What the Moon Saw

I was lucky enough to meet Laura Resau when she came and gave a talk in my Children's Literature class in Maryland. I have to say that there isn't a thing in this book that wasn't derived from her life experiences. When she talks about the "limpia," the ritual steam baths, and lifestyles of the people in Mexico, she was there, she saw them, she experienced them. This is what makes this novel so compelling; from the beginning, the characters feel like real people and it's because they were based on real people! Don't be detered by the seemingly young adult cover, this is a book for all ages! More than anything, this book is about a girl named Clara trying to find herself, and does so when she visits her grandparents in a small village in Mexico. The characters in this book are so real and they are so natural that you can't help but be drawn into their lives. Clara is a typical teenage girl who needs her tv and her computer, but she finds that these things aren't nearly as important when she begins to live in Mexico. By reading this book, you not only learn more about a culture that is rarely or if ever talked about, but you may find that you learn a little about yourself and what your true passion is. If anything, you'll come away with a new appreciation for an area of the world that you know little about. Overall, this is an unputdownable book and deserves the attention of everyone! If you are lucky enough to have Laura Resau coming to your area, go see her and listen to her talk about her experiences and where she gets her inspiration from! It will definitly inspire you.

Resau's writing has the feel of someone who has spent years perfecting her art so that now she can tell a compelling story with richness and color and depth, writing that speaks on many levels and conveys a whole culture, another way of life. The writing is taut, without excess, but at the same time full and sensuous, erecting edifices with a flick of a word or two. Her sentences themselves are like questing vines, with curlicues in their interior! I like how Resau brings out the wider reverberations of events as they rumble by. For instance, right at the beginning, Clara sneaks out of her house at night and submerges herself under the water in the nearby stream. It's a baptism into the other world, a world far from her suburban upbringing, an intimation of the spirit world she'll enter more fully later in the story. It's so powerful, the type of iconic image that keeps returning to one's mind after reading passages like this. As the chapters progress the tension and drama grows. It got my heart pounding, totally worried about what was going to happen. I didn't want to stop reading and it kept getting better as I saw more and more of the connections between the stories of the grandmother and grandchild. I really like how Resau weaves multiple occurrences of events/actions/people through the novel and then joins them so that the different pieces all slide smoothly one into another. She's created a page-turner, but one where you savor the individual pages with their evocative and vivid experiences. And it feels like Resau is honoring some of the people she's met on her travels, transferring some essence of them into the characters in the book, spreading their determination and way of being out to others in the world. On one level, this story is about a girl becoming aware of her ancestry and powers, and her acceptance of these. On another level, it's about getting all of us to listen to the messages sent by the natural and spiritual world. But, most simply, it's a wonderful read, a satisfying story for readers of all ages.

This is a fantastic book. The literature says it is for 10 and above, but as an adult I had no problem reading it. The language is beautiful - almost lyrical. This book is a great jumping off point to get kids talking about pride and heritage. I'm sure this book is going to find its way into classrooms very quickly. Buy it, buy it, buy it!

This book is sooooo good -- an exciting, wonderful story of Clara Luna and her trip to Oaxaca, Mexico -- I stayed up all night reading this book because I couldn't put it down - and it was worth being tired the next day. Adults and young adults will love it - and be inspired too.