Valley of the Moon

by Melanie Gideon

The author of the critically acclaimed Wife 22 has written a captivating novel about a love that transcends time—perfect for readers of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Time and Again, and the novels of Alice Hoffman.

San Francisco, 1975 .  A single mother, Lux Lysander is overwhelmed, underpaid, and living on the edge of an emotional precipice. When her adored five-year-old son goes away to visit his grandparents, Lux takes a solo trip to Sonoma Valley—a chance to both lose herself and find herself again.

Awakened at midnight, Lux steps outside to see a fog settled over the Sonoma landscape. Wandering toward a point of light in the distance, she emerges into a meadow on a sunny day. There she meets a group of people whose sweetly simple clothing, speech, and manners almost make them seem as if they are from another time.

And then she realizes they are .

Lux has stumbled upon an idyllic community cut off not only from the rest of the world but from time itself. The residents of Greengage tell a stunned and disoriented Lux that they’ve somehow been marooned in the early twentieth century. Now that she has inexplicably stepped into the past, it is not long before Lux is drawn in by its peace and beauty.

Unlike the people of Greengage, Lux discovers that she is able to come and go. And over the years, Lux finds herself increasingly torn between her two lives. Her beloved son is very much a child of the modern world, but she feels continually pulled back to the only place she has ever truly felt at home.

A gorgeous, original, and deeply moving novel about love and longing and the power that time holds over all of us, Valley of the Moon is unforgettable.

Genres: Time Travel, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Science Fiction, Romance

416 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2016

About the author

Melanie Gideon is the NYT bestselling author of the memoir, The Slippery Year: A Meditation on Happily Ever After, as well as the novels Wife 22, Valley of the Moon and Did I Say You Could Go. Her books have been translated into thirty languages. She lives in the Bay Area.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If I didn't get a regular dose of nature (a walk in Goldengate Park didn't count), I wasn't right. I needed to get away from the city. Sit by myself under a tree for hours. Fall sleep to the sound of an owl hooting rather than the heavy foothills of my upstairs neighbors. I was competent in the wilderness. Nothing frightened me.
I wanted to feel that part of myself again."

Call me nuts...but I was almost in tears from the above quote ...very early into this novel. It spoke to me in the most primal sense.
As it was, I was spinning on my new Carbon Blue Schwinn spin bike with my new Shimano shoes ---( a recent birthday gift), clipped in ... spinning while under our 'walnut tree' in our yard with a few dozen crystals and ornaments hanging from branches. A light breeze in the air... music going....new story to begin...( Kindle reading-riding company)....so I was already in heaven.

Instantly....I was in touch with something primitive in "VALLEY of the MOON"...something felt seductive in the same way sex does when it's at its best....a melting high with the person you love - an intimacy that is so damn private and wonderful...it's not something you write a REVIEW about...
So... What more to say?.....( the experience felt private & wonderful)!!! Must I share??/!!!!
I LOVED THIS STORY.....
I WAS SWEPT AWAY....
LOVED getting to know all these characters!!!!
I CRIED...towards the end...
It was so fun to fall into this fantasy...I was in ecstasy.
I almost wish I didn't have to wake up from this wonderful world of oz...
I'm still floating.....in a very blissful mood!

NOW FOR SOME DETAILS......( because my blissful mood is not enough?).....
Lux Lysander lives in San Francisco- in a four unit Victorian - 428 Elizabeth Street - in Noe Valley.
( my old stopping grounds).
A lesbian couple, Rose and Doro, in their 70's owns the shabby building. A wonderful community of educated, highly political liberal people live in the different units. Good friends .. Good People!
Lux - a single mother- is raising her little boy Benno while doing waitress work.
She chooses Sonoma as her place to 'retreat' for a week --( to camp).
Her friend, Rhonda often helps out watching Benno...but for two weeks - for his first time- he got on an airplane - flew to Road Island to stay with his grandparents: Lux's mom and dad. For one of these weeks -Lux doesn't have to work. A free woman -for a week.
Sonoma is about 40 miles from S.F.- in the wine country- (2nd annual Memorial Day Music Festival is going on right now)....
Sonoma is also called "Valley of the Moon"......( from where the book's title comes from) ....If you've never been to Sonoma & the wine country ....it is indeed...'enchanting'.
Lux says ... "The perfect place to lose myself. Or find myself. If I was lucky, a little of both".

After she arrives:
Fog had envelope Lux's campsite. She saw a light off in the near distance. After breaking through the fog which seems like only minutes - but must have taken hours ....she breaks through the fog and the sun shines brightly. The year is 1975

Lux steps into 1906....
We meet Joseph Bell, his wife Martha, sister Fancy and other community members ( over 200 people) who live at Greengage Farm. They've been there for 17 years ...
An earthquake hit 4 months before Lux had arrived - the 1906 SF earthquake. Everyone at Greengage was dressed from the past and got stuck in time. An hour in Greengage- (Valley of the Moon), is about 2 weeks time back in S.F. Time is speeding up on full moon days.
Sounds preposterous?
Who cares....(your mind will play right along...it's marvelous)
Lux had a hard time shaking the feeling that she had just arrived on a movie set. "Pots of herbs lined the windowsill. Chives, tarragon, and mint. On the shelves, stacks of simple white crockery. On the wooden table, bowls piled high with fruit and vegetables: peaches, plums, a basket of corn". It was all so PAST-PERFECT. ( hard for anyone to believe they just stepped back in time)...but slowly -over time-- we all believe.
A simple lifestyle ...people working hard each day with their assigned daily jobs....fresh organic foods -relaxed clothing - tribal- family- living.

