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Moonwind
One of two teenage winners of a trip to earth's first lunar base falls in love with an astral extraterrestrial who has been stranded on the moon for thousands of years and who needs his help to repair her spaceship so that she can return home
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
2 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Louise Lawrence
39 books57 followersElizabeth Holden, better known by her pen name Louise Lawrence, is an English science fiction author, acclaimed during the 1970s and 1980s.
Lawrence was born in Leatherhead, Surrey, England, in 1943. She became fascinated with Wales at a young age, and has set many of her novels there. She left school early on to become an assistant librarian. She married and had the first of her three children in 1963. Her departure from the library, she recalls, gave her the potential to turn toward writing: "Deprived of book-filled surroundings, I was bound to write my own."
Lawrence was born in Leatherhead, Surrey, England, in 1943. She became fascinated with Wales at a young age, and has set many of her novels there. She left school early on to become an assistant librarian. She married and had the first of her three children in 1963. Her departure from the library, she recalls, gave her the potential to turn toward writing: "Deprived of book-filled surroundings, I was bound to write my own."
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 6, 2022
Moonwind by Louise Lawrence
Two teenagers write essays which win them a trip to the American Moonbase. Gareth is from an economically deprived area of Wales in the UK, and Karen is from a wealthy family who lives in California. They are very different personalities, and find it hard to find common ground. Gareth exploits Karen’s naivete by inventing fabulous stories about the Moon which Karen readily swallows, but then events take a decidedly bizarre turn when an impossible windstorm occurs outside the moonbuggy in which they are riding, and Gareth is sure he sees a girl running unprotected on the lunar surface.
This is a haunting science fiction fantasy in which Gareth falls in love with an incorporeal alien girl, and is determined to help save her from an intolerable predicament, even though it may cost him dearly. The fantastic elements are flawlessly intertwined with a background story involving very realistic characters and replete with facts based on real scientific principles and the actual lunar environment and geography. I enjoyed referring to a detailed Moon map to follow the adventurers on their travels over the lunar landscape.
The author seamlessly and poetically integrates the incipient love story with myths of the moon goddess and a story of the origins of humankind, while poignantly describing the eternal inner struggle between the flesh and the spirit. The Moon changes everyone, and by the end both Gareth and Karen have each experienced the profoundest of revelations.
It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I consider this to be one of the very best Young Adult science fiction books I have read. I recommend it highly to people who are interested in this genre of literature.
Two teenagers write essays which win them a trip to the American Moonbase. Gareth is from an economically deprived area of Wales in the UK, and Karen is from a wealthy family who lives in California. They are very different personalities, and find it hard to find common ground. Gareth exploits Karen’s naivete by inventing fabulous stories about the Moon which Karen readily swallows, but then events take a decidedly bizarre turn when an impossible windstorm occurs outside the moonbuggy in which they are riding, and Gareth is sure he sees a girl running unprotected on the lunar surface.
This is a haunting science fiction fantasy in which Gareth falls in love with an incorporeal alien girl, and is determined to help save her from an intolerable predicament, even though it may cost him dearly. The fantastic elements are flawlessly intertwined with a background story involving very realistic characters and replete with facts based on real scientific principles and the actual lunar environment and geography. I enjoyed referring to a detailed Moon map to follow the adventurers on their travels over the lunar landscape.
The author seamlessly and poetically integrates the incipient love story with myths of the moon goddess and a story of the origins of humankind, while poignantly describing the eternal inner struggle between the flesh and the spirit. The Moon changes everyone, and by the end both Gareth and Karen have each experienced the profoundest of revelations.
It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I consider this to be one of the very best Young Adult science fiction books I have read. I recommend it highly to people who are interested in this genre of literature.
January 16, 2013
I read this book over five years ago when I was still in high school.
I still remember everything about it and have tried desperately to find the book again. Thank goodness for the Internet I have been able to track it down.
I do recommend this book, it is good science fiction and it is interesting, not as 'flouncy' as some books are these days but nice to read.
I still remember everything about it and have tried desperately to find the book again. Thank goodness for the Internet I have been able to track it down.
I do recommend this book, it is good science fiction and it is interesting, not as 'flouncy' as some books are these days but nice to read.
August 3, 2007
I was maybe nine. The book was brightly colored and not too thick. I liked books about space. Sometimes.
Two days later, I was in the middle of my first book-induced heartbreak. This is one of those science fiction stories where there's beauty and class struggle and aliens and Earthlight and then, not to ruin the ending, but rocks fall if you know what I mean.
I think if I reread it now, I would laugh at it and find it maudlin and then I would still cry.
Two days later, I was in the middle of my first book-induced heartbreak. This is one of those science fiction stories where there's beauty and class struggle and aliens and Earthlight and then, not to ruin the ending, but rocks fall if you know what I mean.
I think if I reread it now, I would laugh at it and find it maudlin and then I would still cry.
November 7, 2012
The reason why I read this book in first place was because someone was looking for this book on a forum. So I thought I would give it a try myself. I found the book interesting and a little captivating. I wish that there was more going on between Gareth and BethKahn. It just seemed kind of vague in the story line.
January 16, 2018
This was one of my favourites in high school, and it still holds up. I loved the idea of the teenagers invited to visit the moon base; and their explorations. Add in a lonely stranded astral traveller and her sentient ship, a relationship formed between her and a human, and a striking poignant ending, and this has everything I love about YA sci-fi.
August 17, 2024
I first wanted to read this book because it’s a sci-fi book and it’s been sitting on my shelf for about 10 years after picking it up at a flea market. Now it may just be the time period the book was written and the style the author writes, but I found myself several times rereading lines that didn’t sound grammatically correct in my head. I have never read any other books from this author so it might just be reader error.
To me the book seemed to be a little cheesy. An astral being falling in love with a human… on the moon. Some of the dialogue between the characters was also pretty cheesy. I’m sure some people really enjoyed the book and I’m not calling this a bad book per se, but this book wasn’t for me and that’s okay. I managed to get to the end and the ending was alright, but it’s the type of ending I expected from a book like this.
To me the book seemed to be a little cheesy. An astral being falling in love with a human… on the moon. Some of the dialogue between the characters was also pretty cheesy. I’m sure some people really enjoyed the book and I’m not calling this a bad book per se, but this book wasn’t for me and that’s okay. I managed to get to the end and the ending was alright, but it’s the type of ending I expected from a book like this.
December 17, 2025
A gripping, fantastic twist on the meaning of life, the reasons for human nature and will - the power of love and loss.
A random secondhand find that turned out to be a story that I feel ill remember for a long time.
Bethkahns backstory, while short, is udder heartbreak. Pure loneliness. The twist on the origins of mankind itself, spirits and religion all blended up and spat out anew.
Fantastic!
This book is written in such an easy going way, decent information yet a breeze to read, understand and become immersed.
A random secondhand find that turned out to be a story that I feel ill remember for a long time.
Bethkahns backstory, while short, is udder heartbreak. Pure loneliness. The twist on the origins of mankind itself, spirits and religion all blended up and spat out anew.
Fantastic!
This book is written in such an easy going way, decent information yet a breeze to read, understand and become immersed.
March 7, 2025
A great little story! So much information but a nice short book
October 14, 2007
This is in the Junior Lit Sci/Fi genre. I can't really tell you why I love this author, but I do. Her writing style is very simple and straight forward, not a lot of fluff and upon closer inspection not a lot of overly descriptive passages. It is a quick read.
This book is about an alien life form that gets trapped on the earth's moon when her crew leaves her to fix their ship. They went down to earth and landed on Atlantis, right before it was destroyed. She then spends thousands of years waiting for someone to come save her from her loneliness. Eventually, we land on the moon...
This book is about an alien life form that gets trapped on the earth's moon when her crew leaves her to fix their ship. They went down to earth and landed on Atlantis, right before it was destroyed. She then spends thousands of years waiting for someone to come save her from her loneliness. Eventually, we land on the moon...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews