the author who attended an English boarding school for a year - away from her US home for a year and a half. The stories were interesting, but there's almost no thought put into how it feels to move around so much and the difficulty that comes with making and keeping friends. I've done this when I was about her age, and I didn't identify with the author almost at all, other than some very superficial aspects of new school (uniforms are cool! Some girls aren't nice to Americans just because kids suck!). There were maybe 1-2 off-hand sentences that hit on it, but nothing that would help kids in the same situation find solace.

It's a cute book with a lot of charm. I usually know how to enjoy kids' books, but this one was a little too young and lacked good transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and chapters for me to lose myself in it. I don't hate it, but I don't particularly like it either. I can tell the author is a very nice, very well-meaning person, but it wasn't for me.

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet but very very quiet. This is described as being 'based on a true story', but in effect I'm not sure how much was really fictionalised here. It might be more accurate to call this tidied-up memoir.

Heroine-Libby (as opposed to author-Libby) is excited to move to England for six months as a child...until she gets there. England in the 1950s is even more rule-based and class-based and fitting-in-based than a contemporary England, and she's not happy. Worse, as the end of the six months approaches, her parents deliver bad news: they're staying in England for another year. But there's a silver lining, because her parents are willing to send her to boarding school, where she might be happier than she has been at the local school.

So off Libby goes to school, where very little happens. In that sense it's a nice portrait of a specific time and place. She makes friends and learns a bit of French and has to follow rules and occasionally gets in a very small amount of trouble, and...then the year ends, and she goes home. I think I'd have enjoyed this quite a bit when I was the age Libby is in this book (I was already reading everything about boarding school that I could get my hands on), but from more of a distance (and thinking about my own, very different boarding-school experience) it has less appeal.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this nostalgic novel of the 1950s. Young Libby has an engaging voice and at times, a 'Ramona' type personality. I’m sure many readers will wish they could be best friends with her during her fascinating year at an English boarding school. I know I did, and by the end of the book, when a school group picture was mentioned, I was so hoping there would be a copy on the next page. Therefore, I was VERY excited to find the picture on Libby’s entertaining ifyoulovetoread dot com website where I can zoom in and get to know ALL of her classmates and teachers, as well as discover lots of other fun facts. Blow Out the Moon is a great choice for readers of all ages.

[Ilene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl who goes to england for a long time but then she goes to boarding school. It is a story about Libby Koponen, the author of this book. I enjoyed this book and read it many times.



ALSO....i emailed this author and she emailed me back and we this little convo going

[Stephanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly magical. It's basically a historic personal scrapbook with a story running through the middle. (and if you don't have the pretty cover with all the little photo squares, you are missing out) Ideal for a juvenile audience, but easily appreciated by adults with all its nostalgic charm.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really good. I read it as a book club book in fifth-grade. This is kind of like a autobiography of Libby Koponen's life, even though it sounds just like a story. Libby goes to live in London with her family and kids are making fun of her, and her American accent. it was only for 6 months but then they told her it was for another year too. She can't take it anymore and moves to a boarding school out in the country. She has a great time there and makes lots of new friends.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story of a young American girl's experience in an English boarding school-Sibton Park in the 1950's. It is a recollection of the author which focuses on not only her experience but also the cultural differences with which she had to adjust. This is an excellent introduction for any child interested or about to enter Boarding or private school. There is a patriotic bent to prefer American ways while appreciating what the British have to offer as well.
copy(2004)

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the author's childhood move to England and subsequent year at a girls' boarding school. The beginning moved kind of slowly for me, but I really enjoyed the descriptions of the boarding school. Photographs and childhood letters are scattered throughout the book—I liked that. Reading this makes me want to read more school stories!

[Deborah Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book multiple times in the third grade and I remember writing in my diary that it was my all time favorite novel! Definitely a simple and modest read, but it made me happy and put me at ease. It was easy to put myself in Libby's POV and pretend I was in Britain rather than Gwinnett County Public Schools :) I definitely need to buy a copy to keep in my future home.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book because what happens in it is mostly/all true! I love the way Libby Koponen wrote it, and at the back of the book her email address is listed. I wrote to her and she replied personaly!

