Talking to the Moon

by Jan L. Coates

Deep roots. Last year in Social Studies, Miss Matattall got us to draw our family trees. Mine was the only one with no roots and just one full branch for me, plus a half branch for Moonbeam. Because maybe she's already dead, and that's why she didn't come back to get me.

Katie is a left-out foster kid who knows next to nothing about her family tree. She doesn’t like change, she’s a little confused, a little disconnected, but she’s determined to find her real mother.

Set in the historic town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Talking to the Moon is a stirring story about family, history and identity. New friends provide clues to Katie’s past - including some remarkable letters from one of the original settlers, a girl her age who was uprooted, forced to transplant herself, more than 260 years ago.

No longer left out because she's on the autism spectrum, Katie gradually begins to get a sense of belonging, and just maybe, a sense of who she really is.

332 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2018

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I read this book, I was a left-out kid like Katie. As an eleven year old autistic kid, seeing myself in the books I read obsessively was not an everyday occurrence. To this day it is one of my favourite books.

[Sue Slade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talking to the Moon was an entertaining middle-grade historical fiction set in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and using a phrase from the lead character, Katie, historic fiction, particularly local, is one of my likes. I loved the details of Lunenburg’s actual historic events that were included in the story, along with the plaques on the houses that indicate the original owners of the buildings.

This story is quite unique as the lead character, 11-year-old Katie, is on the autism spectrum. After working with a gentleman with autism for a decade I found many of Katie’s responses to certain stimuli and situations to be spot on or for Katie: accurate or exactly right.

I would recommend this novel for anyone who likes historic fiction, especially Nova Scotia history, or for anyone who knows someone on the autism spectrum, who would like some insight into their black-and-white and literal interpretations of conversations.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very enjoyable story that takes the reader on an historical fiction adventure.

Katie is in a foster home, this time one she feels safe in, and she and her foster mother travel from Montreal, Quebec, to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, to spend a few weeks of summer vacation where Katie thinks her birth mother spent some time. There Katie - who is on the autism spectrum - discovers friendship with two children who are also preteen, and meets two senior ladies who share with her a special story of a girl who, at her age, immigrated from France to Nova Scotia in the 1700's. Katie finds unexpected connections and learns things that help her feel that she belongs.

[Jdensford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie is a foster child who has been "returned" twice from foster homes. She desperately wants to fit in and belong somewhere. She spends a 6 week period away with her foster mom and discovers joy in this little island of Nova Scotia. She's never made many friends, due to being on the autism spectrum. During the course of her vacation, she finds several friends both young and old. Her honesty and straight forwardness appeals to them all. She also discovers that her foster mom has filed to officially adopt her. Katie is happiest when she finally stumbles over her family roots. The author does a fabulous job showing us how Katie "sees" daily life and takes everything literally.

[Wunderdrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title was nominated for the 2020 Hackmatack Award in the English fiction category. I think that it was a really good story, and I enjoyed the way that the main character was able to express herself and learn things through the lens of being on the autism spectrum. I was totally confused about how Katie's foster mother from Lunnenberg came to be in Montreal & what a crazy coincidence that was, and it irritated me a little bit that we don't really learn the circumstances around Katie's birth (is she a cousin of Jack and Ruth?!). But I don't necessarily think that the intended audience of kids would be bothered by that. Also, I figured out pretty quick how Jessie and Katie were connected, and I wished they'd explored that a little more in depth.
I liked the book, and I would recommend it to kids who enjoy stories in the style of a memoir.

[Lana Kamennof-sine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant story within story within told by a young girl, foster child, with autism, focusing on her varied priorities & perceptions of both the current circle of individuals around her and those she's discovered through historic records. Set primarily in Lunenburg Nova Scotia.

[Emily Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pace of the novel was too slow for my tastes. The local setting was well-written, with specific details.