What do you think?
Rate this book
Guests of War #2
Looking at the Moon
Norah, an English "war guest" living with the wealthy Ogilvie family in Toronto, can hardly wait for August. She'll spend it at the Ogilvie's lavish cottage in Muskoka—a whole month of freedom, swimming, adventures with her "cousins"... But this isn't an ordinary summer. It's 1943, and the war is still going on. Sometimes Norah can't even remember what her parents look like—she hasn't seen them in three years. And she has turned thirteen, which means life seems to be getting more complicated.
Then a distant Ogilvie cousin, Andrew, arrives. He is nineteen, handsome, intelligent, and Norah thinks she may be falling in love for the first time. But Andrew has his own problems: he doesn't want to fight in the war, and yet he knows it's what his family and friends expect of him.
What the two of them learn from each other makes for a gentle, moving story, the second book in a trilogy that began with the award-winning The Sky Is Falling.
Then a distant Ogilvie cousin, Andrew, arrives. He is nineteen, handsome, intelligent, and Norah thinks she may be falling in love for the first time. But Andrew has his own problems: he doesn't want to fight in the war, and yet he knows it's what his family and friends expect of him.
What the two of them learn from each other makes for a gentle, moving story, the second book in a trilogy that began with the award-winning The Sky Is Falling.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1991
20 people are currently reading
516 people want to read
About the author
Kit Pearson
34 books282 followersKit Pearson spent her childhood between Edmonton Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia. As a high-school student, she returned to Vancouver to be educated at Crofton House School. She obtained a degree in English Literature at the University of Alberta, and spent several years following the degree doing odd jobs or travelling in Europe.
In 1975, she began her Library degree at the University of British Columbia and took her first jobs in that field in Ontario. She later obtained an M.A. at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature in Boston. Returning to Vancouver, she completed her first novel "The Daring Game" which was published by Penguin Books.
Pearson now lives in Victoria, British Columbia, a few blocks from Ross Bay Cemetery, one of the settings in Awake and Dreaming.
In 1975, she began her Library degree at the University of British Columbia and took her first jobs in that field in Ontario. She later obtained an M.A. at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature in Boston. Returning to Vancouver, she completed her first novel "The Daring Game" which was published by Penguin Books.
Pearson now lives in Victoria, British Columbia, a few blocks from Ross Bay Cemetery, one of the settings in Awake and Dreaming.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
February 2, 2024
The title of the book comes from the lyrics of 'I'll Be Seeing You' the massively popular World War II song, ("I'll be looking at the moon / But I'll be seeing you"), and this reference sets the tone for a novel of 1943. Norah and Gavin are three years older than they were in The Sky is Falling. The setting has moved from Toronto to Muskoka and the story focuses on a summer of family fun. Norah is surrounded by Ogilvie and Drummond cousins; the novel is a nostalgic tribute to summer life at the cottage. Norah hits most of the cottage high points: swimming and boating, trips to town, a large party with Frank Sinatra on the phonograph, making private visits to her 'special' secluded rock (her thinking place), reading in the summer sun, and of course, falling in love for the first time. Speaking as someone with plenty of cottage memories, I quite enjoyed it (We used to go to Huntsville area, which was not far from the fictional Ogilvie cottage).
The war was still a topic of concern, particularly in relation to Andrew (Norah's first love), who is old enough to enlist. The family wants him to wait until he can go as an officer, and Andrew hates the thought of going at all. His emotional turmoil is really the only misery in this grand summer of sun and fun.
Looking at the Moon lacked the intensity of The Sky is Falling, but it was still a book with many delights to recommend it.
The war was still a topic of concern, particularly in relation to Andrew (Norah's first love), who is old enough to enlist. The family wants him to wait until he can go as an officer, and Andrew hates the thought of going at all. His emotional turmoil is really the only misery in this grand summer of sun and fun.
Looking at the Moon lacked the intensity of The Sky is Falling, but it was still a book with many delights to recommend it.
May 18, 2017
I may have read this during a slight fever-induced haze, but I definitely adored this one. While the first novel in this trilogy The Sky Is Falling is more of the historical fiction I expect, this one is the perfect follow-up to the characters and their development. Kit Pearson is fan-freaking-tastic and I should've read her sooner.
Also, I love how Pearson slides in that authentic Canadian feel without it being overdone. The descriptions, the nature, that landscape; so much of that called to me and my childhood.
Also did anyone else spy on their relatives when they were younger and find out things they weren't supposed to? Cuz that definitely was me....
Also, also, I love how perfectly Pearson does the whole teenager/bildungsroman-esque thing here. It's just so well done. Again, so authentic. It completely called to me, even at 26, at what it felt like to be that age and be so bumbly about your feelings and thoughts.
Also, I love how Pearson slides in that authentic Canadian feel without it being overdone. The descriptions, the nature, that landscape; so much of that called to me and my childhood.
Also did anyone else spy on their relatives when they were younger and find out things they weren't supposed to? Cuz that definitely was me....
Also, also, I love how perfectly Pearson does the whole teenager/bildungsroman-esque thing here. It's just so well done. Again, so authentic. It completely called to me, even at 26, at what it felt like to be that age and be so bumbly about your feelings and thoughts.
December 10, 2015
Out of all three books in this trilogy, this book is my favourite. I can really relate to Norah.
Norah is a strong brave girl who is doing immaculately well in her situation. She is inspiring.
Norah is a strong brave girl who is doing immaculately well in her situation. She is inspiring.
September 7, 2020
ahhh i loved this SO MUCH. Summers in Canada... ahh.
January 4, 2021
This book takes me back to summers spent in cottage country, and reminds me of what it felt like to figure out what love is. It makes me wish it was warm enough to swim in a lake right now.