Modern life for Lux in 1975 was a struggle....with worries, fears, disconnections, loneliness, anger, sadness, and thoughts of unworthiness.

The storytelling is luscious and exciting ... You can't wait to see how Lux dances in both worlds....with these lovely characters. We also are rooting for her to make amends with her father, and achieve a feeling of success with her education and career.

"Time slipped through my fingers. A common expression, so often and casually said it was almost trite. The truth--it was an incomprehensible sentiment that was so profound all we could do was let it wash over us". Watching our child play in the sandbox at the park. Lighting candles on a birthday cake. The smell of waffles. The first day of school. Pumpkins on stoops. "OH MY GOD, IT'S SNOWING". The unexpected gift of a warm March afternoon".

"Everything's going to be fine," Close your eyes and press Play". LOVE THAT LINE!!!!! ( but it will make more sense when you read the book)....had a great chuckle.


FABULOUS....( a pleasant surprise novel). You might want to treat yourself to a bag of skittles, too... or pass them around to a child you adore!

Thank You Random House Publishing Group, Netgalley, and Melanie Gideon ( I'm a new fan....I must read more books by you)

[Dea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never in my life enjoyed anything of the romance/time travel/fantasy/science fiction bend, so color me shocked to be impressed by a book that is listed under all four of those genres. A very refreshing take with a grounded protagonist, compelling plot, and realistic ending (I'm willing to suspend disbelief and accept time travel, but I don't tolerate romancy shmancy bullshit). Well worth a read.

[Debra - can't post any comments on site today grrr · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Received from the Publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I thought this book was terrific!

Lux is a single Mother struggling to raise her 5 year old son whose father died in the Viet Nam war. They are living in San Francisco in the 70's. She has contact with her parents but her father is not too thrilled that she had a child out of wedlock. They (Lux and her father) have had a strained relationship for years stemming from her last trip to the lake with him as a teenager. She finally agrees that her son can visit her Mother on the east coast (her Father is supposed to be away at the family lake cabin) and decides that she will go camping by herself while her son is with his Grandmother.

Joseph, is living with his wife and sister in his self made community where everyone helps out and has a part to play. The year is 1906. It is named after a plum tree plant that his Mother loved. One day an earthquake strikes and a fog circles the town. A fog that no one can enter or leave without dire consequences. The suddenly one day, a young woman walks through the fog and into their community. That young woman is Lux. It soon becomes clear to everyone that she is from a different time and is confronted with the knowledge that she is no longer in her present day.

Thus begins this very unique and very compelling story. A story of two times. A woman who is torn between felling like she fits in more in the past but needing to stay in the present because of her son, Benno. Lux continues to travel to the past while her roommate and friend, Rhonda babysits Benno. She is drawn to these kind loving people and feels a real sense of community. She loves working hard with them and loves getting to know them. They in turn are also taken in by her.

During one visit, one of the people from the past falls deathly ill. Lux decides to stay with her friend and when she returns sees that time has gone on...it has really gone on and she has been missing for a full year. What has happened to her job? What about Benno? Her family? Her friends? No on e has seen her in a year. Her life is forever changed by going into the past. Some for the good. Some for the bad.

I wont tell anymore of the plot. What I can tell you is that this book became a silent page turner for me. All of the characters are likable. They are richly drawn and I was drawn to them. These are characters to root for. I cared about their welfare and what would happen to them.

This book is about so many things. For me it was about choices. The choices we make and their consequences. The choice to break a parents rule, the choice to be an outspoken woman living in a time when women had no rights (i.e. Joseph's Mother), the choice to stay with an ill friend, the choice to take a chance, the choice to stay, the choice to love again, the choice to take a chance on yourself, etc.

This book is also about love. People fall in love, People make choices based on that love. There is the love of friendship, the love of parent and child, love of a friend, love of a spouse, love of nature, etc. What I loved was how unique this story is. The description tells us if you loved "The Time Traveler's Wife" one will like this book. I think that is a very true statement.

I found this book to be thought provoking. I found myself thinking about this book at 2 a.m. when I could not sleep. I really liked the story. I loved the characters. I think reading should be a delight. I find such enjoyment in reading a good book. I can honestly say that I did enjoy reading this one. I highly recommend it.

See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite time travel stories are love stories- Time and Again, 11/22/63, The Time Traveler's Wife. I was drawn to this book because the description mentions two of them. This too is a love story. It's 1906 in San Francisco, California and as we know, a major earthquake hits. The story that Melanie Gideon creates is beyond what I knew of this true event as I found myself in this place called Greengage, a communal like farm left in the wake of the earthquake. It seemed to be a Brigadoon like place that sustained no damage or injury, behind a dense fog.

There are of course unanswerable questions from the beginning when Lux, a young single mother, in 1975 , finds Greengage . Inexplicable, yes , but my view on time travel stories is to let yourself accept things, stretch your imagination. All fiction in some ways asks us to do this. If you're looking for a true to life story, then maybe this isn't for you, but if you can just go with the story, there is something here to enjoy - a story of people finding who they are , of families, of friendships.

For Lux and her ability to move between the time frames , Greengage offers a place of solace, people who make her feel that she's worth something. It took me quite a while to connect with Lux but I connected right away with her son Benno and with Joseph, Martha and others from 1906. The reader moves back and forth between the time and places and sees the difficulties that arise for Lux as the movement of time is not the same on both sides of the fog she moves through.

The difference in how time passed in the different times frames added a bit of confusion at least for me but proved to be an integral part of the plot. While I enjoyed it, I must say that it didn't reach the 5 stars that the above mentioned books did. I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy time travel stories and after some reflection I would give this 4 stars .


Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley.

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

In 1975, Lux is a single mom, raising son Benno, or trying to raise him on her salary as a waitress, living in Noe Valley, on one floor or an older Victorian owned by Rose and Doro, in their 70’s. They are good people, an extended family. Her only kind of family in San Francisco. Her parents still live in the northeast, where she grew up. Summers, she often thinks of the years she spent with her Dad at their cabin on the lake in New Hampshire.

When Benno goes to visit his grandma and his “other grandma” (grandfather), Lux seeks the peace and quiet of nature. Her little bit of heaven she chooses is just north of San Francisco, a place with somewhat gently rolling hills occasionally dotted with vineyards, trees dripping with Spanish Moss, brooks. Hot Springs. Idyllic. Jack London had a ranch there, now a State Park.

“Who could resist a place called Valley of the Moon? It was an incantation. A clarion call. Just saying it gave me goosebumps.”

Camping out in the Valley of the Moon, Lux wakes to see a light off in the distance, like a flashlight flickering. Her mind measures the distance as relatively short, but as she steps out of the fog, hours have passed. The sun lights up the sky. It appears to be a recreation of an old town, like Old Sturbridge Village or Williamsburg, the people dressed in period clothing.

Impossibly, the people Lux meets there, Joseph Bell, his wife Martha, and the assorted community of 200, all believe the year she’s just wandered into, is 1906. They moved there, to Greengage Farm, 17 years ago, Joseph stepping off the train in Glen Ellen in June of 1889. Since then, they’ve worked together, and worked hard, to co-exist on this farm, but they all believe in this cooperative style of living, sharing work which needs to be done by hands that are able. A recent big earthquake seems to have put them in a position of no longer being able to leave. A cloud of some noxious gas surrounds them, and they are unable to safely pass through it. Some have tried, none have survived the experiment.

If Lux is surprised to find a group of turn-of-the century farmers on the other side of this fog, imagine their surprise to find a young woman wearing a tee shirt with graphic design, wearing pants, staring at them. They can’t believe anyone can safely move through the fog, anymore than they believe she is from the year 1975.

But, Lux is in no hurry, and they are more than kind. As much as she thought she’d prefer the solitude, their group energy, their willingness to live this life of dependence on one another speaks to her. With no one waiting for her at home, she stays to hear their stories and to lend a hand.

This is a simply lovely story. The writing is so easy, the transition between the two narrators done so smoothly. This story just flows effortlessly. Occasionally, tears might also flow (tissues!). A tiny bit “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” with a dash of “The Time Traveler’s Wife” thrown in, but this story is really much more than that. This is a love story on multiple levels, beautiful, relatable, and very moving. It serves as its own “time machine,” transporting the reader through their own memories, a word, a song, the mention of a time or place, it’s magic.


Pub Date: 26 July 2016

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group, NetGalley, and to author Melanie Gideon for providing me with an advanced copy.

[DeB · Rating 5 out of 5]

-A sweeping love story, different periods in time, life crossroads stumbled over, anguished about and how we are made to choose in our lives - feature importantly in the transfixing novel The Valley of the Moon. In one sense, it is a broad swathe of a saga, touching first on the 19th century period in American history when idealists convened in farms to create the version of an egalitarian Utopia, wishing to leave an imprint and legacy for the best future possible. It peeks into San Francisco, when hippies were a counterculture, the Vietnam War a damning issue and single motherhood, multi-racial couples and change from the conservative status quo was viewed with suspicion if not hostility. Wishfully, it fleetingly glimpses at the possible future - and generations of the saga's family travelling with time.

A lovely, satisfying tale... Lux Leylander, 25, down on her luck and stretched beyond her inner resources decides to take a camping trip outside of her home city of San Francisco when her son is flown across country to spend a week with her mother on the east coast. Happenstance leads her through a cloud bank, into a beautiful valley where she meets Josh Bell, 43, the owner of the Greengage Farm. What she discovers impacts all facets of her life in meaningful ways, and changes her forever.