In the book Libby is (I think) nine yrs. old but it's a good book for all girls.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only just remembered this book today, and I'm so glad I have because I really want to read it again now. I loved this book when I was a kid, I found it fascinating and really identified with Libby.

[Debra Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

American in England

A happy story of a young American girl's 18 months experience while in England including a year in boarding school. A fun read for middle school American girls.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written...I love this book!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book and it was awesome when Ms. Koponen came into our class and talked about the book.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very good! I loved how they descriped the scenery and how London really is. It was a great book.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

True account of american girl who goes to English boarding school for 1 year in 1950s.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely little memoir. I loved reading about her time in an english boarding school.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this years ago for a middle school book report and remember loving its story so much that I needed to find the name of it…I have since read a few boarding-school-focused novels bc of the intrigue of this story

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed reading this coming-of-age story, I sometimes felt as if it was written more for adits rather than children/teens. Set in the 1950s, Libby heads off to England with her family, leaving behind friends and her home. She is sent off to boarding school and the story relates her adjustment, both the highs and the lows. the plot was fun and interesting to me, as an adult. I am not sure readers the age of Libby will find it as endearing.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a memoir than fiction, this is the story of stalwart American Libby's year in a British boarding school at the age of 8 in 1959. Studded with photos of her essays and other memorabilia. I was most struck with how independent children were then, and separate from grown ups. Libby learned to ride horses and French and manners and had a thoroughly good time.

[Claire - The Coffeeholic Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This had been a very inspiring read. Libby is a talented writer and I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn something new with her memoir. Yes, this is the story of Libby, from her childhood in New York to London, from her undesirable experiences in her new school, to coping up and moving to a better and nicer boarding school. Sibton Park was more than a school to her, it was more like her second home, with all those wonderful friends she'd made and the chance to show her skill in writing and yep, riding a horse!

I got a paperback of this book in our local bookstore. I instantly liked the cover because it featured a young girl standing in front of a gated fence looking at a school building, maybe contemplating if she's gonna give it a go or just run away. The image is powerful and drew me in.

What I also loved about this book are the real pictures that Libby had kept from those years living in London, those letters she wrote, the tea set, the dolls, the paddocks, even her French tests and pair of Wellingtons. The book, all in all, is a beauty! And if there's one thing that made me really love her and the story, it was the inclusion of the map of Kensington Gardens (remember Peter Pan?) and Hansel and Gretel! Yes, those were favorites of mine and it's nice to read a novelized memoir about a girl after my own heart.

[LauraW · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple, straightforward book about a young girls year and a half in England. During this time, she attended a boarding school, which is what piqued my interest, as I have read quite a few boarding school books. Since this book is a memoir (autobiography? - I am not good at the differences), it really doesn't have a big plot, but is rather a series of vignettes about her experiences. It is nice, but ultimately it lacks the depth that I long for.

[Emily Maestre-Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a young girl who finds out she is moving to london for 6 months. At first she is very excited at first but then when she tells her fiends she realizes she would miss them. when she gets there, she finds that she hates it in London. this is a true story and i would love to go to london just like libby. this was a really good book.

[Jen Traub · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a young girl whose family moves to England in the 1950s. She attends boarding school for her year there. I thought the premise was interesting but didn't really feel like the book had much of a plot; it just told about her experiences and then ended. I wish it would have been more reflective on what was important and what wasn't.

[Maureen E · Rating 3 out of 5]

A true story of an American girl’s time in English boarding school. It was interesting, but to be honest, I didn’t feel there was all that much of a story, at least not when she was actually at the boarding school. (March 2008)

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl and her family move to England for her father's job. She ends up at a boarding school and this chronicles her memories of that time. Based on the author's experiences. I enjoyed this book, but it is a memoir and not a story.

[CLM · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pleasant but somewhat inadequate. Written in a very babyish way.

[Karen Glass · Rating 4 out of 5]

gentlr story of young girls year in an English boarding school.