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The Owl & Moon Cafe
After losing her teaching position at the local university, Mariah Moon will do anything to keep her gifted twelve-year-old daughter, Lindsay, in a prestigious private school -- which means moving in with her mother and grandmother in an apartment above The Owl & Moon Café.
When her mother, Allegra, is diagnosed with leukemia, Mariah rises to the challenge of running the café: mastering her mother's famous fudge and chatting up customers -- including a man who might just reawaken her heart. Meanwhile, Lindsay's controversial entry in a major national science contest creates a minor maelstrom in the cosseted Monterey Bay community. And Allegra, with one last great love affair in her, will revisit a man she loved so many years ago, and disclose the biggest secret of the Moon family: the identity of Mariah's father.
Will the Moon women recognize this as the moment to do away with their family history of dubiously fathered children, and learn to forgive others and themselves in order to move forward? In her poignant new novel, bestselling author Jo-Ann Mapson explores the complexities of love and family with the keen eye and stylistic grace that have made her books perennial favorites.
When her mother, Allegra, is diagnosed with leukemia, Mariah rises to the challenge of running the café: mastering her mother's famous fudge and chatting up customers -- including a man who might just reawaken her heart. Meanwhile, Lindsay's controversial entry in a major national science contest creates a minor maelstrom in the cosseted Monterey Bay community. And Allegra, with one last great love affair in her, will revisit a man she loved so many years ago, and disclose the biggest secret of the Moon family: the identity of Mariah's father.
Will the Moon women recognize this as the moment to do away with their family history of dubiously fathered children, and learn to forgive others and themselves in order to move forward? In her poignant new novel, bestselling author Jo-Ann Mapson explores the complexities of love and family with the keen eye and stylistic grace that have made her books perennial favorites.
357 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
32 people are currently reading
1442 people want to read
About the author
Jo-Ann Mapson
32 books180 followersJo-Ann Mapson, a third generation Californian, grew up in Fullerton as a middle child with four siblings. She dropped out of college to marry, but later finished a creative writing degree at California State University, Long Beach. Following her son's birth in 1978, Mapson worked an assortment of odd jobs teaching horseback riding, cleaning houses, typing resumes, and working retail. After earning a graduate degree from Vermont College's low residency program, she taught at Orange Coast College for six years before turning to full-time writing in 1996. Mapson is the author of the acclaimed novels Shadow Ranch, Blue Rodeo, Hank Chloe, and Loving Chloe."The land is as much a character as the people," Mapson has said. Whether writing about the stark beauty of a California canyon or the poverty of an Arizona reservation, Mapson's landscapes are imbued with life. Setting her fiction in the Southwest, Mapson writes about a region that she knows well; after growing up in California and living for a time in Arizona and NewMexico, Mapson lives today in Costa Mesa, California. She attributes her focus on setting to the influence of Wallace Stegner.Like many of her characters, Mapson has ridden horses since she was a child. She owns a 35-year-old Appaloosa and has said that she learned about writing from learning to jump her horse, Tonto. "I realized," she said, "that the same thing that had been wrong with my riding was the same thing that had been wrong with my writing. In riding there is a term called `the moment of suspension,' when you're over the fence, just hanging in the air. I had to give myself up to it, let go, trust the motion. Once I got that right, everything fell into place."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
January 8, 2025
I read this while traveling.
This is my review at the time.
For the most part, the reviewers found lots of faults in the story.
But for some reason I enjoyed it.
The story is about 4 generations of women, the challenges they face, the secrets they keep and the love they share.
I know, it sounds familiar. But...I loved the quirky characters, that the story took place on the Central Coast, and that it was a cozy kind of read to appreciate during the rainy days part of the trip.
This book will eventually be dropped off at a Little Free Library that we find on our trip. But you can still Look for it in your local library and give it a chance. You might like it, too. Or not!!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
This is my review at the time.
For the most part, the reviewers found lots of faults in the story.
But for some reason I enjoyed it.
The story is about 4 generations of women, the challenges they face, the secrets they keep and the love they share.
I know, it sounds familiar. But...I loved the quirky characters, that the story took place on the Central Coast, and that it was a cozy kind of read to appreciate during the rainy days part of the trip.
This book will eventually be dropped off at a Little Free Library that we find on our trip. But you can still Look for it in your local library and give it a chance. You might like it, too. Or not!!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
September 1, 2015
A great entertaining story. Would recommend for sure
February 5, 2009
I quite enjoyed this book. I loved the story of the 4 Moon women, all four generations living and working in the cafe and how they all figured out their problems and found happiness. It was sweet and sad and full of forgiveness.