August 28, 2019
Norah is a war guest with a rich Canadian family who owns a lake house and visits there every summer. She’s been with them for a few years. I didn’t know English kids were sent to Canada during WWII.
Norah is 13 and Andrew is 19. How horrifying. I was gearing up to get all up in arms about it, because that age gap is truly wrong.
Norah wasn't likable at all. She thought that since she was 13 and a teenager now that she should be treated like such. When I was 13 I didn't expect any special treatment or to suddenly be viewed as an adult, so I don't understand that. She was always complaining about something. She wouldn't answer questions, she'd be frowning. She has a big, beakish nose.
There was a ration on gas, food, and you couldn't buy new tires. Soldiers could be seen traveling by train.
The Ogilvies send food and clothing to her family in England.
She resented Andrew and called him an intruder, was envious any time the family mentioned someone else that she didn't know about. Hello, he's a part of the family, you little brat. I couldn't stand her.
It was funny how Aunt Florence tried to prepare Norah for her period, without explaining it well at all. She described it as every girl having a room that gets untidy and a visitor comes and cleans it up every month. No wonder Norah had no idea what she was talking about.
Norah told Clare and Janet that Andrew should go to the war now. He's only going to college to avoid it and she thinks he's a coward.
Her mom wrote that American GIs were in England and taught them to do the jitterbug. Kids would go up in town and ask them for gum and they usually got some. Feelings towards Americans were divided. Some thought they were boastful but her parents thought they were pleasant and friendly, and doing so much for them. They really appreciated receiving soap because it was so hard to find.
I was so irritated by the instant love. She couldn't stand him, didn't answer his questions to her, got mad when other people were talking about him, and then on the second day that he was there, he rescued her after she fell from the boat and she fell in love with him. Just like that. Hate to love in an instant. He rubbed her arms and legs and gave her his shirt to wrap herself in. That was it, and this girl who had been so irritated at the others talking about guys found herself in love with a stranger.
She wanted to think of him as much as possible. She went off and hid in the bushes to watch him come out of his cabin. "She just wanted to study him--to learn him by heart." She started stalking--because that's exactly what it is--him around the island, lying in a hidden location and waiting for him to appear, watching everywhere he went. She imagined scenarios where he saved her life and she saved his, like giving him mouth to mouth. She imagined him telling her she was the one, them hiding their relationship, and getting married when she was 18. She carved their initials in a rock.
It was so interesting that Indians paddled canoes by turning and sliding the blade so they didn't break the surface and make a sound.
Norah stopped doing anything but watching for Andrew all the time. Janet was upset because she could never be found, and even when she did spend time with Janet that once, she spent the whole time thinking about Andrew. She dove off the boathouse when she had never dove before, just to get his attention. Then she concocted the ruse to pretend to hurt her ankle in front of his cabin to get him to talk to her. How pathetic.
She thought the 4 days she had been in love with him felt like years. She imagined him being a famous actor and owing it all to her, his wife. And when he acts out a love scene, he says he always has her in mind. What the heck is wrong with this girl? When she decided she needed to tell him that she loved him, I wrote her off as a total fool.
Norah's view of the war was so upsetting. She deserved to be punched in the face. She told Aunt Catherine that Andrew should join the war, because they have to beat Hitler, knowing that his uncle died in the war. She couldn't stand the thought of her brother Gavin in a war, but she thought Andrew would be a coward if he didn't. How hypocritical. Why would you want someone you "love" to go to war, when they could die?
I'm not a person who likes a selfish, grouchy, judgmental character who changes by the end and displays growth. I want to like them from the beginning.
Norah went to Andrew's cabin and overheard him sobbing. It only then occurred to her that he might not want to go to war; he might be afraid. She was afraid of the war. It's the height of hypocrisy to expect someone to do something that you're afraid to do.
Just when I thought this little brat was finally getting it, she said he was perfect and not supposed to be afraid. If he didn't fit the category of hero then she'd have to alter her fantasies. There were parts of him she didn't know.
What do you mean "parts?" You don't know him at all! And right after thinking that, she started imagining him getting a cross and him saying he got over his fear of the war because of his fiancé, her! Stop being so stupid! What an idiotic 13 year old. This is an insult to girls everywhere.
Norah had been bloated and felt sick. She was bleeding and thought she was really sick. But Flo realized what it was. She had a more scientific way of explaining that would be helpful to young girls, though I thought it strange that the word period wasn't used, unless that phrase wasn't out then. She did use the word curse, as I've heard on The Golden Girls, or visitor, as I've heard before too. She said it's a lining that your body grows for a baby, and every month the lining comes out and it's tissues and looks like blood. I thought it was blood...??
Canada had German prisoners of war. They would swim in the bay and mark off the area with barbed wire.
King Edward abdicated the throne and families listened to his words on the wireless that he couldn't be king without the help and support of the woman he loved. It’s funny that the last book I read had this in it too.
It really bothers me when authors use thinness and other physical qualities to make their heroine superior. And I'm skinny, so you can see that it's a real problem to me. Nora is thin and tan, while Janet is fat and pale. Nora repeatedly thinks how fat Janet looks, saying fat cheeks, she looks like a sausage in her dress, etc. Poor Janet remarked on how thin Nora is and how good she looks in her clothes, and how lucky she is to have tan skin and doesn't need to wear leg makeup in place of stockings. I felt so bad for her because she was actually nice, unlike Norah who deserved to have no friends, no boyfriend, and no life with this family that was too good for her. Norah might be skinny but she was a little bitch, so being thin doesn't mean anything. It doesn't automatically make you superior so authors shouldn't use weight like a personal trait because it's not.