Valley of the Moon uses the device of time travel impressively. Juxtaposing the eras' attitudes, the characters' needs and beliefs against each other, the human story becomes most central and very captivating. The prospect of doomed love and unfathomable losses hold our characters close to our hearts, as situations become increasingly more complex and seemingly without possible closure.

Author Melanie Gideon lets her imagination fly boldly, though. Lux finds a kind of redemption in her harried world; Josh regains his zest for life, a bit of magic settles over the story and it all seems to have been a wispy dreamy probability of a wrinkle in time.

Five stars... upon reconsideration, one of the best novels that I've come across in its genre.

[Suzanne Leopold (Suzy Approved Book Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am currently giving 2 copies of this book away on my blog.. I am enjoying it so far!!

www.facebook.com/suzyapproved

Giveaway info is on post...

[Karen R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not since The Time Traveler’s Wife have I so enjoyed a time-traveling novel. In fact, I liked this one even better as it was less confusing and better paced. It is a story of managing the commitments and complications of time travel when residing in two worlds.

The story begins in 1906 when the infamous San Francisco earthquake strikes and the first of the two narrators is introduced. Joseph Bell is a visionary running his new working farm community outside of San Francisco called Greengage. In chapter 2, the second narrator Lux Lysander is introduced, a single mother raising her son in 1975 San Francisco. While camping in the “Valley of the Moon”, a heavy fog rolls in which unnerves Lux. She sees a blinking light and is compelled to walk towards it, thinking it a nearby cabin. Breaking through the fog, she enters instead a new world named Greengage.

I felt that I was personally going back in time and being embraced by the people of Greengage - they appealed much more than those of 1975. Lux’s sharing of historic moments with Joseph was another highlight. These moments took me back to my own memories of the 70’s.The author’s skill at connecting the boundaries of two worlds was impressive. I wanted to join hands with Lux and walk with her through the fog of the Valley of the Moon into 1906 to experience the life so different from today. I now look forward to reading her first novel Wife 22.

[JudiAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was taken aback by the beauty of the cover and after reading the first chapter I fell deeply in love with Valley of the Moon. Melanie Gideon takes the reader into a smooth transition of a utopia where romance in two different times is magical and impossible but feels right, just the way it should.

Lux is a single mom who lives in San Francisco in the late 70s and is just barely keeping it together. Her son, Benno, is the center of her life and he is her purpose for trudging on day to day in an unfulfilling job. She lives with a roommate and she helps out by taking care of Benno when Lux is can’t be there. Finally, Lux has had all she can take and decides to relax on an overnight camping trip in Sonoma. While exploring she wanders through a fog and discovers a farming community that exists in 1906. Lux immediately feels the calmness and the simplicity of the community but she knows she can’t stay because of her need to return to Benno. When she returns to the 70s she realizes she can’t stop thinking about the community in Sonoma Valley and the irresistible man called Joseph who was born many decades before her. She soon wants to escape with Benno to the charm of the past but life is not like that for there are many obstacles along the way.

I was enthralled with all of the characters. Each one had a different personality which made the story weave together nicely. It felt easy to just go with the flow of the novel without the desire to turn to the last page to see what happens which I'm inclined to do but usually restrain myself.. I highly recommend this novel to any one who likes a little magic in their book.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always drawn to unique stories and Valley of the Moon definitely fit the bill. Not only was it about time travel, of which I am a fan, but also a heartfelt story about being caught in the middle of motherhood and your own childhood. There's an element of romance too.

This novel was quite the page turner. I had such a hard time putting it down and couldn't wait to get back to the story. There was a different twist to the time travel aspect, as Lux's travels were between her own time and a village trapped in the beginning of the 20th century....that no one else knew about. The chapters alternated between Lux, whose time was speeding along, and Joseph, who was stuck in a slow moving time period with no way out.

The only concern I had is something that happens with most time travel books I read: the explanation of time travel itself. In this case, person A would see person B every month on the full moon. For person B, months or even years could go by before they saw person A again. There wasn't really an explanation for it, which felt strange to me. I'm still trying to make sense of the final chapters, as well. (No spoilers though!)

Overall, this was an incredibly written and very memorable novel that I would recommend to anyone who loves time travel as much as I do. "Outlander" fans would enjoy this book a lot. It also reminded me of both Kate and Leopold and Somewhere in Time. (I don't want to say the other movie, as that would be a big spoiler.)

I would cast Brie Larson as Lux and Matthew Rhys as Joseph, if a movie were to be made from this creative and thoughtful novel.

[Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there is one genre I love is it time travel, especially when it's well-done. Like this story. I just love how Lux stumbles into the past, to a little community stuck in time and, then as the years pass by she keeps going back. Only telling her best friend about it. Although the best friend isn't that sure that Lux is telling the truth. I keep wondering why she just didn't accompany Lux to the Valley of the Moon to find out the truth. I would it a heartbeat, I mean if your best friend tells you she has found a community stuck in time, wouldn't you try to find out if she is telling the truth or is barking mad?