May 7, 2020
I love books about cafés. And I especially like the people who work in them.
February 22, 2014
Another light and easy chick-lit novel after the rather heavy experience of my last read, The Drowning People. This was slightly more substantial than the last few fluff chick-lit novels I've read, but not too much so. I think it took itself more seriously than it actually was, trying to make a statement about medical marijuana as well as pulling in some fairly far-reaching plot points, but it was an interesting enough read.
The novel switches between the perspectives of three generations of Moon family women: Allegra, her daughter Mariah, and Mariah's twelve year old daughter Lindsay. After being laid off from her University teaching position, Mariah moves herself and Lindsay in with her mother and grandmother who live in the apartment over the family business, the Owl & Moon Cafe, near the beach in the coastal city of Monterey. As to be expected there are some tensions of these very different women all loving together, which is not helped by Allegra's diagnosis of leukemia. While they try to put aside old arguments in the effort of taking care of Allegra during her chemotherapy, they are not always successful, and it turns out that their path to understanding one another and becoming a closer family is much more nuanced and difficult than expected.
In my opinion the most interesting character was Mariah's mother, Allegra. She is a product of the 70's and is as interested in the latest cause as she is in organic cooking in her cafe. She made mistakes in her youth, getting pregnant at 16, but is now trying to make amends for her parenting mistakes with Mariah by being a better grandmother to her granddaughter Lindsay. She's an infectious personality who makes her quirky cafe a popular spot among the locals. Her progression and acceptance of her leukemia was the most interesting journey for me in this novel.
The author uses Lindsay, the smarter-than-average kid who attends a pricey private school, to bring in the topic of medical marijuana (she does her science project on it based on her grandmother's illness). It was ok and kind of interesting, but seemed like a bit of a side point. I'm not one for the "genius kid" characters in novels though as most authors really have trouble creating a voice authentic enough to be knowledgable and innocent. It generally just rings false to me, as it did here from time to time. Maybe I'm just being nit-picky, but everyone has their little things and this is one of mine. Maybe it won't bother you a bit.
Anyway, it was an interesting read that helped me pass a lazy Saturday morning while I had the house to myself. I'd recommend it if you're looking for something a bit more substantial than your normal chick-lit, but not too heavy.
The novel switches between the perspectives of three generations of Moon family women: Allegra, her daughter Mariah, and Mariah's twelve year old daughter Lindsay. After being laid off from her University teaching position, Mariah moves herself and Lindsay in with her mother and grandmother who live in the apartment over the family business, the Owl & Moon Cafe, near the beach in the coastal city of Monterey. As to be expected there are some tensions of these very different women all loving together, which is not helped by Allegra's diagnosis of leukemia. While they try to put aside old arguments in the effort of taking care of Allegra during her chemotherapy, they are not always successful, and it turns out that their path to understanding one another and becoming a closer family is much more nuanced and difficult than expected.
In my opinion the most interesting character was Mariah's mother, Allegra. She is a product of the 70's and is as interested in the latest cause as she is in organic cooking in her cafe. She made mistakes in her youth, getting pregnant at 16, but is now trying to make amends for her parenting mistakes with Mariah by being a better grandmother to her granddaughter Lindsay. She's an infectious personality who makes her quirky cafe a popular spot among the locals. Her progression and acceptance of her leukemia was the most interesting journey for me in this novel.
The author uses Lindsay, the smarter-than-average kid who attends a pricey private school, to bring in the topic of medical marijuana (she does her science project on it based on her grandmother's illness). It was ok and kind of interesting, but seemed like a bit of a side point. I'm not one for the "genius kid" characters in novels though as most authors really have trouble creating a voice authentic enough to be knowledgable and innocent. It generally just rings false to me, as it did here from time to time. Maybe I'm just being nit-picky, but everyone has their little things and this is one of mine. Maybe it won't bother you a bit.
Anyway, it was an interesting read that helped me pass a lazy Saturday morning while I had the house to myself. I'd recommend it if you're looking for something a bit more substantial than your normal chick-lit, but not too heavy.
May 14, 2013
Love, love, loved it! Another top favorite of mine for this year.
From Amazon:
After losing her teaching position at the local university, Mariah Moon will do anything to keep her gifted twelve-year-old daughter, Lindsay, in a prestigious private school -- which means moving in with her mother and grandmother in an apartment above The Owl & Moon Café.
When her mother, Allegra, is diagnosed with leukemia, Mariah rises to the challenge of running the café: mastering her mother's famous fudge and chatting up customers -- including a man who might just reawaken her heart. Meanwhile, Lindsay's controversial entry in a major national science contest creates a minor maelstrom in the cosseted Monterey Bay community. And Allegra, with one last great love affair in her, will revisit a man she loved so many years ago, and disclose the biggest secret of the Moon family: the identity of Mariah's father.
Will the Moon women recognize this as the moment to do away with their family history of dubiously fathered children, and learn to forgive others and themselves in order to move forward? In her poignant new novel, bestselling author Jo-Ann Mapson explores the complexities of love and family with the keen eye and stylistic grace that have made her books perennial favorites.
From Amazon:
After losing her teaching position at the local university, Mariah Moon will do anything to keep her gifted twelve-year-old daughter, Lindsay, in a prestigious private school -- which means moving in with her mother and grandmother in an apartment above The Owl & Moon Café.
When her mother, Allegra, is diagnosed with leukemia, Mariah rises to the challenge of running the café: mastering her mother's famous fudge and chatting up customers -- including a man who might just reawaken her heart. Meanwhile, Lindsay's controversial entry in a major national science contest creates a minor maelstrom in the cosseted Monterey Bay community. And Allegra, with one last great love affair in her, will revisit a man she loved so many years ago, and disclose the biggest secret of the Moon family: the identity of Mariah's father.
Will the Moon women recognize this as the moment to do away with their family history of dubiously fathered children, and learn to forgive others and themselves in order to move forward? In her poignant new novel, bestselling author Jo-Ann Mapson explores the complexities of love and family with the keen eye and stylistic grace that have made her books perennial favorites.
June 25, 2013
I felt this book underachieved what could have been a really compelling story. The premise is 4 generations of women living and working together to run a restaurant. The characters are all set up in reaction to the generation prior. So, the hippy has a conservative daughter...you get the picture. The youngest is 12 and a brainiac on a mission to help her grandma. The book was ambitious so none of the characters or relationships were fully developed. I just wanted more the whole time.
That being said, it was a good easy summer read. Would have been perfect on a beach with a drink in my hand.
That being said, it was a good easy summer read. Would have been perfect on a beach with a drink in my hand.
September 2, 2019
3.5. A few scenarios where it seemed the author was trying a little too hard. Pieces didn’t quite fit or read smoothly. But love the core of the story. Loved the relationship and different personalities of the 4 main characters. Kind of reminded me of my own family and the craziness we endure to tolerate differences and yet keep a close family bond. The ending was fairly predictable, but appreciated a nice little surprise that I hadn’t thought about. I’m glad I read this.
June 4, 2011
I couldn't wait to finish this book so that I could get to a better one. Poorly developed characters, a thoroughly predictable plot and trite dialog made me wonder that I ever bothered reading it except that the library was closed for a holiday weekend and I was fresh out of new reads.
I wonder that this book ever got published.
I wonder that this book ever got published.
June 20, 2011
This book is told through the perspectives of four generations of a family who are all very ( actually extremely) different from one another. Each character is so extreme in who they are, I found it unbeleivable. It centers around the family cafe and the hardships that they all went through. Very depressing although it comes through with the predictable happy ending.
November 27, 2011
I made it to page 160 and couldn't take it anymore. Both the characters and the story line were so cliche'. I should have known better when the 2 endorsements on the back were from Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah.
November 24, 2008
This was pretty enjoyable. It was a two-day read, told from three different viewpoints. Fairly predictable, but still fun.
January 1, 2009
My first Mapson book. Simple yet endearing characters with a mild peppering of scientific enlightenment. I will definitely read more of her books! Thanks for the recommendation Margo.
August 28, 2009
"She could lead a discussion on sociology but she still didn't know where seagulls made their nests."
Enough said.
Enough said.
September 11, 2020
I wanted to like this more then I did, the premise sounded so cozy and interesting. But the story just felt flat and maybe a bit unfinished, like it needed some extra touches
April 12, 2022
I loved the café setting, and the idea of 4 generations of women coming together under one roof to work out their problems and successfully run their business. I come from a strong line of women, and have so many "4 generation" photos (at my grandmother's insistence) that this struck a chord with me. I even have an aging hippie mother myself. However, their were a few things in this book that just bugged me.
