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Under the Moon
A girl who's lost her sleep...
A boy who's lost his dreams...
And twenty-six nights that change their lives.
Fifteen-year-old Lily MacArthur has trouble sleeping. In fact, she doesn't sleep at all--at least, not since the death of her aunt. As the days turn into weeks, Lily becomes convinced that death-by-exhaustion is around the corner and searches the moonlit nights for a way to save herself from the long, dark hours of solitude.
Can her new friend, Ben, help her find her sleep? Or do secrets from Ben's past mean that he also needs saving?
A boy who's lost his dreams...
And twenty-six nights that change their lives.
Fifteen-year-old Lily MacArthur has trouble sleeping. In fact, she doesn't sleep at all--at least, not since the death of her aunt. As the days turn into weeks, Lily becomes convinced that death-by-exhaustion is around the corner and searches the moonlit nights for a way to save herself from the long, dark hours of solitude.
Can her new friend, Ben, help her find her sleep? Or do secrets from Ben's past mean that he also needs saving?
- GenresYoung AdultFiction
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
4 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Deborah Kerbel
45 books216 followersDeborah Kerbel was born in London, England, but grew up in Toronto, Canada.
A finalist for the 2012 Governor General's Literary Award, the 2010 Canadian Library Association YA Book of the Year Award, 2019 Blue Spruce Award Honour Book, and winner of the 2020 IODE Jean Throop Book Award, Deborah is the author of ten books for young readers of all ages.
Currently, Deborah lives and writes in Thornhill, Ontario, with her husband, two book loving teens, and a schnoodle named Fred.
Visit her at www.deborahkerbel.ca
A finalist for the 2012 Governor General's Literary Award, the 2010 Canadian Library Association YA Book of the Year Award, 2019 Blue Spruce Award Honour Book, and winner of the 2020 IODE Jean Throop Book Award, Deborah is the author of ten books for young readers of all ages.
Currently, Deborah lives and writes in Thornhill, Ontario, with her husband, two book loving teens, and a schnoodle named Fred.
Visit her at www.deborahkerbel.ca
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 31, 2012
This review is from my book review site TRY THIS BOOK ON FOR SIZE:
http://trythisbookonforsize.blogspot.ca/
15-year-old Lily MacArthur is not sleeping. Ever since her eccentric romance novel writing Aunt Su passed away, she's been wide-eyed and counting the days left of her existence. Lily knows humans can only live so long without sleep (she's Googled it). While the clock of doom counts down her dwindling seconds, Lily makes the most of her time left on Earth.
Lily is such an adorable character. She's saucy and introverted and looking for wonder. Her Aunt Su is a pivotal character in her life--the polar opposite of Lily's rigid domineering mother. Su wore muumuus, smoked (and grew her own) pot in her segregated cabin in the woods. She was worldly and she had a shelf full of best-selling romance novels under her belt to prove it. Clearly, Aunt Su is who Lily strives to be. She wants to be nothing like her control-freak mother, whom she not so endearingly refers to as General MacArthur.
Lily’s sleepless nights lead her to wandering the streets of her small town. And this leads her directly to the all-night fry place's drive-thu window and the new boy in town. She is immediately drawn to the morose Ben Matthews, who has a mystery she’s willing to get to the bottom of. Kerbel did a great job with the emotional landscape of this Ben character. He brushes the line of inappropriateness so often, it leaves the reader waiting to like him, but ultimately cautious. With whatever it is he’s going through clearly weighing deeply on his soul, Ben tends towards meanness when speaking to Lily. Kerbel set this up PERFECTLY because the reader is—by the time Ben shows up—completely invested in Lily. We are protective of her, as much as we are excited for her.
So, we have an interesting storyline that pulls us along at a great pace. Lily’s aunt dies—Lily stops sleeping and knows that eventually this could kill her—Lily meets the new town hottie before anybody else gets a chance to—Lily’s mother is a control-freak with a daughter who seems on the cusp of rampant disorder. These are all intriguing storylines. Throw in the fact Aunt Su willed everything she owned to Lily, the fact that new social movement—a movement Lily is none to impressed with—attempts to bring Lily into its fold and the dark tale of loss spiraling out behind Ben that is about to put him in very real and immediate peril and you have a fantastic novel in Under the Moon!
Kerbel establishes a wonderful character in Lily…one the reader is compelled to love. And then she takes her (and the reader) on a wonderfully quirky adventure. I won’t say this novel is perfect—there are no perfect novels—but I will tell you I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. There are a couple coincidences in the story that are a bit timely…but they are EASILY forgivable. Lily is a character you will remember for a long time after reading her story. Which is what I think you should do right now—you’ll have to find out for yourself if things work out for her. After breaking the world record for staying awake longer than the last person who died of sleeplessness, there’s not a lot of options for Lily. Kerbel does a phenomenal job of making Lily’s future look bright while simultaneously keeping her perilously awake and in danger of dying. Enjoy the read!
http://trythisbookonforsize.blogspot.ca/
15-year-old Lily MacArthur is not sleeping. Ever since her eccentric romance novel writing Aunt Su passed away, she's been wide-eyed and counting the days left of her existence. Lily knows humans can only live so long without sleep (she's Googled it). While the clock of doom counts down her dwindling seconds, Lily makes the most of her time left on Earth.
Lily is such an adorable character. She's saucy and introverted and looking for wonder. Her Aunt Su is a pivotal character in her life--the polar opposite of Lily's rigid domineering mother. Su wore muumuus, smoked (and grew her own) pot in her segregated cabin in the woods. She was worldly and she had a shelf full of best-selling romance novels under her belt to prove it. Clearly, Aunt Su is who Lily strives to be. She wants to be nothing like her control-freak mother, whom she not so endearingly refers to as General MacArthur.
