** spoiler alert ** I honestly doubted I would finish this book when I started. I know it sounds petty but I get so sick and tired of Mormon stereotypes/falling away from the religion/bashing the church which I belong. So the book starts with Thad in the back seat of his parents' car, disgracefully excused from the Missionary Training Center where he came clean about his sexual activity pre-mission. He is sent home with his ultra-conservative and ultra-fundamentalist (not polygamist) parents who, for all intents and purposes, disown him. To save face, there is a rushed wedding ceremony and the two young and ill-prepared kids are faced with college tuition, work, and bills. This sets the tone for the following chapters as Thad struggles with proving himself worthy of being loved and his choices in juxtaposition of his religious upbringing.

I really, really liked the honest telling of the story. By sharing his story with Ben Mezrich, Thad lays himself out bare. He does not make excuses or lay the blame at anybody else's feet. He clearly makes the choices he does knowing right from wrong. At the same time, the reader is sympathetically trailing him as he reinvents himself, justifies one indiscretion which then becomes another and he realizes too late he is tangled in a web he didn't realize he'd woven.

The Mormon in me gets it. The Mormon in me also cringes at the number of "f" bombs. Just a warning.

I actually don't like the title of the book, Sex on the Moon. I get it but the story is really about a brilliant boy who wants to succeed. He wants to be loved. He wants to be accepted for who he is. He works his tail off to be successful at NASA. He triple majors in the sciences. He tries to maintain a long distance marriage. He perceives it as failing and finds love elsewhere. He lets his brilliant mind wander and believe he could steal moon rocks from NASA. His brilliant mind works out the details.

Obviously, he gets caught. I felt myself pulled into the justice system with him, being terrified, dehumanized, feeling (and being) utterly alone and surrounded by violent offenders. This is not a major theme of the book but it broke my heart.

I found the book to be honest, intriguing and heart-wrenching.