First, Gammy is 68. To me, that is not old. At that age, my grandmother was vibrant and active, even though she had some health issues. The author wrote Gammy like she was in her 80's. At one point, I stopped reading and redid the math in my head, because I thought I must be wrong about her age.
Secondly, right off the bat Lindsay is introduced as as brilliant 12-year-old who skipped grades 4 & 7. She is in the 8th grade now, at 12. This makes sense if you skipped two grades, as most 8th-graders are 13-14 (I taught 6th-8th grade for over a decade). So why are all of her friends that same age, 12 going on 13? Why say she skipped two years, then show her struggling socially, but not have the age difference that would naturally occur in these circumstances be a factor? I know I am nitpicking, but it just bugged me.
Other than those two things, I thought the story was sweet, but with all the issues it brought up, I expected it to be a deeper, more emotional story.
First, Gammy is 68. To me, that is not old. At that age, my grandmother was vibrant and active, even though she had some health issues. The author wrote Gammy like she was in her 80's. At one point, I stopped reading and redid the math in my head, because I thought I must be wrong about her age.
Secondly, right off the bat Lindsay is introduced as as brilliant 12-year-old who skipped grades 4 & 7. She is in the 8th grade now, at 12. This makes sense if you skipped two grades, as most 8th-graders are 13-14 (I taught 6th-8th grade for over a decade). So why are all of her friends that same age, 12 going on 13? Why say she skipped two years, then show her struggling socially, but not have the age difference that would naturally occur in these circumstances be a factor? I know I am nitpicking, but it just bugged me.
Other than those two things, I thought the story was sweet, but with all the issues it brought up, I expected it to be a deeper, more emotional story.
did-not-finish
November 22, 2022By page 5 I was pretty sure I was not going to read this book, but I gave it till the end of the chapter. Nothing changed.
The first chapter has so many buzzwords (hippie, gay, God, public school, no-kill shelter, homeless shelter, organic, Darwin, marijuana, “upper-socioeconomic misogynist,” protests, sit ins, pride parades, migrant workers, overpopulation, dysfunctional family, MSG, single mothers, man-hating, gay rights and Jesus) that i felt like I was being waterboarded by “cultural relevance,” such as the author perceives it. The writing is just trying way too hard and it failed to produce anything but one cliche after another. The characters, the setting, the themes, the dialogue, the descriptions and the predictable storyline - none of it felt original or interesting…to the point of actual annoyance.
Oh, and the obvious-from-the-get-go love interest is Scottish. Because, naturally.
Not my taste.
The first chapter has so many buzzwords (hippie, gay, God, public school, no-kill shelter, homeless shelter, organic, Darwin, marijuana, “upper-socioeconomic misogynist,” protests, sit ins, pride parades, migrant workers, overpopulation, dysfunctional family, MSG, single mothers, man-hating, gay rights and Jesus) that i felt like I was being waterboarded by “cultural relevance,” such as the author perceives it. The writing is just trying way too hard and it failed to produce anything but one cliche after another. The characters, the setting, the themes, the dialogue, the descriptions and the predictable storyline - none of it felt original or interesting…to the point of actual annoyance.
Oh, and the obvious-from-the-get-go love interest is Scottish. Because, naturally.
Not my taste.
October 28, 2012
I’m afraid this book was a bit of a disappointment for me. In this case it would partially be due to reader expectations. The book was recommended to me as a novel with elements of magical realism in it which, alas, never appeared. Instead we have the story of four women who are forced to live together over the family owned café. We have Gammy the bible spouting “elder’ of the clan and her daughter, Allegra who is an aging hippie about to be diagnosed with leukemia. Rounding out the cast of characters we have Allegra‘s daughter Mariah a recently unemployed college professor and her daughter Lindsey are forced to live with Allegra due to the job loss. Mariah comes across as a bitter, pinched sort of soul while 12 year old precocious Lindsey appears to be the most mature of the four women.
What I liked about the story was Lindsey and her decision to discuss the use of medical marijuana as a science project as Lindsey watched her grandmother become sicker and sicker due to her treatments. The author was careful to mention that Allegra had tried a wide variety of medications to try and stem the nausea including Marinol and that none of them had been effective so it was logical for Lindsey to consider medical marijuana. Lindsey was probably, for me the most accurately drawn of the characters. Her feelings and emotions as a middle schooled rang true for me. Some of Mariah’s emotions also seemed to ring true as well. I did understand why she was resentful of her mother and her newly found father even though she was a 34 year old woman.
