Cattail Moon

I read this book in one day, it was the kind of story that isn't too long and isn't too short, also it isn't very complex so it can be absorbed in one sitting.The story is about Julia, who is this not pretty but not ugly fourteen year old. Her mother is the type who is pretty, skinny, perfect, is married to a lawyer and has all the right friends.Julia is the opposite of her mother, she loves the thrill of playing the piano in front of an audience, she prays for an opera voice, and loves to hang out with her fellow musician friends at her Seattle high school.Well her mother has different plans, she nags and nags about her daughter dressing dowdy, having ugly hair, not wearing the right make up for her skin tone, and she hates the fact that her daughter wants to be a musician- -because in her mother's mind 'no one ever got anywhere playing the piano, unless they were one of the crude rock 'n roll stars'.Julia just can't take it anymore, so, she calls her father who lives in the Rural Moon Valley and talkes to her stepfather-who by the way adores her-and they decide that she should spend the school semester in Moon Valley.Her mother is furious, but she goes, at first everything is so off, her grandmother is a hermit-but a nice one-her dad is always working on his hand moade cabinet buisness, and she keeps seeing this girl in the marsh who runs every time Julia tries to talk to her.Slowly as the year presses on she makes some girl friends, gains an enemy named Tammy, and falls in love with this beautiful boy with sapphire eyes and unruly auburn hair.The boy who's name is Luke, seems to know something about this mysterious girl, but he's not talking, everyone in town says she's a ghost? But there's no such things as ghosts right?Through lonliness, defending herself against her nagging mother and the vengeful Tammy, falling in love with Luke and meeting the mysterious lady in white of the marsh Julia searches for solid ground and a way to get what her heart desires. A good book, I reccomend it to Christian teenage girls looking for a story that teaches morals and how to deal with life and problems the right way. BRANDY.J

Cattail Moon was really great! It had just the right mix of mystery, sadness, happiness, friendship, and love. As a musician, I could relate to Julia very well. It did scare me a little, that maybe one day my music dreams would present a hard decision. But there are not many music books out there, so I enjoyed reading this one. I also loved the fact that it encouraged individuality. This was a terrific book for anyone to read, but I especially recommend it to musicians.

I loved this book! This was my first book I have read by Jean Thesman. And I plan to read more. It is about a girl named Julia who is 15(like most main characters in Thesman's books) and moves in with father (in a small town) after living with her mother in Seattle. Then she finds a ghost in town, and wishes to find out more. Julia tries to get infomation from a boy name Luke, but he doesn't want to talk about it. If I say any more, I will give the whole book away. You should really read it!

_Cattail Moon_ is definately not the most realistic of all books for young adults, but it is definately one of the best. Throughout the book the reader is thrown for different twists and turns that inspire critical thinking as to what he or she would do in the same situation. Although I am no musician I felt as though I could really relate to Julia. The ending I tried not to agree with but, as heartbreaking as the ending was, it seemed to be the only ending the book could have without sounding like an overdone fairy tale. That's the cold reality that the book gave that made it so hard to put down and so unforgettable. Kudos to Jean Thesman for this one and all the others of hers that I've read.

I was looking for books by Jean Thesman and when I saw the one review on CATTAIL MOON I felt like I had to add my comments. I thought the situation Julia finds herself in was one that lots of people could identify with--trying to find out who you are and follow your own dreams instead of having to be who and how others think you should be. I liked the way that Julia got stronger and more able to stand up for herself by the end of the book.