Lux is a fabulous character, a young single mother, estranged from her family. She finds herself truly enjoying the life in Greengage. And, her heart is torn between the peace there and her life in the 70s San Francisco.

Anyway, there is also a lot of heartache in the story, without giving away too much of the story is time moving differently in the hidden community contrary to present time and that will have some consequences. Then, there is the ending, such a bittersweet ending. It broke my heart.

Valley of the Moon is a fabulous time travel novel, with a mesmerizing, occasionally sad story, but there is also a sweet love story for those that enjoy it (even I did). I recommend it warmly!

I want to thank Harper Collins for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully rich story told through time, both past and present with a love story that isn't your typical love story.

Valley of the Moon was something unexpected, that swept me away into another time, both Lux's present and Lux's past. A story about a strong young women who doesn't quite fit into the time she was born, who is strong and fierce and hard working. A women that will steal your heart as you journey with her not only through time but through her struggles in the modern world and a world that is not her own. As she tries to come to terms with being a women, a mother, and a friend and leaving a man behind that she feels she is destined to be with.

Truly a remarkable story that will keep you turning the pages and wanting more.

[Karen Macedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book in a goodreads giveaway.. This was a book unlike anything I've ever read. Going into a fog one night a woman travels back to 1907 from the 1970s. From there the book just kept getting better.. I loved it...

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book drew me in from the very start. I so wanted to live in Greengage, and the interplay of the times and the two points of view was very well done. The community of Greengage was so inviting and peaceful, and it was easy to understand why Lux, who had anything but a peaceful life, was so drawn to it. However, it was also easy to understand her ties to the current world - especially the strong family connections. I'm sure I'll be thinking of this book for quite awhile.

[DJ Sakata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite Quotes:

She spoke as if she were standing on the roof of a building in which somebody had forgotten to build the stairs.

It's odd, isn't it? ... How quickly something unbelievable becomes believable.

The door to a long-abandoned room inside me that I hadn't even known existed until this minute began to open. Sweet, fresh air poured in.

It's a balancing act now, you understand? It's the hardest thing about being a parent. Holding on and letting go simultaneously.

You, Lux, are possibility... You are all the doors opening at once.

This was how great change happened. Suddenly and all at once - fate jumped the tracks. An airplane flew into a building. A cough was diagnosed as stage four cancer. A fertilized egg embedded itself in a womb. All of us lived on fault lines. We just pretended we didn't.


My Review:

I rarely dabble with the paranormal genre but something in the synopsis caught my eye when the book was first mentioned to me. I want to send the person who recommended this tale an expensive gift, as I truly adored this exceptionally well-written and captivating work. I was quickly drawn in by the high quality of the writing and the moving and emotive storyline. It was highly imaginative, enchanting, heart-squeezing, and full of feels. The author did a splendid job of capturing the emotions, frustrations and thought patterns of each character at each age and emotional period of their lives. And the characters, I loved them! They were unique and quirky, well-drawn, complicated, endearingly flawed, knowable, lovable. I was enchanted.
The writing was smartly done, well-detailed, atmospheric, clever, thoughtful, and thoroughly fathomed my emotions. I had to stop and consider how I would personally struggle to explain 70 years of history... what events would I attempt to impart to an innocent and eager audience in the early 1900s? What dates, facts, trends would I remember and attempt to explain? Would I want to burden them or twist their minds with the horrors of war, or the unexplainable madness and atrocities allowed to occur with little restraint such as Hitler, 9-11, HIV/AIDS, Watergate, Timothy McVeigh, Joseph McCarthy, J. Edgar Hoover? The story was highly creative and just ingenious, complex yet easy to follow, imaginative, highly entertaining, and well crafted. I am stunned by my reaction to a genre I typically avoid, and even a day later find that I am still contemplating and in awe of the author's deft handling and skills. Ms. Gideon is the latest addition to my list of talented authors to fangirl.

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I just read the best book ever...and it was this. I'm giving it 5 start because it was utterly unique. I've never read a tale like it. It was suspenseful. I could not for the life of me figure out what was going to happen from one page to the next. What time zone was she going back to? Would she ever make up with her dad? Would Benno forgive her? Would Joseph ever be able to leave? Why can't they go through the fog? And as the tale unfolded and answers to those questions came, other questions rose. There's a constant feeling of suspense. My own heartbeat increased every time Lux went from her time to Greengage's time.

There are all kinds of dilemmas and personal character growth. The characters are also extremely relate-able. They make the tale even more engaging. I felt as though they were becoming my friends...from Fancy to Magnussun to Martha.

I felt the existence of Greengage itself held a moral, about people living peacefully together...how there were fewer problems and no hate. Is being cut off from the outside such a bad thing?

The romance is beautiful. The love between mother and child is beautiful.

I'm not going to unveil the entire story line as there is no way really to do so without giving too much away. It's about a woman constantly torn between what she wants in one world and her obligations in another. Until the dilemma is taken from her hands.

It's extremely well written and the kind of story you tell at least 3 people about. Amazing. I was left feeling desolate when I closed the last page. I didn't want it to end.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a pleasant surprise this book was!

Valley of the Moon is a book about a young woman, named Lux, living in the 1970's. She is a single mother struggling to find her place in life. When the opportunity arises, Lux accepts her parent's offer to take her 5 year-old son for two weeks. Desperately in need of some alone time/relaxation, she heads to the Valley of the Moon to go camping. It is here that she stumbles upon a community of people who are "stuck" in 1906. Literally.

I found this book so easy to read and get lost in. It is a quick, engaging read. The time travel element that is present is in no way confusing or difficult. I found the writing to be quite soothing.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who like women's fiction and for fans of Sarah Addison Allen.


I won a copy of this book from a goodreads giveaway. Thank you to Allison, Melanie Gideon and Ballantine Books for the opportunity.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a unique and entertaining book this was! I wanted to take a couple of days after finishing it to get my thoughts together, but I'm still not sure if I'll be able to do it justice. It's a book that defies categorization and boundaries. Valley of the Moon is being compared to "Brigadoon" and "Time Traveler's Wife," but I haven't read/watched either one. For that reason, I won't be able to compare it them.

We begin this journey with 2 main story-lines in totally different times. In 1975 we have Lux, a single mom living in San Francisco, who is somewhat dissatisfied with her monotonous life. That's not to say she doesn't love her son. She does desperately but feels frustrated living paycheck to paycheck and as a sole caregiver with no end in sight. She wants to do things without the help of her parents, from whom she is mildly estranged and across the the country from. In 1906 there is Joseph, founder of a cooperative farm, Greengage, in the Sonoma Valley. He wants equality for all in every way, and works hard to have a society where all are happy and hardworking. But something mysterious has happened after the last earthquake, and they are unable to leave or make contact with the outside world.

Lux reluctantly makes tentative peace with her parents and allows Benno to travel to them for a 2 week visit. Being a lover of nature, she sets off once he is gone to commune with the earth on a week-long camping trip. During this time, she walks through fog right into 1906 Greengage Farm. All are surprised but come around. What follows is the intertwining of their stories and lives through many full-moon camping weekends. We get to see Lux go through a lot, and also get to see a little into her past. It's part sci-fi, part fantasy, part romance, and all engrossing. I don't want to say more that could spoil it, but if what I've said intrigues you in any way, go out and get the book! Bet you'll stay up all night to finish it!

**Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for an ARC!!**

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free advance copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this book was an interesting idea: A woman in 1970s San Francisco wanders into a mysterious fog and ends up on a farm in 1905. The fog surrounds the farm community, and people who live there can't get out. Only Lux, the 1970s woman, can travel into the community. She isn't happy with her life in the 1970s and has the conflict you'd expect if you've ever read a time-travel novel- in which era does she really belong?

But while I thought the story sounded interesting, the execution, unfortunately, wasn't very good. Author Melanie Gideon has a breezy, conversational style of writing. But, I couldn't tell the narrators apart. Two characters narrate the book - Lux and Joseph, the leader of the 1905 farm community. Despite being from different eras and backgrounds and being different genders, I couldn't tell one voice from another and often forgot who was narrating the chapter I was reading.

Then there is the problem of no sense of time. I read a lot of historical fiction. While I wouldn't classify "Valley of the Moon" as historical fiction, there still is a glaring lack of a sense of time. The portions that take place in the 1970s would be an exception to this with plenty of period details (several shared cans of Tab, as one example). But I didn't feel transported back to 1905 with Lux. For example, a character has a fever, and someone checked her temperature and reported it as 105.4. I doubt technology that precise was available in 1905, and if it was, perhaps it could have been described so we readers could feel like it isn't out of place. Modern language, very little description of farm life in 1905 (even though the characters are constantly busy with chores) and modern ideals (sorry, but continuously pointing out a character knows he's "progressive for his time" just doesn't cut it) leave the historical portions completely unsatisfying.

Also, Lux herself is a wholly unlikable character. She's incredibly selfish and never learns from her mistakes. Plus, she leaves a lot of details out of her explanations of the story. For example, a character dies, and that leaves Lux so distraught, she makes a mistake that sets up a large portion of the book. But I didn't think she even liked that character until she mentioned she
was "like a sister" to her. I had no idea.

I also found the entire story predictable. I knew exactly what was going to happen with Lux and Joseph as soon as they met. I honestly kept reading because I wanted to know more about the mysterious fog and where it came from. That really had no resolution.

This book would probably be well-suited for lovers of women's fiction and beach reads. I wouldn't recommend it to fans of historical fiction because the depth and historical detail just aren't there.

[Letty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a unique, wonderful, well-written book! Single mom Lux takes a little time for herself by going on a camping trip while her young son visits her parents. Waking up in the middle of the night, she walks into a heavy fog and finds herself in what she thinks is some type of commune. There she is welcomed by Joseph, his wife Martha and the rest of the community and finds out she has traveled back to 1906. I won't go into too much detail about what happens because obviously I do not want to spoil the story, but I was engrossed in this story from the very beginning and loved the characters from both time periods. The chapters do alternate between Lux and Joseph so we get their current and past histories. The ending was a bit emotional and bittersweet that left me just sitting in my bed thinking about it for a long time. I really, really loved this book and recommend it most highly!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of this book for reviewing purposes.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The valley of the Moon, Melanie Gideon introduces us to Lux Lysander and a time travel novel that reminds the reader of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Lost Horizon with it’s Shangri-La, the movie Brigadoon, and a little Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe but stands on its own. Lux is a single mother of Benno trying to get by in a world that she doesn’t quite fit into. Her only support family consists of her friends who are residents of the old Victorian home where she lives in San Francisco. Her parents are living but she is estranged from them because she feels that she has not lived up to their expectations. She feels this disconnect most strongly with her father. She used to love the time she and her father spent together camping. In an effort to remember more pleasant times, she goes camping by herself in a valley just north of San Francisco while her son is visiting his grandparents. The valley is named the Valley of the Moon. During the first night there, a fog moves in and when Lux awakens in the very early hours of the morning all she can see is a distant light. Walking towards the light she finds herself in the community of Greengage. Greengage is a farming community trapped following the earthquake of 1906. Time has slowed down for the inhabitants of this community. There, Lux meets the founder of the community Joseph Bell, his wife Martha, his sister Fancy and the other wonderful people of the community. This begins a wonderful tale of finding community, acceptance, and a feeling of self worth and happiness that Lux has been lacking. How Lux navigates between both worlds makes a beautiful and heart-warming story. The characters are all well developed and the story ‘s smooth switching back and forth between times is interesting. The challenges that Lux faces caught between two the times are at times are unexpected and sometimes unforgivable. Sometimes we all wish to return to a simpler, slower more meaningful time in the past. Has Lux found it? Don’t forget the tissue for this one.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Jack Finney’s Time and Again, you will love Melanie Gideon’s Valley of the Moon.
Lux Lysander is living a stressful life as a single mother in San Francisco in 1975. When her 5-year-old son goes to stay for a few weeks with her mother, Lux decides to go camping alone in the Sonoma Valley. She wakes up to a heavy fog, sees some lights in the distance and finds herself in an unusual farming community. The people are dressed in old fashioned clothes and use old timey farming implements. Slowly she realizes that she has traveled back in time to 1906 to the Greengage farming community.
The folks living in Greengage are unable to leave, but Lux is able to travel back and forth from the present to the past. But there are some strange conditions. She can only get there during the full moon and when there is a heavy fog. And if she stays through another full moon, time sometimes speeds up in the outside world.
One of the great strengths of this novel is how perfectly 1970’s and 80’s San Francisco is described as well as the quiet farming community of Greengage. And of course, there is a love interest that draws Lux back again and again and the conflict of leaving her young son in the modern world.
I wondered how Melanie Gideon would wrap up all these conflicts and she came up with one of the best endings I’ve ever read. This is one of the most entertaining and original books I’ve read this year.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book.

I see lots of others who loved this book.

I'm not among them. I thought the characters were weakly developed. I didn't feel a strong connection with them. The transitions were difficult to follow and confusing. The plot seemed like a story I've heard many times before.

In short, this is a book I expected to enjoy as a light summer read, but I walked away disappointed.

Of course, it could just be me.

[Suzanne Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read in 2016! A fantastical, magical, nostalgic and emotional roller coaster of a ride this story is. I grew up during the late 70's/80's and I loved the mentions of current events and trends...brought back a lot of good memories. Playing outside all day in the summer perfecting my cartwheels and round-ups in the soft grass, taking long walks in the woods to the stream to cool my feet, and hanging out with friends to see the latest movie we had spent the better part of the year anticipating seeing. It was just a simpler and less worrisome time in my life and as kids I think we never appreciate that enough. Lux and Benno brought that all back home to me while I was reading. I completely fell in love with the story of Greengage and how Lux kept finding her way back there..like going home again.

Labeling it just a time-travel book does not do it justice, because it is so much more than that. A romance of a pre-destined love, the sacrifices and love of a mother and her children, the tug of war of emotions with family and the thin strands of time that bind us all to this world together. If you haven't read it, make sure this one goes on your list...you cannot be disappointed by the story, the characters or the writing. It will suspend you in many different emotions right to the very end....

[Denise]

Anyone who follows my reviews knows that I typically avoid sweet, sentimental stories. But I really fell in love with this book. It was such a pleasant and hopeful read that, when I finished the last sentence, I almost wanted to start back at the very beginning and go through it all again!

I loved the characters, the setting, the "time travel" -- and felt their pain at separation and their joy at reunion. The narrative flipped back and forth from early 1900s to the 1970s (included some pop culture references) and between the two main characters, Joseph and Lux. The explanation for the time warp was a fog that trapped Joseph in his time but allowed Lux to go back and forth at certain times that coincided with a full moon. Time moved at a different pace in each world. Regardless of the implausibility of the science, it made for a very enjoyable reading experience.

I had read Melanie Gideon's previous book and will definitely keep her on my list for upcoming work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the e-book ARC to review.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woman from the 1970s travels through a fog to a group of people literally fogged in from the early 1900s. They are stuck in time while outside the fog days turn into years and decades. She's able to enter and leave at will all while she's trying to live her life and raise her small son in her current time. There's a romance thrown in. It's funny, I enjoyed the book more as I was reading it but as I'm sitting here writing this review nothing really stuck out as great or horrible. So a good read. 3-1/2 out of 5 stars.

[Beth Sponzilli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a unique book. I can’t even explain it. The Valley of the Moon is a place where time is different and moves strangely. You are just sucked into this story of lives from two different times in history. It connects with the full moon. A cool book.

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Valley of the Moon" is the latest release by Melanie Gideon, the author of "Wife 22," a book which I loved. This book seemed markedly different than "Wife 22" and I was intrigued by the synopsis. Lux is a woman who lives in the 1970s. She's a single mother and is trying the best she can to take care of her young son. When she comes across a group of people who seem to be trapped in the early 20th century, Lux never imagines that life inside this place will begin to feel more like home than any other place she's ever been.

Filled with magical realism, great characters, and a great romance, this book is perfect for those who are looking for their fiction off the beaten path. It may just be because of the time travel aspect but this book reminded me a lot of "The Time Traveler's Wife, which is one of my very favorite books.

In this book, Lux is seeking to run away from her family she really loves her son but being a single parent is really difficult. When Lux goes back in time and finds the small community that Joseph and his family run, she is drawn to the simpler way of life. I love the characters in this book. Lux is a great character. She is very strong but she is at her wits end. Raising children is difficult. Raising children by yourself is even more difficult. You have to admire how she tries to make ends meet. She is strong and feels like she can actually be useful in the town trapped in time. In her present-day life she barely feels useful at all. You see her grow and change throughout the book, which I really liked.

There is a romance at the center of this book. I think it will be apparent who it is between very quickly in the book; however, I don't want to give anything away because it is so wonderful. This book has a lot of twists and turns and covers a wide swath of time. I wish I could say more but you really should just read the book and experience the journey for yourself!

I really like the way that the author was able to turn the story into something that actually felt real even with all of the fantastical elements. I thought that the author did a good job of world building. In this book, traveling back in time doesn't feel like something that was absolutely impossible. Yes this book is definitely different than "Wife 22" but here you still have memorable characters in the novel to immerse yourself in. I got this book originally from the library and loved it so much that I had to buy a copy of my own. That's how you know a book is really good!

[Vellum Voyages · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 helms


Please follow me on my blog :) Review originally posted on Vellum Voyages


Wow! I was entranced from page one & I couldn’t stop reading! I was hooked! I walked around in a trance when I wasn’t reading & my mind constantly kept drifting off to Lux & Greengage as I wanted to get back to them as soon as possible.This was a highly emotional rollercoaster of a book….I laughed, I cried, I hoped & I loved right along with Lux.
 
Lux is a single mom who is down on her luck, stuck in a dead-end job with a young child to look after until she travels back in time (while camping!) to 1906 to Greengage, Sonoma Valley. Her life is no longer the same, as she lives in-between two different worlds, balancing the old and the new while facing her own personal challenges of womanhood, motherhood & childhood.
 
“Valley of the Moon” is fast paced & absolute escapism. It is written with enough suspense that it makes you want to dive into its pages & shut yourself out from the outside world till you reach the end. Melanie Gideon also creates a wonderful world with Greengage & captures the beauty of the simple life much different to the busy world we live in now. There are strong themes of personal growth, love & second chances which are highly thought provoking as they make you reflect, cry & sigh for Lux & her story while reflecting within yourself.
 
A beautiful, bittersweet book that makes you close your eyes & savour its story long after you close the pages.
 
*Thank-you Melanie Gideon, Netgalley & Ballantine for the ARC & a truly wonderful & memorable read.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank-you librarything.com for sending me an advanced copy of Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon in return for my honest review.

Valley of the Moon, a mix of realism and fantasy, in essence an adult fairy-tale, is not a genre I generally read, but I loved it! Although, I liked the story from the very beginning, it took me a number of chapters to become fully engaged. This is a very different story; an idyllic, working, communal farm from 1906, called Greengage, disappears after the massive San Francisco Earthquake. A deadly fog surrounds Greengage trapping the residents and confining them to the past, preventing them from joining the world that progresses around them. Lux, a struggling single mother from 1975, happens upon this lost community by chance and it changes her life forever. With her ability to pass through the fog, she tries to live in both worlds, experiencing the joys and heartbreaks that both the past and present offer, but the fog and Lux's ability to enter Greengage is erratic and unpredictable and while only a month will pass each time Lux returns, outside of Greengage time is passing quickly. It sounds confusing, but it really is not. When it comes down to it, the novel is about a woman who is pulled by two worlds and the sacrifices she makes to live in both.

Recently, many of the books I read seem very much the same; it was refreshing to try something new. This is a well-told story that gets better and stronger as the novel progresses. Well-done.