Ever since her brother's death, Dellie's life has been quiet and sad. Her mother cries all the time and Dellie lives with the horrible guilt that t...
read full description
reviews
Oct 07, 2011
Aaron
rated it: 
Dellie's family has been wracked by the death of her brother. Her parents, who have been in counseling for months, are struggling to keep going. Her mother, has become distant and over-protective of Dellie while her father finds himself having to follow her around to make sure she is safe so his wife will not worry. Neither seems to notice that Dellie is fighting her own personal guilt. She can't help but wonder if their is something she could have done to save her brother Louis from the acciden
More...
Mar 12, 2011
Esther
rated it: 
Full review on Reader's Dialogue: http://readersdialogue.blogspot.com/2011...
The voice of the novel, told in Dellie's words, is completely engaging and so real. It's straightforward, clear, and emotional at all the right points. Dellie's feelings are clearly portrayed, through her own words and through the things she does and the way she reacts to everything. Without Dellie coming straight out and telling the reader, her thoughts and reactions are very clear from the way she talks More...
The voice of the novel, told in Dellie's words, is completely engaging and so real. It's straightforward, clear, and emotional at all the right points. Dellie's feelings are clearly portrayed, through her own words and through the things she does and the way she reacts to everything. Without Dellie coming straight out and telling the reader, her thoughts and reactions are very clear from the way she talks More...
Nov 01, 2010
Nicola
rated it:
Reason for Reading: I'm not exactly sure how I came about receiving this ARC, as I don't typically read Teen realistic fiction, but the subject matter was enticing as I read the back of the book, then proceeded to read the book.
This is a brief book, short in it's page numbers and printed with a line and a half spacing between text lines. This makes the book a quick read and I did read it within a day but the story does make one slow down one's normal reading speed as it is a poignant More...
This is a brief book, short in it's page numbers and printed with a line and a half spacing between text lines. This makes the book a quick read and I did read it within a day but the story does make one slow down one's normal reading speed as it is a poignant More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 02, 2011
Dawn
rated it: 
I'll admit that I had a really hard time with this book. At first I couldn't decide if it's because it's considered Middle Grade reading and maybe I was expecting too much or if it just isn't my style. What I decided is that there was so much detail - every tiny conversation - but I didn't get any emotion, just words. This could have been a very powerful story, but it was just words on paper.
Dellie's brother died the summer before the book begins, but no one says what happened to hi More...
Dellie's brother died the summer before the book begins, but no one says what happened to hi More...
Nov 16, 2010
Ashley
rated it: 
This was originally reviewed on my blog, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing.
The Trouble with Half a Moon by Danette Vigilante was a sweet story. Looking back over the notes I wrote while reading this book, and just after, 'sweet' is the word that kept popping up.
Dellie is struggling with grief and guilt after the death of her younger brother. He died in an accident that she blames herself for. It's been a year since his death and her family is struggling. Her mom won't let More...
The Trouble with Half a Moon by Danette Vigilante was a sweet story. Looking back over the notes I wrote while reading this book, and just after, 'sweet' is the word that kept popping up.
Dellie is struggling with grief and guilt after the death of her younger brother. He died in an accident that she blames herself for. It's been a year since his death and her family is struggling. Her mom won't let More...
2 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 18, 2011
Yvonne
rated it:
A quick read but with deep emotion.
Dellie lives in the projects with her mom and dad. Last summer her little brother was killed in an accident. Dellie blames herself. Her mother is overcome with grief and has become hyper vigilant about Dellie.
New tenants move in on the ground floor and the once peaceful building starts to have problems. A gunshot goes off in one of the halls. A small boy wanders the halls knocking on doors asking for bread. Dellie secretly becomes close to the More...
Dellie lives in the projects with her mom and dad. Last summer her little brother was killed in an accident. Dellie blames herself. Her mother is overcome with grief and has become hyper vigilant about Dellie.
New tenants move in on the ground floor and the once peaceful building starts to have problems. A gunshot goes off in one of the halls. A small boy wanders the halls knocking on doors asking for bread. Dellie secretly becomes close to the More...
Jun 02, 2011
Ellen
rated it:
I loved this book. I started reading it and immediately I noticed that my heart was hurting. I could feel the pain that the main character was feeling, and the guilt. And the quiet suffering of the family was heartwrenching. I loved Dellie and Corey, the little abused boy who comes into her life. I wanted to sweep in and protect them but I didn't have to because Dellie's parents are wonderful - something you don't always seen in books these days. Yes they are flawed and human, but they are also
More...
Feb 02, 2011
Katrina
rated it:
Delijah (Dellie) is thirteen years old and she’s in the seventh grade. She is her mother and father’s only child, but that wasn’t always the case. Her parents had a son, she had a little brother, his name was Louis, but now he’s gone; died at the young age of five.
Corey just moved into the building where Dellie lives. His father isn’t around and his mother treats him badly. He is a little boy in need of a friend.
Diana (Dellie’s Mother): She had a fear of losing the only More...
Corey just moved into the building where Dellie lives. His father isn’t around and his mother treats him badly. He is a little boy in need of a friend.
Diana (Dellie’s Mother): She had a fear of losing the only More...
Dec 11, 2010
Katy
rated it:
I really didn't expect The Trouble With Half a Moon to grab hold of my heart so tightly. I don't read a lot of contemporary urban fiction, but this one seemed to call out to me. An urban setting may seem alien to someone like me, who grew up in a rural area, but the topics of grief, loss, and healing are universal. The Trouble with Half a Moon focuses on a 13-year-old girl named Dellie, who blames herself for her brother's death and wrestles with those emotions on a daily basis. Her brother's de
More...
Jul 25, 2011
melissa1lbr
rated it:
Things I Liked:
I really loved the cast of characters for this book! It was filled with a diverse group of people - kids and adults. And it wasn't the main focus of the story either. I was drawn into the lives of the people, Dellie and Corey's obviously, and I felt like they were my own friends and neighbors. It was a heart-breaking story, watching how hard it is for Dellie and her parents to deal with the loss of her brother. And then to watch Corey's life slowly become worse. I found More...
I really loved the cast of characters for this book! It was filled with a diverse group of people - kids and adults. And it wasn't the main focus of the story either. I was drawn into the lives of the people, Dellie and Corey's obviously, and I felt like they were my own friends and neighbors. It was a heart-breaking story, watching how hard it is for Dellie and her parents to deal with the loss of her brother. And then to watch Corey's life slowly become worse. I found More...
Dec 10, 2011
Kelly
rated it: 
A lot happens in this short book, and while I think it's handled well and fairly, especially given this is more a middle grade than a young adult novel, I still wanted a lot more than what I got. I could have used some more character development, especially with Dellie. We don't get to know what's eating away at her until pretty far in the novel, and there aren't many clues dropped before hand. And it's a big thing. More emotional heft could have made this a tad stronger, too. Not sure I bought
More...
Nov 03, 2010
Megan
rated it:
Dellie is living with the guilt of feeling responsible for her younger brother's death and the frustration of not being allowed out of the house since her mother fears something will happen to her as well. A new boy, Corey, moves into her apartment building and he seems hungry and neglected. Dellie becomes Corey's protector even though he reminds her (sometimes painfully so) of her brother. While worrying about Corey, Dellie also is dealing with a broken friendship and a budding romance. Del
More...
Dec 11, 2011
Lou
rated it:
I love this book! It's lovely to see a novel that shows good, happy people living in the projects. Happiness doesn't always live in a house with a white picket fence. For a middle grade novel, this book brings a good dose of reality. I admire the author for her bravery in being able to include such topics like the death of a young sibling and child neglect and abuse in a novel for younger children. Novels like this are the types that can reach out and help someone who really needs it. This book
More...
Jan 06, 2011
The Bookologist
rated it:
Moving and poignant, The Trouble With Half a Moon immediately stole my heart and kept me absorbed into the life of the characters. Vigilante has entwined a beautiful story with grief, loss, and pain, and with a girl growing up, as she is an observer of life, but not a participator.
Thirteen year old, Dellie, thinks she is the one to blame for her brother’s death. She grapples with these emotions each and every day. The brother’s death triggered the family to grieve unhealthily and affec More...
Thirteen year old, Dellie, thinks she is the one to blame for her brother’s death. She grapples with these emotions each and every day. The brother’s death triggered the family to grieve unhealthily and affec More...
Oct 31, 2010
Reader
rated it:
Dellie didn't realize how far she would go to care for Corey; he becomes the brother that she lost tragically. As she becomes his protector, she also begins to deal with the guilt and grief she feels over her brother's death. Excellent urban setting and nicely paced story make for engaging reading. A few word choices are bothersome, especially 'tings" as description for overpowering emotions. Dellie's relationship with her family, her friends, and her new charge are well balanced and nuance
More...
Jan 14, 2011
Ari
rated it:
On paper this book sounds heartbreaking, the actual delivery was not so heartbreaking. Yes Corey is adorable and his story is upsetting, but there were so many little things that bugged me about this story I couldn't really get into it emotionally. My main problem was with Miss Shirley. Let's put it this way: Miss Shirley is magical and she makes everything all better. I wasn't expecting the magical elements and I didn't like them either. I understand putting in a wise elder figure, but making h
More...
4 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 22, 2011
Sab H.
rated it:
This was a very sweet and innocent portrayal of a a teenage girl dealing with grief. Although it is YA, it felt to me a little more of an MG title. (*Just heard from author that it is an MG title!) The book is short and the story isn't very deep. Dellie, the Hispanic protagonist is 13 and childish for my taste. I could be wrong about this but it felt to me that she was just discovering truths that are normally discovered at a younger age. She also has a fight with her best friend and does nothin
More...
Feb 13, 2011
Sarah Mae
rated it:
Received an ARC from YAR
http://yarsocalif.blogspot.com/2011/02/t...
Dellie's family hasn't been the same since the death of her brother. Her parents barely let her leave the house, except to go to school. After a shooting in her apartment building, she decides to take matters into her own hands. She and her best friend Kayla start helping out Corey, a young neighbor who they suspect is being neglected and possibly abused by his mother. Through her interventions and the help of a new, J More...
http://yarsocalif.blogspot.com/2011/02/t...
Dellie's family hasn't been the same since the death of her brother. Her parents barely let her leave the house, except to go to school. After a shooting in her apartment building, she decides to take matters into her own hands. She and her best friend Kayla start helping out Corey, a young neighbor who they suspect is being neglected and possibly abused by his mother. Through her interventions and the help of a new, J More...
Mar 29, 2011
Books and Literature for Teens
rated it:
Despite its heavy topics of grief, loss, and urban life in the streets of Brooklyn’s Projects, Vigilante leaves plenty of room for development and discovery as she weaves a light, but impelling coming-of-age story.
Although Dellie’s situations are mainly impacted from her sometimes gritty surroundings, middle graders will connect with Dellie as she comes to peace with the death of her little brother and, as she experiences the many new things that also come with growing older. Through a simp More...
Although Dellie’s situations are mainly impacted from her sometimes gritty surroundings, middle graders will connect with Dellie as she comes to peace with the death of her little brother and, as she experiences the many new things that also come with growing older. Through a simp More...
Aug 28, 2011
Sophia
rated it:
From p. 90 on I was teary-eyed for the rest of the book.
I love Ellen Oh's review below - she hits it spot-on. For us NYers we can SMELL this book.
I'm so grateful for winning a copy of this book through a blog giveaway.
I love Ellen Oh's review below - she hits it spot-on. For us NYers we can SMELL this book.
I'm so grateful for winning a copy of this book through a blog giveaway.
Apr 16, 2011
Embrc
rated it:
Urban setting, rough neighborhood, tough times at home and school. Well written and touching. Middle school to early high school interest. -AM
Sep 17, 2011
Taffy
rated it:
Intriguing story of how a grieving family, a neglected little boy and a neighbor help each other through the hard spots in each of their lives.
Dellie is a young girl who lost her brother and feels like it's her fault.
Her mother fears she'll lose Dellie too and doesn't allow her out of her sight or her dad's.
Dellie's dad is grieving too but he is dealing with it better.
The family is stuck until they take in and care for a young boy. Dellie is dete More...
Dellie is a young girl who lost her brother and feels like it's her fault.
Her mother fears she'll lose Dellie too and doesn't allow her out of her sight or her dad's.
Dellie's dad is grieving too but he is dealing with it better.
The family is stuck until they take in and care for a young boy. Dellie is dete More...
Dec 19, 2011
Jennifer (Young Adult Librarian)
rated it:
A quick read. I felt for Dellie and Cory. I wanted Cory’s mother to be punished for what she was doing to him.
Jun 15, 2011
Ed
rated it:
Vivid, affecting story about a family struggling to heal from great personal tragedy. An impressive debut novel.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 12, 2012
Joshua
rated it:
A little too pat, but given the subject matter quite uplifting... just a dash of magic as well.
Apr 11, 2011
Sophia
rated it:
This author came to our school. She read a short chapter from the book and hooked me.
Feb 13, 2011
Medeia
rated it:
This is a sweet MG novel about a thirteen-year-old girl named Dellie who has suffered the loss of her brother. She's not allowed to go out much because her mother wants to keep her only remaining child safe, yet her building has an increase in crime. Dellie bonds with an abused five-year-old boy in her building named Corey, meanwhile things are becoming rocky with her best friend Kayla. THE TROUBLE WITH HALF A MOON is a quick, enjoyable read with interesting facets of love, loss, being protec
More...
Mar 02, 2011
Rachel
rated it:
A solid character who has real struggles, but the setting is lack luster and the there are so many plot elements that they don't all come together.