What didn’t work for me were the sketchily drawn personalities of the older characters. Grammy was a walking stereotype of the older Christian woman constantly praying for the souls of her sinner relatives and co-worker. She was so heavy handed in fact I was amazed that Simon the gay cook had managed to work for her all those years or that the café managed to attract return customers.
Then we have Allegra, the epitome of aging hippydom who meditates, has her chakras adjusted etc and yet who then seems to settle pretty comfortably into the life of being a doctor’s fiancé. The doctor, incidentally, just happens to be her one true love from 33 years ago and Mariah’s father, a touch too much of a coincidence for me. She barely protests his huge house or gas guzzling cars and seems more than happy to give up her life at the café even though at one point she mourns the loss of her daily social contacts there. Yet, hippie that she allegedly is she refuses to smoke the marijuana that would help in her recovery and stimulate her appetite and for the most contrived of reasons. We are told constantly throughout the book that she will not become healthy again unless she eats and gains weight so after a certain point I just felt like hitting her over the head and yelling “smoke already”.
Finally we have Mariah who is bitterly uptight. I was amazed she was able to attract Fergus as she came across the page as a really unsympathetic somewhat self absorbed individual and yet we are expected to believe this man would court her and then ultimately fall in love with her. I also had difficulty with the fact that Mariah would on a nightly basis abandon both her daughter and her sick mother to the care of Gammy, who was constantly being described as being in poor health herself due to her varicose veins.
Because I never really felt attached to any of the characters except Lindsey I cannot really recommend this book unless you are looking for a simple feel good story.
Oh and one last nitpicky point – while Carmel by the Sea is the name of the town no one refers to it by its full name. This admittedly minor point drove me nuts throughout the book.
What I liked about the story was Lindsey and her decision to discuss the use of medical marijuana as a science project as Lindsey watched her grandmother become sicker and sicker due to her treatments. The author was careful to mention that Allegra had tried a wide variety of medications to try and stem the nausea including Marinol and that none of them had been effective so it was logical for Lindsey to consider medical marijuana. Lindsey was probably, for me the most accurately drawn of the characters. Her feelings and emotions as a middle schooled rang true for me. Some of Mariah’s emotions also seemed to ring true as well. I did understand why she was resentful of her mother and her newly found father even though she was a 34 year old woman.
What didn’t work for me were the sketchily drawn personalities of the older characters. Grammy was a walking stereotype of the older Christian woman constantly praying for the souls of her sinner relatives and co-worker. She was so heavy handed in fact I was amazed that Simon the gay cook had managed to work for her all those years or that the café managed to attract return customers.
Then we have Allegra, the epitome of aging hippydom who meditates, has her chakras adjusted etc and yet who then seems to settle pretty comfortably into the life of being a doctor’s fiancé. The doctor, incidentally, just happens to be her one true love from 33 years ago and Mariah’s father, a touch too much of a coincidence for me. She barely protests his huge house or gas guzzling cars and seems more than happy to give up her life at the café even though at one point she mourns the loss of her daily social contacts there. Yet, hippie that she allegedly is she refuses to smoke the marijuana that would help in her recovery and stimulate her appetite and for the most contrived of reasons. We are told constantly throughout the book that she will not become healthy again unless she eats and gains weight so after a certain point I just felt like hitting her over the head and yelling “smoke already”.
Finally we have Mariah who is bitterly uptight. I was amazed she was able to attract Fergus as she came across the page as a really unsympathetic somewhat self absorbed individual and yet we are expected to believe this man would court her and then ultimately fall in love with her. I also had difficulty with the fact that Mariah would on a nightly basis abandon both her daughter and her sick mother to the care of Gammy, who was constantly being described as being in poor health herself due to her varicose veins.
Because I never really felt attached to any of the characters except Lindsey I cannot really recommend this book unless you are looking for a simple feel good story.
Oh and one last nitpicky point – while Carmel by the Sea is the name of the town no one refers to it by its full name. This admittedly minor point drove me nuts throughout the book.
May 6, 2014
This book wasn't great, it was simply pretty good. It flowed alright, and the characters were believable to a point. What I found the hardest to believe was that everything had been plodding along in this life that these women had created, the same way for 12 years, then all of a sudden, everything completely changed in a year. That can happen with a cancer diagnosis, I don't begrudge Mapson that- I have first hand experience. However, everything else- Allegra finding her lost love, Lindsay taking the huge chance at the science fair AND finding a best friend, Mariah suddenly coming out of her shell and falling in love, and Gammy giving up the cafe, all in a year? I don't think so. Too much went down in a short period of time for it to really be believable.
Mariah drove me up the wall- initially refusing to go out with Fergus, second guessing sleeping with him and berating herself for falling in love with him. I felt like she needed a wake up slap. No one told Gammy to shove her unwanted judgmental Christian ideals either- and that drives me insane. "It's ok if I judge you if I stand behind this cross." However, that is an argument for another day.
I know that the author had a note at the end of the novel stating that she didn't have a hidden agenda with the Marijuana, but that just made me believe it all the more. Why that topic? If she really wanted to write about it, why not have the novel centered around it? If the controversy really intrigued Mapson so much, she should have had Lindsay be the center of the novel, tell the whole thing from her perspective, and have it focus almost wholly on this taboo science project. It felt like she did enough research to touch on a few things about Mary Jane, but not enough to really feel like she put in the effort.
After all this, you might be wondering how I even enjoyed the novel at all. I did enjoy Allegra, and Simon, and the way Sally told off the school bullies made me feel vindicated, somehow. The pacing was ok, except during the middle of the book where it slowed down to a snail's pace. It ended on a feel good note, but there wasn't enough epilogue for my taste.
If you like those novels where enough good happens to make you feel life is worth living, yet enough cynicism to bring you back down to Earth a little, this might just be for you.
Mariah drove me up the wall- initially refusing to go out with Fergus, second guessing sleeping with him and berating herself for falling in love with him. I felt like she needed a wake up slap. No one told Gammy to shove her unwanted judgmental Christian ideals either- and that drives me insane. "It's ok if I judge you if I stand behind this cross." However, that is an argument for another day.
I know that the author had a note at the end of the novel stating that she didn't have a hidden agenda with the Marijuana, but that just made me believe it all the more. Why that topic? If she really wanted to write about it, why not have the novel centered around it? If the controversy really intrigued Mapson so much, she should have had Lindsay be the center of the novel, tell the whole thing from her perspective, and have it focus almost wholly on this taboo science project. It felt like she did enough research to touch on a few things about Mary Jane, but not enough to really feel like she put in the effort.
After all this, you might be wondering how I even enjoyed the novel at all. I did enjoy Allegra, and Simon, and the way Sally told off the school bullies made me feel vindicated, somehow. The pacing was ok, except during the middle of the book where it slowed down to a snail's pace. It ended on a feel good note, but there wasn't enough epilogue for my taste.
If you like those novels where enough good happens to make you feel life is worth living, yet enough cynicism to bring you back down to Earth a little, this might just be for you.
October 25, 2015
The Owl and Moon Cafe by Jo-Ann Mapson is typical chick lit: love, secrets, and conflict, plus a bit of a coming of age story. The cast includes four generations of women, three single parents. The setting is Pacific Grove, California, a charming beach town; the time frame, fall through New Year's 1990-91. The conflicts are ostensibly different values among the women and a diagnosis of leukemia. Mapson does a capable job of building interest in the characters and the story.
Mapson's philosophy and key theme is "If you see your happiness out there on the horizon, honey, you run for it like hell's hounds are on your heels. Don't let somebody else steal it." (326).
Plot details follow.
Gammy Bess is the matriarch; Allegra, Bess's daughter; Mariah, Allegra's daughter; and Lindsay, Mariah's daughter. Bess met Myron Moon on the rebound, married him when their one night stand left her pregnant, was widowed and then ejected from Moon's rich family with the gift of the property that is now the Owl and Moon cafe (186).
Allegra had a summer fling with Alvin Goodnough just after he returned from Vietnam, during his last free summer before medical school. His parents will fund it, but they expect him to marry a woman he's known all his life. When Allegra finds herself pregnant, she doesn't tell him or Mariah (110).
The novel begins with Mariah losing her position as assistant professor of sociology just as the fall quarter is about to begin. Mariah and Lindsay move to the apartment about the cafe where Allegra lives because Mariah can't afford Lindsay's their apartment and private school for Lindsay. Only 12, but in 8th grade because of her 175 IQ, Lindsay is fascinated by science and idolizes Carl Sagan.
Like many others written in the beginning of the 21st century, the novel is almost too inclusive. In addition to the single moms and leukemia, there is a gay cook (Simon Huggins) and Goodnough moves to the area, after overcoming the death of his daughter and being divorced by his wife, in time to diagnose Allegra's leukemia and Lindsay's bleeding ulcer. Naturally, he is rich. Mariah begins a relationship with a man from Scotland, Allegra goes into remission and moves in with Doc who is adored by Lindsay and gradually accepted by Mariah. Bess moves away from the cafe and Simon steps up to partner with Mariah.
Mapson's philosophy and key theme is "If you see your happiness out there on the horizon, honey, you run for it like hell's hounds are on your heels. Don't let somebody else steal it." (326).
Plot details follow.
Gammy Bess is the matriarch; Allegra, Bess's daughter; Mariah, Allegra's daughter; and Lindsay, Mariah's daughter. Bess met Myron Moon on the rebound, married him when their one night stand left her pregnant, was widowed and then ejected from Moon's rich family with the gift of the property that is now the Owl and Moon cafe (186).
Allegra had a summer fling with Alvin Goodnough just after he returned from Vietnam, during his last free summer before medical school. His parents will fund it, but they expect him to marry a woman he's known all his life. When Allegra finds herself pregnant, she doesn't tell him or Mariah (110).
The novel begins with Mariah losing her position as assistant professor of sociology just as the fall quarter is about to begin. Mariah and Lindsay move to the apartment about the cafe where Allegra lives because Mariah can't afford Lindsay's their apartment and private school for Lindsay. Only 12, but in 8th grade because of her 175 IQ, Lindsay is fascinated by science and idolizes Carl Sagan.
Like many others written in the beginning of the 21st century, the novel is almost too inclusive. In addition to the single moms and leukemia, there is a gay cook (Simon Huggins) and Goodnough moves to the area, after overcoming the death of his daughter and being divorced by his wife, in time to diagnose Allegra's leukemia and Lindsay's bleeding ulcer. Naturally, he is rich. Mariah begins a relationship with a man from Scotland, Allegra goes into remission and moves in with Doc who is adored by Lindsay and gradually accepted by Mariah. Bess moves away from the cafe and Simon steps up to partner with Mariah.
November 3, 2012
This wasn't bad. I was a little skeptical at first, kind of worried that we were in romance/"women's lit" territory, which isn't usually my cup of tea, but it didn't end up being too romancy for me. Despite there being two big romance stories (one with a superrich doctor and one with a ruggedly handsome Scot) (seriously) (I mean... could that stuff be any more cliché?). There were other storylines that reeled me in though, and while the line of "finding my perfect mate will solve ALL THE THINGS wrong in my life!" was certainly trod, it wasn't overdone. The focus was mainly on the three younger generations of Moon women and their lifestuff + relationships with each other. The youngest was my favourite, my penchant for YA lit showing I guess. The whole book did feel a little like a public service announcement against health insurance companies and pro medical marijuana.
There was a fourth "elderly" Moon, Gammy, but we never had a chapter from her point of view so I would consider her more of a supporting character. And can we just take a moment to note that sixty-eight is not elderly? Cripes. She was written like an ninety-eight year old from pioneer days, but the women I know in their mid-sixties are not exactly at the crone stage of life. Maybe being in your sixties was a lot worse back in... when was this published? 2006? Oh. Well maybe this was written a lot earlier than that, I think it must have been because no one breathed a word about mobile phones.
So yeah... a few things didn't make a lot of sense, a few characters were less well developed than others, and it was definitely a deliberate heard-string-puller but I enjoyed most of it anyway. Also, now I want cookies.
There was a fourth "elderly" Moon, Gammy, but we never had a chapter from her point of view so I would consider her more of a supporting character. And can we just take a moment to note that sixty-eight is not elderly? Cripes. She was written like an ninety-eight year old from pioneer days, but the women I know in their mid-sixties are not exactly at the crone stage of life. Maybe being in your sixties was a lot worse back in... when was this published? 2006? Oh. Well maybe this was written a lot earlier than that, I think it must have been because no one breathed a word about mobile phones.
So yeah... a few things didn't make a lot of sense, a few characters were less well developed than others, and it was definitely a deliberate heard-string-puller but I enjoyed most of it anyway. Also, now I want cookies.
November 8, 2013
I didn't get off to a good start here--on the 2nd page I was having difficulty understanding Mariah's rant against public schools. So you have a brilliant daughter, have her skip not one, but two years and then put her in a rich mean girls private school against 12-13 year olds? Oh sure, that's much better! Throughout the story whenever Lindsay does/say anything (such as balancing the checkbook) I'm thinking, this is an 11 year old! And really, the mother wears the daughter's underwear by accident?
There was a lot of missing info on the money front--so Mariah gets laid off and there's no unemployment--what happened to the 2 years being given out back in 2007? Why wasn't Gammy collecting SS? There's a line out the door for the café, but they can't hire any help?
Most of the characters were way too clichéd--the old hippie, the holy roller grandmother, the handsome Scotsman, etc. Except they didn't stay in character--why would Gammy let a 15 year old Allegra camp out with men and be gone for days? Mariah never had any time, was such a rushed professor--but she had never written her thesis? How can you be a professor, grade other theses and never have written your own? She had free daycare but couldn't take her daughter out trick or treating? How busy do you have to be to miss that? Yet it was repeated often what a "good" mother she was. Right, her daughter didn't eat and she doesn't catch that while working at a café?
There were way too many snags in the story for me to follow without saying (out loud sometimes), that doesn't make any sense. I started dogearing pages where there was a logic discrepancy and after 6 in a row, I gave that up too.
There was a lot of missing info on the money front--so Mariah gets laid off and there's no unemployment--what happened to the 2 years being given out back in 2007? Why wasn't Gammy collecting SS? There's a line out the door for the café, but they can't hire any help?
Most of the characters were way too clichéd--the old hippie, the holy roller grandmother, the handsome Scotsman, etc. Except they didn't stay in character--why would Gammy let a 15 year old Allegra camp out with men and be gone for days? Mariah never had any time, was such a rushed professor--but she had never written her thesis? How can you be a professor, grade other theses and never have written your own? She had free daycare but couldn't take her daughter out trick or treating? How busy do you have to be to miss that? Yet it was repeated often what a "good" mother she was. Right, her daughter didn't eat and she doesn't catch that while working at a café?
There were way too many snags in the story for me to follow without saying (out loud sometimes), that doesn't make any sense. I started dogearing pages where there was a logic discrepancy and after 6 in a row, I gave that up too.
October 8, 2010
This is a pretty entertaining read but I found the contrast of the characters to be a bit extreme. The hippy grandmother and the college professor daughter don't ring true to me. I felt a bit manipulated by the unlying story that marajauna should be legalized and does more good than harm and that spiritual life is of no value.
The immmature, irresponsible, free-love grandmother who is still living in the 60's is quite annoying as is the overly religious great-grandmother. I don't really think I would recommend this book unless you like cartoons.
The immmature, irresponsible, free-love grandmother who is still living in the 60's is quite annoying as is the overly religious great-grandmother. I don't really think I would recommend this book unless you like cartoons.
May 12, 2011
A good book that was quick to grab my interest, but as the story went on the plot became completely predictable and a tad bit unrealistic. The chapters that I enjoyed the most dealt with the issues of Lindsay and how she coped with school and her rather dysfunctional family. I would like to read a another one of the authors works, since this book was good, but there was a lot more that could have been done with the characters.
December 7, 2018
solidly cliche, true, but it was endearing in its way and an easy read that would be appealing to three generations of women and perspectives. Great grandmother, grandmother, mom and daughter with extremely different personalities and perspectives. We get a range from the 1950s to the 2000s and thought it doesn't go so deeply into those ages, the story is still a nice balance between them all enough that it made for a nice diversionary read.
July 23, 2010
I wanted to enjoy this book more then I actually did. The characters all seemed to have the same voice, even though they were supposed to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. it was also more predictable then I expected, I kept waiting for something more and it never materialized. I'm not regretting reading it, just not gonna recommend it to anyone.
August 24, 2021
I have been a great fan of Jo-Ann Mapson ever since I read HANK & CHLOE so I started the THE OWL & MOON CAFE expecting a compulsive and heartfelt read--and no surprise, I got one in a multi-generational story of three women and the restaurant--and quirky regulars--who unite them. Mapson's characters are always big-hearted and so very REAL. I devoured it fast.
February 2, 2010
This was one of those books that started off with a lot of promise and was good until you were 3/4 of the way through, then it all fell apart and you were just struggling to make it through to the finish. Good concept, poor execution.
May 7, 2017
I really enjoyed this story. The writing was a little ehhh.. but I loved it. I actually wish it would become movie. Definitely has the potential to be a great chick flick, that you could take your grandma, mom, and daughter to see. <3
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June 14, 2010My favorite character is the granddaughter as she struggles with very dominate women. Easy read
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