Lily’s sleepless nights lead her to wandering the streets of her small town. And this leads her directly to the all-night fry place's drive-thu window and the new boy in town. She is immediately drawn to the morose Ben Matthews, who has a mystery she’s willing to get to the bottom of. Kerbel did a great job with the emotional landscape of this Ben character. He brushes the line of inappropriateness so often, it leaves the reader waiting to like him, but ultimately cautious. With whatever it is he’s going through clearly weighing deeply on his soul, Ben tends towards meanness when speaking to Lily. Kerbel set this up PERFECTLY because the reader is—by the time Ben shows up—completely invested in Lily. We are protective of her, as much as we are excited for her.
So, we have an interesting storyline that pulls us along at a great pace. Lily’s aunt dies—Lily stops sleeping and knows that eventually this could kill her—Lily meets the new town hottie before anybody else gets a chance to—Lily’s mother is a control-freak with a daughter who seems on the cusp of rampant disorder. These are all intriguing storylines. Throw in the fact Aunt Su willed everything she owned to Lily, the fact that new social movement—a movement Lily is none to impressed with—attempts to bring Lily into its fold and the dark tale of loss spiraling out behind Ben that is about to put him in very real and immediate peril and you have a fantastic novel in Under the Moon!
Kerbel establishes a wonderful character in Lily…one the reader is compelled to love. And then she takes her (and the reader) on a wonderfully quirky adventure. I won’t say this novel is perfect—there are no perfect novels—but I will tell you I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. There are a couple coincidences in the story that are a bit timely…but they are EASILY forgivable. Lily is a character you will remember for a long time after reading her story. Which is what I think you should do right now—you’ll have to find out for yourself if things work out for her. After breaking the world record for staying awake longer than the last person who died of sleeplessness, there’s not a lot of options for Lily. Kerbel does a phenomenal job of making Lily’s future look bright while simultaneously keeping her perilously awake and in danger of dying. Enjoy the read!
May 21, 2012
What would you do if you never slept? This question is the foundation for Deborah Kerbel's fascinating new novel. The plot moves along quickly and teens will be engaged by this fast-paced read.
June 15, 2021
Under the Moon is an extremely moving and emotional story about fifteen-year-old Lily MacArthur who lost her sleep as a result of the tragic death of her aunt, the eccentric romance novel writer. As her ticking time bomb counts down to its last moments, Lily decides to make the most of her time left on Earth.
Lily is a charming and lovable character. She is also introverted and cheeky, which makes her personality even more appealing. Her Aunt Su is an essential part of her life, as she is someone who Lily very clearly strives to be. Su is shown as a complete polar opposite of her younger sister, Lily’s overly controlling mother, whom she refers to as General MacArthur throughout the book. This book was definitely a page-turner and left me guessing what was going to happen next. I found myself unable to put the book down! Kerbel creates an amazing character for Lily, one the reader is sure to fall in love with. Although I felt drawn to the books’ plot line and few major characters, the novel itself felt very fast paced and I felt I did not get enough time to become fully acquainted with each individual character.
For those who enjoy dipping their toes into the world of compelling fiction romance novels, this book is perfect for you! This novel is an intense young adult read proving just how powerful the mind is.
My overall impression of this novel is that it was nearly impossible to put the book away. I fell in love with the characters, especially Aunt Su, who was so extremely eccentric and interesting. Lily is a character who you will not cease to forget about after reading Kerbel’s novel. An amazing novel overall and a good read.
Lily is a charming and lovable character. She is also introverted and cheeky, which makes her personality even more appealing. Her Aunt Su is an essential part of her life, as she is someone who Lily very clearly strives to be. Su is shown as a complete polar opposite of her younger sister, Lily’s overly controlling mother, whom she refers to as General MacArthur throughout the book. This book was definitely a page-turner and left me guessing what was going to happen next. I found myself unable to put the book down! Kerbel creates an amazing character for Lily, one the reader is sure to fall in love with. Although I felt drawn to the books’ plot line and few major characters, the novel itself felt very fast paced and I felt I did not get enough time to become fully acquainted with each individual character.
For those who enjoy dipping their toes into the world of compelling fiction romance novels, this book is perfect for you! This novel is an intense young adult read proving just how powerful the mind is.
My overall impression of this novel is that it was nearly impossible to put the book away. I fell in love with the characters, especially Aunt Su, who was so extremely eccentric and interesting. Lily is a character who you will not cease to forget about after reading Kerbel’s novel. An amazing novel overall and a good read.
July 29, 2021
There were things I liked about this book. Certainly I had sympathy for a girl who could not sleep, and Aunt Su was a vibrant. but believable character. I did not like how the solution to problems was found in a boy, not in the main character herself, and the changes in her life seemed really quite improbable.
February 2, 2022
What will happen if you can't sleep at night? It turned out that you'll encounter a good-looking guy and fall in love with him. Bored of such kind of thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2022
This book personally really hit home for me, I was able to find a common sense of loss. I’m not sure a book like this would be for everyone, but it was everything for me.
November 25, 2012
An enjoyable read. I had a few quibbles with some plotting, but all in all, I really enjoyed this book.
December 4, 2015
Finished this book in 1 day. Loved it. Not what I was expecting!
July 1, 2015
It's not my favourite but I really dislike it. The book kind of unfolds like a dream in a sleepy haze.
January 12, 2019
Although it wasn’t nearly long enough as to best know the characters, I can see why. The book is an intense young adult read showing how powerful the mind is.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews