Moon Pie, by Simon Mason

Wow, I'm doing quite well with this 'regular posting' thing recently!  Long may it continue...  We had two days off again this week, despite it being the Easter holidays, because yesterday April decided that the whole sunbathing thing March pulled off was a bit rubbish, and threw a nice blizzard at us instead.  Whirling snowflakes, heavy white skies, gales, flickering lights, the whole works.  Thank YOU, April.  So we stayed at home.  I read a big chunk of Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists, which is great because I'd come to a bit of standstill with it, and I finished off my rewatch of season 1 of Gilmore Girls and broke into season 2.  AND I drank a LOT of coffee, and didn't have a nap ONCE even though I wanted to...  *pats self heartily on back*  Now, a review!

REVIEW: MOON PIE (4.5*)

by Simon Mason (David Fickling Books, 2011)

This book was a little 'younger' than I would normally venture into with my reading, but actually I'm really glad I did because it was fantastic!  It is a sweet story about eleven year-old Martha, who looks after her house and her little brother Tug every day because her dad is never at home.  Meanwhile HE is becoming more and more 'strange', doing reckless things and being silly all the time, to the point where even Tug is unimpressed.  As it turns out, he has been steadily descending into alcoholism since their mother died - and things are about to reach crisis point... 

It's certainly a serious subject, but as in Jacqueline Wilson's books, it is woven together with cheerier subplots (mostly about filmmaking - the children make their own movies with their friends), and it is handled with a lightness of touch that saves it ever getting too much for a young reader to handle.  Things DO get bad - their lives are turned upside down by their father's illness - and there are some terribly poignant moments, but the novel shows the whole family working through their issues and ultimately reaching a happy ending.  There is a truckload of wonderful humour to temper even the darkest of moments, and I have to say, the children are a delight: Mason nails their voices and little quirks so precisely, it's a joy to read.   I particularly liked little Tug (who is always hungry, especially for pies) and Martha's flamboyant diva friend Marcus!  And Martha is such a wonderful character to root for.  She's like all my favourite young literary heroines rolled into one - a little Matilda, a little Jo March, a little Anne Shirley, a little Sara Crewe...

I think this would be a great book for older children and tweenage readers, and while I was reading it I was also struck by how good it would be for reading aloud in the classroom.  There's plenty to discuss in terms of the more mature themes, but also plenty of giggle-out-loud crowd-pleasing moments as well (Tug is one of the funniest characters I've come across in AGES!).  All in all, I'd highly recommend it - though parents might want to read it first to be sure their kids will be able to comprehend and handle the more graphic elements of the alcoholism storyline.

Note: Many thanks to the lovely ladies at Random House Children's Books, who sent me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.