Moon & Me

by Hadley Irwin

While spending part of the year at her grandparents' midwestern farm, fourteen-year-old E.J., dreaming of love and friendship, meets Moon, a very unlikely candidate for love or friendship

159 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1981

Reviews

[lethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in the mid-eighties and remembered that I liked it a lot, the equivalent of 4 stars. I reread it now for a group challenge and I am not as enamoured of it as I was back then.

I found Maan (Moon) incredibly annoying and obtrusive, with downright stalkerish behaviour. And to add insult to injury, (the main character) E.J.'s grandparents were aiding and abetting him instead of telling him off. If I had been E.J. I would never have gone along with it, and definitely would have put up more of a fight.

I also remembered secondary character Angie as more hilarious than I found her now.

Maan redeems himself later, but all in all I was a little disappointed with the story this time. I did like the ending (quote in Dutch):

Ik liep alleen door het laantje naar huis. Ik keek niet om, maar altijd als ik op een herfstavond naar de lucht kijk denk ik aan Maan en mij. (p. 151)

[Stephanie A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty standard 80s teen fare; an enjoyable way to pass a few hours. I liked the main character, the description of her grandparents' farm in Iowa where she's been dumped for six months while her parents are working abroad, and whatever blissful time she gets to spend alone with her horse while training for and competing in an endurance ride, among other summer/early fall adventures. Alas, Moon is exactly as annoying, too-young and too-short as Roger on "Sister, Sister," and I constantly wanted to scream, "GO HOME, MOON!! This is harassment."