The Shepherd Moon

by Helen Mary Hoover

When a colonist from a forgotten artificial moon returns to Earth, thirteen-year-old Merry and her grandfather must battle to save their culture from the visitor's strange powers.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens

16 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 1984

About the author

http://www.orrt.org/hoover/

Over the course of her twenty-three-year career as a writer, H.M. Hoover won eight awards for her writing, including three Best Book for Young Adult designations from the American Library Association and two Parent's Choice Honor Awards. Another Heaven, Another Earth received the Ohioana Award in 1982.

H.M. Hoover lived in Burke, Virginia. Her last published work was The Whole Truth - And Other Myths: Retelling Ancient Tales, in 1996.

Hoover changed her pen name to H.M. Hoover before Children came out because there was already a children's author named Helen Hoover.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hoover doesn't talk down to her young readers, but at the same time makes this accessible to them and just a bit too simple for adults. This one has one of her common themes, a privileged young girl finds out that the saving of her world depends on her. But it's set in the far future (and unlike some BS like Asimov's Foundation) most of the timeline events make sense.

I particularly like little details, like how the bodyguard just happens to be a woman, and the exhausted conscience of the grandfather, and how much less imposing the grandfather looks out of uniform, and the dogs' behaviors and names. And the quote by Leonardo da Vinci: "As every divided kingdom falls, so every mind divided between many studies confounds and saps itself."

*Iff* you're into older juvenile SF, I recommend that you read at least one book by Hoover, whichever one you find or are drawn to. I don't think I'll go to a lot of trouble to seek out the rest of her output, but I will certainly read them as they come to hand.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

H.M. Hoover uses rich, slow detailed writing to build a future society with faint whiffs of dystopia. This is a thought provoking, incredibly well written piece of science fiction. Probably not for everyone; it lacks the high impact drama and video game quality of much modern science fiction. But if you like really good writing and a subtle, multi-layered story, you are going to like this one.

March 2022. “Faint whiffs”? This is most definitely a dystopia; Hoover just gradually builds to that. Still a favorite.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Currently re-reading for a class and loving it. Kinda high literay style for YAers but it was written in 1984 when YA books were either Lurlene McDaniels, Sweet Valley High or written as adult novels just shorter. Still very moving and beautifully written.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this novel. I agree with one reviewer who thought it was somewhat dystopian, before dystopian novels became so popular. I didn't think that the superhuman Mikel was very well-developed. And the ending did not read like an ending, more like there was another chapter, or an epilog, or something. And although the reader was told what the Shepher Moon was, it didn't really figure all that much in the story, only a couple of mentions. I guess I just wanted some of the characters and so forth to be more fully developed.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is rather depressing that a book from the 1980's is still so relevant today. Corporation treating people like objects, severe class divides between the rich and poor with the rich having no idea how poor people are treated, and food insecurity/health issues.

[Partridge Public]

Hoover, H.M.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a rather unmemorable juvenile science fiction novel.