What is the creepiest neighbor you’ve had? In Karen McQuestion’s The Moonlight Child the Fleming family definitely deserves the creepy neighbor award. The story starts out by introducing us to a different family. Wendy is a Mom dealing with Morgan who is a troubled teen dealing with drugs. Morgan has disappeared. Then we meet Amy, an attorney who helps children in foster care. Amy calls her Mom, Sharon, and asks her to take in Niki, a former foster child. Sharon agrees and that is how we meet the creepy Fleming family. Mia is a little girl at their house which no one knows about. The Fleming Mom, Suzette is a psychopath. Jacob, her son, is likable but also lacks a spine. He has the ability to help Mia escape which makes his character so frustrating. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to handle the book but the “abuse” is primarily mental. The neighbors, Sharon and Niki, know something is wrong. While the story was captivating, there were so many characters it was a lot to connect. The end felt a bit off but I don’t know that I would have liked it any other way. This is a quick read that has simplistic writing but a lot of substance.
If you are looking for an indigenous author to support in November, then This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger has a great historical fiction read for you. Krueger is a member of the Anishinaabe ( Ojibwe ) tribe. This dialogue between a bit so likable character Jack and the teen narrator Odie will give you a good idea of the story. “Ask me, God’s right here. In the dirt, the rain, the sky, the trees, the apples, the stars in the cottonwoods. In you and me, too. It’s all connected and it’s all God. Sure this is hard work, but it’s good work because it’s a part of what connects us to this land, Buck. This beautiful, tender land.” Jack in Chapter 20. Odie then replies with his theory about how “God is a tornado.” which refers back to when a tornado killed a loving teacher, Mrs. Frost. The book was originally published in 2019 and is great as an audiobook coming in at 14 hours and 19 minutes on regular speed versus 464 pages of hard copy. ...
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