When all of the adults left the island for a wedding, they threw a party. A much-needed break in the monotony. There hadn't been anything even remotely exciting since they followed Aunt Mary to find what she was doing in town. She had told Norah about a man she loved but decided not to marry, Thomas, because he was leaving and didn't want her mom to come with them. Norah heard Aunt Mary use this man's name, Tom, and thought it was the same man. But at the party Norah saw Andrew dancing with Lois, them embracing and holding hands. I kind of hoped he would be with that girl because that's what Norah deserved.
This brain dead moron would not give it up with he war. When she talked with Andrew she asked him if he was upset that the war might be over before he could fight in it, when any moron with one brain cell could put together that he did not want to be in the war. She asked didn't he want to fight? He said he didn't want to kill anyone. HELLO, war is killing and being killed, you dumbass. He asked her doesn't it seem absurd that when people disagree they go out and kill each other. She wouldn't get off it, kept insisting they had to beat Hitler.
She tried not to view Andrew as a freak, because the only one who felt this way about the war was Aunt Catherine but she was an old woman and he's a man. She angrily asked if he was afraid. Bitch! But then she decided that no matter how she disagreed with him, she'd accept his views if that's what love demanded. You don't deserve him.
Then in a total 360 she told him it wouldn't be a coward to not fight. She told him to tell his family, do what he wanted; it wasn't what she would do or his cousin or uncle, but it's what he should do. Like she was bipolar or something.
It was cute how Aunt Dorothy brought the little kids pieces of wedding cake and told them to put it under their pillows tonight and the person they dreamed of would be the one they marry.
Norah had a new fantasy that Andrew would become a famous Canadian actor and then move to England to wait for Norah to be old enough for him. I was completely out of patience for her.
The day after the party she suddenly wanted a break from Andrew, realized that Gavin needed some of her time too. I was shocked she even thought of Gavin, because she had barely thought of her family since meeting Andrew.
One night Norah saw Andrew come back with Lois and take her into his cabin. She knew he had had girlfriends and would have more until she was old enough. How is that okay?? She crept to the window to listen because she has a serious stalking problem. They danced and sang together, he had beers for them, and they started kissing. Lois told him other girls were in love with him, including Norah. He laughed and said she did seem to have a crush on him. He tries not to encourage it but she follows him around like a hawk and she's a good kid though. Exactly what she deserved! A rude awakening and sheer stupidity to think a 19 year old could love her.
At almost the end Norah went out with Aunt Mary and they ran into Tom. Aunt Mary told her that he proposed but neither was willing to move from their home so she said no. That really sucked. Poor man.
She told Norah that she wound love more than one person, but she can't expect Andrew to be interested in her because she's so much older. But I was so mad when she said that Norah is so full of spirit and pretty and lots of people are going to love her. She doesn't deserve any of it. But when Nora despaired that her nose was too big and Aunt Mary said it wasn’t, and she said "It's what inside that makes people attractive" I wanted to lose it. Are you kidding me? Do you know how you portrayed Norah since the beginning? And it’s not fair that Janet is stuck being fat but Norah gets resolved of her worries about her big nose. Let her worry about it. Tell her it’s big and she’ll know how it feels to have a physical trait you can’t help.
It was funny when the family sang a song about bluebirds flying in England and everyone became sad thinking of Norah and Gavin leaving, Norah said she doesn't think there are bluebirds in England to lighten the mood.
I was so fed up with Andrew when he came back the last night dressed as a soldier. He had enlisted and wasn't even going to wait to go to college and become an officer before going to war like his family wanted. Norah felt that he had betrayed her for not keeping his promise to her, and betrayed himself, which I thought too. He was a sellout but I guess young men felt pressured to go to war by their families and society when they didn't want to. Norah thought Lois had talked him into it because she wanted him to be a hero. Norah was upset that he would be in a ditch shooting people, or lying dead, like movies showed. Funny she hadn't thought about that when she felt so strongly that he should go...None of her feelings added up.
Norah finally decided that war was wrong and she didn't want him to fight and be killed. But annoyingly, she felt she'd never loved him until now. Stop saying that!
He said it wasn't Lois; his friend Jack wrote him and said he's against the war now too. But Andrew realized the soldiers are suffering and don't like the war but they're still doing it. Andrew felt it was something he had to do, so he'll do it, like acting the part.
Norah stupidly was about to tell him she loved him, after everything she'd heard him say! He said he new, but she's only 13. He's flattered and doesn't deserve it. Just leave, you two. End it now.
It ended with them leaving the island for the summer. She knew she would always love Andrew, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading because I thought she would realize that what she felt for him wasn’t love. But she resolved to wait for him because she was only 13. She would hold onto the hope that one day he would love her back. At least it wasn't creepy as I expected it to be because nothing happened between them. I was getting all upset at the idea of a 19 year old with a 13 year old.
The only good thing about the book was there was some interesting details about life back then during the war, and a few funny instances. But overall I hated Norah and when you despise the main character, there’s no way you’re going to like the book. I couldn’t stand her. She was a raging, ungrateful brat despite saying at times that she was lucky to be there on the lake and to have the family. She was constantly saying how annoyed she was at all the touching and kissing and having Aunt Florence run everything and everyone. This girl was hardly ever happy, I kid you not. It makes 13 year old girls look bad. It’s doing nothing for girls, that’s for sure.
And to make matters worse, the ending was completely unfinished because there's another book. Idk when they're going back to England but I will never read this series again. I wish I had not read this.
Norah is 13 and Andrew is 19. How horrifying. I was gearing up to get all up in arms about it, because that age gap is truly wrong.
Norah wasn't likable at all. She thought that since she was 13 and a teenager now that she should be treated like such. When I was 13 I didn't expect any special treatment or to suddenly be viewed as an adult, so I don't understand that. She was always complaining about something. She wouldn't answer questions, she'd be frowning. She has a big, beakish nose.
There was a ration on gas, food, and you couldn't buy new tires. Soldiers could be seen traveling by train.
The Ogilvies send food and clothing to her family in England.
She resented Andrew and called him an intruder, was envious any time the family mentioned someone else that she didn't know about. Hello, he's a part of the family, you little brat. I couldn't stand her.
It was funny how Aunt Florence tried to prepare Norah for her period, without explaining it well at all. She described it as every girl having a room that gets untidy and a visitor comes and cleans it up every month. No wonder Norah had no idea what she was talking about.
Norah told Clare and Janet that Andrew should go to the war now. He's only going to college to avoid it and she thinks he's a coward.
Her mom wrote that American GIs were in England and taught them to do the jitterbug. Kids would go up in town and ask them for gum and they usually got some. Feelings towards Americans were divided. Some thought they were boastful but her parents thought they were pleasant and friendly, and doing so much for them. They really appreciated receiving soap because it was so hard to find.
I was so irritated by the instant love. She couldn't stand him, didn't answer his questions to her, got mad when other people were talking about him, and then on the second day that he was there, he rescued her after she fell from the boat and she fell in love with him. Just like that. Hate to love in an instant. He rubbed her arms and legs and gave her his shirt to wrap herself in. That was it, and this girl who had been so irritated at the others talking about guys found herself in love with a stranger.
She wanted to think of him as much as possible. She went off and hid in the bushes to watch him come out of his cabin. "She just wanted to study him--to learn him by heart." She started stalking--because that's exactly what it is--him around the island, lying in a hidden location and waiting for him to appear, watching everywhere he went. She imagined scenarios where he saved her life and she saved his, like giving him mouth to mouth. She imagined him telling her she was the one, them hiding their relationship, and getting married when she was 18. She carved their initials in a rock.
It was so interesting that Indians paddled canoes by turning and sliding the blade so they didn't break the surface and make a sound.
Norah stopped doing anything but watching for Andrew all the time. Janet was upset because she could never be found, and even when she did spend time with Janet that once, she spent the whole time thinking about Andrew. She dove off the boathouse when she had never dove before, just to get his attention. Then she concocted the ruse to pretend to hurt her ankle in front of his cabin to get him to talk to her. How pathetic.
She thought the 4 days she had been in love with him felt like years. She imagined him being a famous actor and owing it all to her, his wife. And when he acts out a love scene, he says he always has her in mind. What the heck is wrong with this girl? When she decided she needed to tell him that she loved him, I wrote her off as a total fool.
Norah's view of the war was so upsetting. She deserved to be punched in the face. She told Aunt Catherine that Andrew should join the war, because they have to beat Hitler, knowing that his uncle died in the war. She couldn't stand the thought of her brother Gavin in a war, but she thought Andrew would be a coward if he didn't. How hypocritical. Why would you want someone you "love" to go to war, when they could die?
I'm not a person who likes a selfish, grouchy, judgmental character who changes by the end and displays growth. I want to like them from the beginning.
Norah went to Andrew's cabin and overheard him sobbing. It only then occurred to her that he might not want to go to war; he might be afraid. She was afraid of the war. It's the height of hypocrisy to expect someone to do something that you're afraid to do.
Just when I thought this little brat was finally getting it, she said he was perfect and not supposed to be afraid. If he didn't fit the category of hero then she'd have to alter her fantasies. There were parts of him she didn't know.
What do you mean "parts?" You don't know him at all! And right after thinking that, she started imagining him getting a cross and him saying he got over his fear of the war because of his fiancé, her! Stop being so stupid! What an idiotic 13 year old. This is an insult to girls everywhere.
Norah had been bloated and felt sick. She was bleeding and thought she was really sick. But Flo realized what it was. She had a more scientific way of explaining that would be helpful to young girls, though I thought it strange that the word period wasn't used, unless that phrase wasn't out then. She did use the word curse, as I've heard on The Golden Girls, or visitor, as I've heard before too. She said it's a lining that your body grows for a baby, and every month the lining comes out and it's tissues and looks like blood. I thought it was blood...??
Canada had German prisoners of war. They would swim in the bay and mark off the area with barbed wire.
King Edward abdicated the throne and families listened to his words on the wireless that he couldn't be king without the help and support of the woman he loved. It’s funny that the last book I read had this in it too.
It really bothers me when authors use thinness and other physical qualities to make their heroine superior. And I'm skinny, so you can see that it's a real problem to me. Nora is thin and tan, while Janet is fat and pale. Nora repeatedly thinks how fat Janet looks, saying fat cheeks, she looks like a sausage in her dress, etc. Poor Janet remarked on how thin Nora is and how good she looks in her clothes, and how lucky she is to have tan skin and doesn't need to wear leg makeup in place of stockings. I felt so bad for her because she was actually nice, unlike Norah who deserved to have no friends, no boyfriend, and no life with this family that was too good for her. Norah might be skinny but she was a little bitch, so being thin doesn't mean anything. It doesn't automatically make you superior so authors shouldn't use weight like a personal trait because it's not.
When all of the adults left the island for a wedding, they threw a party. A much-needed break in the monotony. There hadn't been anything even remotely exciting since they followed Aunt Mary to find what she was doing in town. She had told Norah about a man she loved but decided not to marry, Thomas, because he was leaving and didn't want her mom to come with them. Norah heard Aunt Mary use this man's name, Tom, and thought it was the same man. But at the party Norah saw Andrew dancing with Lois, them embracing and holding hands. I kind of hoped he would be with that girl because that's what Norah deserved.
This brain dead moron would not give it up with he war. When she talked with Andrew she asked him if he was upset that the war might be over before he could fight in it, when any moron with one brain cell could put together that he did not want to be in the war. She asked didn't he want to fight? He said he didn't want to kill anyone. HELLO, war is killing and being killed, you dumbass. He asked her doesn't it seem absurd that when people disagree they go out and kill each other. She wouldn't get off it, kept insisting they had to beat Hitler.
She tried not to view Andrew as a freak, because the only one who felt this way about the war was Aunt Catherine but she was an old woman and he's a man. She angrily asked if he was afraid. Bitch! But then she decided that no matter how she disagreed with him, she'd accept his views if that's what love demanded. You don't deserve him.
Then in a total 360 she told him it wouldn't be a coward to not fight. She told him to tell his family, do what he wanted; it wasn't what she would do or his cousin or uncle, but it's what he should do. Like she was bipolar or something.
It was cute how Aunt Dorothy brought the little kids pieces of wedding cake and told them to put it under their pillows tonight and the person they dreamed of would be the one they marry.
Norah had a new fantasy that Andrew would become a famous Canadian actor and then move to England to wait for Norah to be old enough for him. I was completely out of patience for her.
The day after the party she suddenly wanted a break from Andrew, realized that Gavin needed some of her time too. I was shocked she even thought of Gavin, because she had barely thought of her family since meeting Andrew.
One night Norah saw Andrew come back with Lois and take her into his cabin. She knew he had had girlfriends and would have more until she was old enough. How is that okay?? She crept to the window to listen because she has a serious stalking problem. They danced and sang together, he had beers for them, and they started kissing. Lois told him other girls were in love with him, including Norah. He laughed and said she did seem to have a crush on him. He tries not to encourage it but she follows him around like a hawk and she's a good kid though. Exactly what she deserved! A rude awakening and sheer stupidity to think a 19 year old could love her.
At almost the end Norah went out with Aunt Mary and they ran into Tom. Aunt Mary told her that he proposed but neither was willing to move from their home so she said no. That really sucked. Poor man.
She told Norah that she wound love more than one person, but she can't expect Andrew to be interested in her because she's so much older. But I was so mad when she said that Norah is so full of spirit and pretty and lots of people are going to love her. She doesn't deserve any of it. But when Nora despaired that her nose was too big and Aunt Mary said it wasn’t, and she said "It's what inside that makes people attractive" I wanted to lose it. Are you kidding me? Do you know how you portrayed Norah since the beginning? And it’s not fair that Janet is stuck being fat but Norah gets resolved of her worries about her big nose. Let her worry about it. Tell her it’s big and she’ll know how it feels to have a physical trait you can’t help.
It was funny when the family sang a song about bluebirds flying in England and everyone became sad thinking of Norah and Gavin leaving, Norah said she doesn't think there are bluebirds in England to lighten the mood.
I was so fed up with Andrew when he came back the last night dressed as a soldier. He had enlisted and wasn't even going to wait to go to college and become an officer before going to war like his family wanted. Norah felt that he had betrayed her for not keeping his promise to her, and betrayed himself, which I thought too. He was a sellout but I guess young men felt pressured to go to war by their families and society when they didn't want to. Norah thought Lois had talked him into it because she wanted him to be a hero. Norah was upset that he would be in a ditch shooting people, or lying dead, like movies showed. Funny she hadn't thought about that when she felt so strongly that he should go...None of her feelings added up.
Norah finally decided that war was wrong and she didn't want him to fight and be killed. But annoyingly, she felt she'd never loved him until now. Stop saying that!
He said it wasn't Lois; his friend Jack wrote him and said he's against the war now too. But Andrew realized the soldiers are suffering and don't like the war but they're still doing it. Andrew felt it was something he had to do, so he'll do it, like acting the part.
Norah stupidly was about to tell him she loved him, after everything she'd heard him say! He said he new, but she's only 13. He's flattered and doesn't deserve it. Just leave, you two. End it now.
It ended with them leaving the island for the summer. She knew she would always love Andrew, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading because I thought she would realize that what she felt for him wasn’t love. But she resolved to wait for him because she was only 13. She would hold onto the hope that one day he would love her back. At least it wasn't creepy as I expected it to be because nothing happened between them. I was getting all upset at the idea of a 19 year old with a 13 year old.
The only good thing about the book was there was some interesting details about life back then during the war, and a few funny instances. But overall I hated Norah and when you despise the main character, there’s no way you’re going to like the book. I couldn’t stand her. She was a raging, ungrateful brat despite saying at times that she was lucky to be there on the lake and to have the family. She was constantly saying how annoyed she was at all the touching and kissing and having Aunt Florence run everything and everyone. This girl was hardly ever happy, I kid you not. It makes 13 year old girls look bad. It’s doing nothing for girls, that’s for sure.
And to make matters worse, the ending was completely unfinished because there's another book. Idk when they're going back to England but I will never read this series again. I wish I had not read this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2020
3.5 stars. I'm not sure if this is middle book syndrome, or what is going on, but I just found this predictable. The story picked up after a time jump from the first book in the series, and then everything just seemed like paint by numbers. Some of the prose was just cringe-worthy, with one scene in particular just making me shake my head a lot. The climax was rather late, and I daresay only included one sharp shock, with no real resolution, but I am very curious as to how this series is going to end.
April 24, 2016
A re-read from childhood. I probably haven't touched this one since I was actually thirteen, because Norah's experiences of puberty were way too acute and raw for me for a long time (also, my brother is named Andrew and it was too weird for me as a kid to read about Norah having a crush on a guy with the same name.) Pearson, once again, nails what it is to be a moody, broody girl going through puberty, but what I found just as interesting on my grownup reread was some of the background characters -- Andrew's handling of the expectations his family had for him, especially, but also Barclay's bundling of masculinity into his ability (or not) to fight, Aunt Catherine's practical takes on love, marriage, and romance, and family dynamics generally. Probably my favourite of the trilogy. And I still desperately want to go to a Gairloch of my own.
December 5, 2018
"Looking at the Moon" is the second installment in Kit Pearson's Guest of War Trilogy. The novel opens with Norah, Gavin and the Ogilvies returning to their Muskoka cottage, Gairloch, in the summer of 1943. Norah, now 13, has been living with the Ogilvies for 3 years. Life in Toronto has finally normalized: she has friends, does well in school and often feels as if she is really part of the Ogilvie family. She never feels more at home, however, than she does when she is roaming the island on which Gairloch sits, reading, swimming and playing with her Drummond "cousins" - Aunt Florence's great-nieces Janet, Clare and Flo.
This summer, though, things feel different. Janet is fourteen, Clare fifteen and Flo seventeen; the girls feel older and more grownup than Norah remembers, and she is annoyed by their constant mooning over boys. Although a "teen-ager" now, Norah would rather scrape her knees and dirty her clothes than sit around talking about boyfriends. That is, until she meets another Drummond cousin, Andrew. At 19, Andrew is tall, handsome and sensitive, and Norah falls in love for the first time.
"Looking at the Moon" perfectly captures what it's like to be a 13 year old girl: not quite a child, and not quite a woman, Norah struggles to understand her new feelings and new body, with the added complication of doing so in a country that is still not quite her own.
This summer, though, things feel different. Janet is fourteen, Clare fifteen and Flo seventeen; the girls feel older and more grownup than Norah remembers, and she is annoyed by their constant mooning over boys. Although a "teen-ager" now, Norah would rather scrape her knees and dirty her clothes than sit around talking about boyfriends. That is, until she meets another Drummond cousin, Andrew. At 19, Andrew is tall, handsome and sensitive, and Norah falls in love for the first time.
"Looking at the Moon" perfectly captures what it's like to be a 13 year old girl: not quite a child, and not quite a woman, Norah struggles to understand her new feelings and new body, with the added complication of doing so in a country that is still not quite her own.
March 20, 2018
I had read the first in this trilogy for bookclub and really liked it so wanted to read the remaining two in the trilogy. This book was fine - well written and same characters / style of the first one. However, I did not find the storyline nearly as interesting as in the first book. In this one, it's mostly from Norah's perspective and it's really all about teen angst and puppy-love. Glad I read it and I will certainly read the last one to see how it all ends as it does pose many many questions regarding what it was like for these children to return home after living a different life for 5 years.
March 23, 2024
3.5 rounded up!
This was…almost physically painful to read. I had vague recollections of this book, but I couldn’t remember how everything ended. I was fully expecting everything to all blow up at the last meal. So relieved it didn’t.
Like, I get it. I’ve seen the TikToks of girls saying that, at age like 7, they thought the 17+ lifeguard would fall hopelessly in love with them. I know this isn’t uncommon. But hearing Norah’s POV mooning over Andrew was so hard to read.
Very surprised they weren’t busted from the party. Usually those secret party storylines never go well. Something terrible always happens.
This was…almost physically painful to read. I had vague recollections of this book, but I couldn’t remember how everything ended. I was fully expecting everything to all blow up at the last meal. So relieved it didn’t.
Like, I get it. I’ve seen the TikToks of girls saying that, at age like 7, they thought the 17+ lifeguard would fall hopelessly in love with them. I know this isn’t uncommon. But hearing Norah’s POV mooning over Andrew was so hard to read.
Very surprised they weren’t busted from the party. Usually those secret party storylines never go well. Something terrible always happens.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2024
3.5 stars. Read this to my boys - I definitely loved it more when I read it as a young girl. It is very much a "coming of age" novel from a female perspective. Norah is 13 and gets her first crush, her first period, etc. The boys did not like it near as much as the first one. They are happy to be moving on to the third and final book in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
October 30, 2024I enjoyed the first book in this series and remember loving it as a child. This second installation really fell short for me. I found it to be a very cringy coming of age story without much substance. Could it be that I’m out of touch from the teenage years at my age? Maybe, but I just didn’t see much merit in this one.
December 24, 2020
An adorable weekend read with only slight obnoxious emotions of a thirteen year old girl (the audience the book was intended for).
The chapter where our two leads talk about missing England or forgetting it altogether had me in tears. When will the war be over?
The chapter where our two leads talk about missing England or forgetting it altogether had me in tears. When will the war be over?
August 30, 2018
Jumped into this trilogy in the middle...it's a good peek into part of the WWII story we don't hear much.
October 31, 2018
Unlike most of the middle books in a trilogy it stands alone well, and continues the story in an interesting way. The loneliness of being seperate from your country stands true.
March 1, 2019
Very coming of age -- with crushes and puberty being the central themes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2020
Very sweet and realistic read about childhood and summers.
April 3, 2022
This will take the reader back to the angst of being a teenager.
October 21, 2022
Norah and her host family go to Muskoka for the Summer. Norah has her first taste of love with Andrew. I liked the extended family, especially Flo.
December 29, 2023
nostalgia read because I loved this trilogy as a kid but honestly, still loved it.
March 21, 2012
It’s been three years since Norah and Gavin moved from England to Canada to live with the Ogilvie’s during the war. Now it’s 1943 and though things have turned around for the Allies, no one knows when the war is going to end. While there are a lot of bad things about leaving England, like missing her family, the best thing is being able to spend summers at the Ogilvie’s summerhouse in Muskoka. At thirteen, Norah seems to be stuck in-between: not quite a child or a teen-ager, and not quite a member of the Ogilvie’s family. All of her cousins seem to be obsessed with boys, but Norah can’t relate to them. That is, until she meets one of the Ogilvie cousins, Andrew. Andrew is nineteen and secretly doesn’t want to enlist in the war. As Norah spends the summer in love for the first time, she is troubled by the uncertainty of being a war guest. Will she spend next summer in Canada or home in England? Norah has changed so much in the last three years, will her family even recognise her when she comes home? No matter what, whenever Norah looks at the moon she will think of that summer and Andrew.
This is the second book in Kit Pearson’s Guests of War series. It has been three years since The Sky Is Falling, and a fair bit has changed. While Norah initially quarreled with Aunt Florence, they have found a way to get along. Although Norah at first ignored Gavin, she has done her best to look after him. However, in some ways Norah is still a child. She is instantly jealous of one of the cousins coming to join them at the cottage, and feels left out when everyone recalls old memories of him. While she reacts immaturely to Andrew’s presence, Norah soon comes to feel about Andrew in a way she’s never felt about another boy before. A good amount of the book focuses on Norah mooning over Andrew, who is 6 years her senior, so for that reason I preferred the first book. However, in this book we get to see more of other aspects of the war. Andrew is grappling with whether he should enlist in the war or not and we get to see more of the complexities of war. When Norah was ten, she saw war in black and white terms. Now she begins to see that things are more complicated. People who don’t enlist aren’t simply cowards and the German prisoners of war she sees look like ordinary people. The complications of being a guest of war are still there: what will happen when Norah and Gavin have to leave? For Gavin, Canada is his home. While I enjoyed this book more when I first read it when I was ten, I still thought it was a great book for younger readers who are interested in history. This well written coming of age story set during World War II made me very excited to continue with the series.
4/5
This is the second book in Kit Pearson’s Guests of War series. It has been three years since The Sky Is Falling, and a fair bit has changed. While Norah initially quarreled with Aunt Florence, they have found a way to get along. Although Norah at first ignored Gavin, she has done her best to look after him. However, in some ways Norah is still a child. She is instantly jealous of one of the cousins coming to join them at the cottage, and feels left out when everyone recalls old memories of him. While she reacts immaturely to Andrew’s presence, Norah soon comes to feel about Andrew in a way she’s never felt about another boy before. A good amount of the book focuses on Norah mooning over Andrew, who is 6 years her senior, so for that reason I preferred the first book. However, in this book we get to see more of other aspects of the war. Andrew is grappling with whether he should enlist in the war or not and we get to see more of the complexities of war. When Norah was ten, she saw war in black and white terms. Now she begins to see that things are more complicated. People who don’t enlist aren’t simply cowards and the German prisoners of war she sees look like ordinary people. The complications of being a guest of war are still there: what will happen when Norah and Gavin have to leave? For Gavin, Canada is his home. While I enjoyed this book more when I first read it when I was ten, I still thought it was a great book for younger readers who are interested in history. This well written coming of age story set during World War II made me very excited to continue with the series.
4/5
July 9, 2011
Okay, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Usually I'm not one for historical fiction, but Kit Pearson didn't try to drown you in facts about the war- she gave you an interesting look onto the life of a war guest living in Canada during World War II. It's the second book in a trilogy- following "The Sky is Following", and after "Looking at the Moon" came "And the Lights Go On Again." I have read all three books, and I can honestly say that this one was definitely my favorite.
Norah is only thirteen years old, but she's been through a lot for someone so young. After leaving England when she was nine years old due to the German bombs being dropped down onto her town, Norah has had to learn to fit in her new Canadian school and new Canadian neighborhood. She's got her younger brother Gavin to take care of too, and on top of it all is her strict, upper-class foster mother who can't seem to understand Norah at all.
But in the summer before the eighth grade, Norah gets to escape from it all- even if only for two months. She and her new foster family are spending their summer at Gairloch, the elegant cottage in Muskoka. But once Norah arrives there, she is surprised to find out she isn't alone- with them travels Andrew, the handsome and intelligent foster cousin she's never met before.
Soon Norah and Andrew become great friends. She learns that he is in training to become a soldier in the war. But only Norah knows that Andrew doesn't really want to join the war at all- he'd rather be an actor. But Andrew knows what his friends and family expect of him, so at the end of the book he travels off to fight for his country.
I know that "Looking at the Moon" isn't for everyone. It can be slow-paced and normal at some points, and since it takes place in the forties most things sound dated. But I would definitely reccomend reading this book- it's informative, touching, and funny all at the same time.
Norah is only thirteen years old, but she's been through a lot for someone so young. After leaving England when she was nine years old due to the German bombs being dropped down onto her town, Norah has had to learn to fit in her new Canadian school and new Canadian neighborhood. She's got her younger brother Gavin to take care of too, and on top of it all is her strict, upper-class foster mother who can't seem to understand Norah at all.
But in the summer before the eighth grade, Norah gets to escape from it all- even if only for two months. She and her new foster family are spending their summer at Gairloch, the elegant cottage in Muskoka. But once Norah arrives there, she is surprised to find out she isn't alone- with them travels Andrew, the handsome and intelligent foster cousin she's never met before.
Soon Norah and Andrew become great friends. She learns that he is in training to become a soldier in the war. But only Norah knows that Andrew doesn't really want to join the war at all- he'd rather be an actor. But Andrew knows what his friends and family expect of him, so at the end of the book he travels off to fight for his country.
I know that "Looking at the Moon" isn't for everyone. It can be slow-paced and normal at some points, and since it takes place in the forties most things sound dated. But I would definitely reccomend reading this book- it's informative, touching, and funny all at the same time.
October 25, 2015
This book brought up so many emotions for me. For one thing, I remember reading the first book in this trilogy years ago and enjoying it. Secondly, now that I live on the other side of the country this book brings about a bit of homesickness as I remember all of the towns and places that are unmistakably the places I grew up in. Brockhurst, which I can only imagine is Gravenhurst where I lived across from the old Nazi prisoner of war camps, which were just concrete foundations by the time I lived there. The descriptions of barbed wire fences around where the prisoners would swim, unmistakably the beach I used to live around the corner from, fences long gone. This book brought about more than I thought it would.
The story was good, of course despite the age difference I find myself rooting for Norah and Andrew i knew how this would end. I couldn't help but get caught up in this book and find myself rather sad that it's ended. I might just have to find the last book in this trilogy.
The story was good, of course despite the age difference I find myself rooting for Norah and Andrew i knew how this would end. I couldn't help but get caught up in this book and find myself rather sad that it's ended. I might just have to find the last book in this trilogy.
January 14, 2013
I always rave and rave about this author but I do it for good reason- the woman understands the emotions of children.
In this case it was Norah, the english "war guest" staying with a rich lady in toronto while war rages in her homeland. This book in the trilogy was set in Norah's favourite island of Gairloch in the Muskoka cottage country. There she can be herself, there she can fall in love.
Although only 13, she's convinced she loves Andrew, the nephew of her "aunt" florence. The story is a very simple one but one that is so chalk-a-block with teenage angst and emotion it was a constant ride.
I would reccomend it to any young girl as it might help them understand that difficult time in life when your not quite a girl and not yet a woman either. I know if I had read this book at that age I would have identified with Norah's shyness, desires and dreams.
In this case it was Norah, the english "war guest" staying with a rich lady in toronto while war rages in her homeland. This book in the trilogy was set in Norah's favourite island of Gairloch in the Muskoka cottage country. There she can be herself, there she can fall in love.
Although only 13, she's convinced she loves Andrew, the nephew of her "aunt" florence. The story is a very simple one but one that is so chalk-a-block with teenage angst and emotion it was a constant ride.
I would reccomend it to any young girl as it might help them understand that difficult time in life when your not quite a girl and not yet a woman either. I know if I had read this book at that age I would have identified with Norah's shyness, desires and dreams.
March 15, 2013
gr 6-8 212pgs
Summer 1943 Gairloch Canada. 13 year old Norah and her 8 year old brother Gavin are still living as war guests with the Ogilvie family. Every summer, the Ogilivie clan gathers at the family summer home "Gairloch". Norah still misses her parents and England, but this summer her thoughts are filled by Andrew, her 19 year old "cousin", who has come to spend the summer at the cabin along with the rest of the family.
I would recommend this book to someone interested in coming of age stories or stories about a preteen's first crush. Since this story has Norah experiencing puberty, I'd recommend this story to gr 6+. You don't have to have read the first book to enjoy this one
Summer 1943 Gairloch Canada. 13 year old Norah and her 8 year old brother Gavin are still living as war guests with the Ogilvie family. Every summer, the Ogilivie clan gathers at the family summer home "Gairloch". Norah still misses her parents and England, but this summer her thoughts are filled by Andrew, her 19 year old "cousin", who has come to spend the summer at the cabin along with the rest of the family.
I would recommend this book to someone interested in coming of age stories or stories about a preteen's first crush. Since this story has Norah experiencing puberty, I'd recommend this story to gr 6+. You don't have to have read the first book to enjoy this one
March 15, 2013
gr 6-8 212pgs
Summer 1943 Gairloch Canada. 13 year old Norah and her 8 year old brother Gavin are still living as war guests with the Ogilvie family. Every summer, the Ogilivie clan gathers at the family summer home "Gairloch". Norah still misses her parents and England, but this summer her thoughts are filled by Andrew, her 19 year old "cousin", who has come to spend the summer at the cabin along with the rest of the family.
I would recommend this book to someone interested in coming of age stories or stories about a preteen's first crush. Since this story has Norah experiencing puberty, I'd recommend this story to gr 6+. You don't have to have read the first book in the trilogy to enjoy this book.
Summer 1943 Gairloch Canada. 13 year old Norah and her 8 year old brother Gavin are still living as war guests with the Ogilvie family. Every summer, the Ogilivie clan gathers at the family summer home "Gairloch". Norah still misses her parents and England, but this summer her thoughts are filled by Andrew, her 19 year old "cousin", who has come to spend the summer at the cabin along with the rest of the family.
I would recommend this book to someone interested in coming of age stories or stories about a preteen's first crush. Since this story has Norah experiencing puberty, I'd recommend this story to gr 6+. You don't have to have read the first book in the trilogy to enjoy this book.
January 4, 2014
Looking at the moon followed Norah and Gavins summer at the Gailoche- the mansion cottage owned by the Oglivies. Being Norah's 2nd time at the cottage, she cant wait to swim in the lake, read, and enjoy the peaceful time away from the big city. But soon she is introduced to Andrew, a 19-year old boy and is annoyed at how everyone thinks of him as the "hero" of the family. But she soon realizes that he she likes him. She wants to be around him as much as possible. But she is surprised when he tells her he doesn't want to fight in the war, regardless of the life his family has cut out for him. She tries to convince him that he should stand up for himself no matter what his family says, but at the end his decision comes as a great surprise. My favorite of the Guests of War trilogy.
March 4, 2025
While not as striking as The Sky Is Falling, the second installment of the Guests of War trilogy is still wonderfully written and relatable. I mean #jokes I'm basically still thirteen-year-old Norah, hopelessly in love with someone who's entirely out of her league, making up ridiculous fantasies that will never come true, and having the tenacity to believe those fantasies might come true. This book really emphasizes how truly horrible unrequited feelings are, and is set in the beautiful Muskokas. I mean, what more do you want? Also, fun fact, I still picture Gairloch and the Ogilvies' property the EXACT SAME as I did when I was a kid. Like, exactly the same. #taleasoldastime #orjustboringimagination? #doallcottageslookthesametome #whostosay
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews