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Moon In Bastet

E.S. Danon (Goodreads Author)

4.71 · Rating details · 28 ratings · 21 reviews

A memoir turned into thrilling fiction; Moon in Bastet is based on the life of author E. S. Danon. The story follows a fourteen-year-old girl named Eva, an orphan living in the Negev desert of Israel who is working as a custodian of Cirque Du Christianisme.

Her life is controlled by a volatile drunk named Bella who favors a group of equally volatile teenage bullies, the Ch ...more

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Kindle Edition, First Edition

Published September 29th 2020 by Hurn Publications

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Jul 31, 2020 Tara Torres rated it it was amazing

"You will find all of the answers you need in the darkest night of your soul. Change is inevitable; everything that happens - happens for a reason. Don't be afraid of anything, not even death. For death is only the start of another life."

E.S. Danon has taken her the story of her life and weaved it into an incredible tale of magic and mysticism. The author has created a work of fiction that explores many real world issues; the oppression of women, the complicated nature of friendships, child neg ...more

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Jul 28, 2020 Elizabeth Dudley rated it it was amazing

10/10! What an amazing book to read! Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down. While the book is fictitious, the connections to religious discrimination, sexism and the author’s life was eye opening. The character development of Eva is inspiring as she fights societal demands to find her true identity. I cannot wait to read the second book, Sun in Anubis, and read how Eva and Jack’s brother-sister relationship blossoms as Eva continues to find herself. I recommend everyone to read th ...more

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Aug 11, 2020 Bohdana rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: like to read about mysticism, mythology, religion, memoirs

A very interesting book, I love learning little things that are scattered throughout a book so this was a treat for me. Moon In Bastet is an allegorical memoir. It raises themes of sexism, abuse, social tensions, disability, family, mysticism, and identity. The book is detailed in it's descriptions. The setting was interesting, I think the book did well in creating it's intended atmosphere. (view spoiler) A very interesting book, I love learning little things that are scattered throughout a book so this was a treat for me. Moon In Bastet is an allegorical memoir. It raises themes of sexism, abuse, social tensions, disability, family, mysticism, and identity. The book is detailed in it's descriptions. The setting was interesting, I think the book did well in creating it's intended atmosphere. (view spoiler) The struggle of Jack and Eva's relationship felt complex and real. For teenagers it can be especially hard as they have their own struggles, so even though it frustrated me, it was just a reminder that human beings are very complex and we all need compassion and wish to be understood.

Also can we just appreciate for a moment how pretty the cover is:

The merch for this is going to be so pretty.

On to the characters, they felt raw to me. As a personal preference I like books where the emotions are dissented over a long period of time, and since I'm more of a stoic so for me the emotions were a lot to handle (I've read some pretty intense classics and I've noticed that it's just a bit too much for me to read about). But that's just a bit of a personal preference of mine.

The book gave me a different perspective on some things. The book was not what I expected, after a certain point it felt a bit like Alice-in-Wonderland but with addition of mysticism and religion. I was expecting mythology, I think this book goes under mysticism so this book added some variety to my bookshelf that I needed.

I also love that the book has a glossary of words in case the readers may not know a certain word or custom. I find that books feel more authentic when I just plunge into a book without the author explaining every little thing when it's in the glossary or can be inferred. It helps keep the atmosphere and maintain the narrative flow of the book.

I would think this is for those that love allegorical memoirs, or religion, or mythology, or mysticism. It would be interesting to see how the worldbuilding in the book is developed in the next book. Even though it is very much mysticism, it also had a sci-fi feel to it (I love those kinds of myth/sci-fi books). Overall a good book with something for everyone to learn and think about.

A thank you to the author for sending me a review copy.

***I received a review copy from the author through Voracious Readers*** ...more

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Aug 03, 2020 Amirah rated it it was amazing

I had a very unique experience reading this book. This author deserves many praises for writing a story about inequalities of the Sexes regarding chores, Religion, and freedom too be yourself. Eva cleaned up the circus area while the men were so awful to her and bullied her throughout her daily routine. This within itself is reason enough to read this book. Eva is only 13 years old, but she managed to always hold on to her religious beliefs. Eva prayed on a continuous basis at some points in the ...more

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Jul 23, 2020 Alicia Fadgen rated it it was amazing

Love this story! The attention to detail was amazing! It was also very educational and magical at the same time. I am on the edge of my seat for the next book! I look forward to reading it! Highly recommend!

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Oct 04, 2020 Jenna Rideout rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-author-requested

I received a review copy of Moon In Bastet in exchange for an honest review as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Silver Dagger Book Tours. Thank you to E.S. Danon and Silver Dagger Book Tours for making it possible for me to read this great book! To be completely honest, I've been returning to the tour booking page for this title with Silver Dagger for weeks wondering when the stops would be announced and if I would get a copy and nervously resisted double booking mysel I received a review copy of Moon In Bastet in exchange for an honest review as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Silver Dagger Book Tours. Thank you to E.S. Danon and Silver Dagger Book Tours for making it possible for me to read this great book! To be completely honest, I've been returning to the tour booking page for this title with Silver Dagger for weeks wondering when the stops would be announced and if I would get a copy and nervously resisted double booking myself for the title with another tour host just in case.

Moon In Bastet is, as the official synopsis indicates, a fictionalization of the author's life leading into a supernatural adventure that is steeped in Jewish traditions and mysticism. As a lover of cats, the title and cover hooked me. As a former history student and simply someone who is curious and fascinated by world religions, I stayed with this book because of the unique way it set about teaching me more about Judaism. As a lover of science fiction and fantasy novels, the interdimensional travel and mystic battle to survive were the cherry on top of this rich cake.

I particularly enjoyed the complicated relationship between the main child characters, Eva and Jack, and of course I loved Eva's relationship with her special cat. I can't remember now if the cat Andy was described in detail or not, but in my mind's eye, he's a chocolate (brown) Burmese. Without spoiling anything, I'd like to admit at this point that I've asked both my cats if they're keeping the same secrets Andy kept. So far they have not answered, but I suspect Pebbles knows exactly what I'm talking about.

In all seriousness, I very much enjoyed this book. I think it will empower Jewish kids, Middle Eastern kids, and individuals of feminine persuasion everywhere. This book has important and impactful things to say about sexism, religious freedom, and what it means to be family.

After hearing all this praise you may be wondering why I've chosen not to rate this book a full five out of five stars, so let's address that. First, even though mysticism plays an enormous part in this book's plot and message, we don't experience much of it at all for the first half of the book. I understand that there was a lot of set-up to be done, and I am sensitive to the fact that this book is partially autobiographical, but as a stranger to the author with no connection to the real events and experiences that inspired this book, the first half felt quite slow. It felt like at least 100 pages were spent doing nothing but introducing characters and establishing the dynamics between them. I frequently and openly admit to being the type of reader who likes to spend a little extra time just "hanging out" with the characters, but that has to come after the plot has been established. Again without giving specific spoilers, once mysticism really comes in and the plot picks up, there is a series of life or death events that take place. The pacing changed very abruptly at this point, and to an extent that is to be expected, but I found myself wanting to have little bits of downtime hanging out with the characters at that point, between those events. Do enough to establish who these characters are and what they mean to one another, get to this big turning point with the plot, and THEN let's have moments of hanging out with the characters and building upon what we know.

In addition to this I have two smaller "complaints" and one minor note, should the appropriate person read this, for whoever ends up making formatting decisions in the sequel and future editions.

The temporal setting, the when in time that this novel takes place, is quite ambiguous for most of the first half of the book while we're getting to know the characters (technology or lack thereof isn't highlighted, major events in history aren't brought up, etc.) so it could be any time... until one of the teens said "amazeballs," which puts it in the first decade of the 21st century, likely at least indirectly in contact with North American pop culture through media or internet access. Then later on the same character sees a working electric light for the first time. I struggle to reconcile in my mind that a pair of teenagers being held in near-isolation in a circus in the Middle East in a time and/or location that doesn't have electric lighting would have come across the phrase amazeballs.

I was also disappointed that despite the title and cover of this book hanging a lamp on the whole Egyptian goddess thing and the fact that this book is set in Israel, the main characters don't seem to have any prior knowledge of the Egyptian pantheon. It felt like a matter of plot convenience that a 13 and 14-year-old in Israel (apparently in the 21st century) were completely in the dark on this topic.

My note for anyone involved in formatting future books and editions is to avoid switching to fancy script fonts when characters read something written in a letter or on a sign, as these are difficult-to-impossible for individuals with certain learning disabilities to decipher, and at least two of these occurrences contained vital information that was not repeated or implied later on in the regular text.

Despite these flaws, overall Moon in Bastet did prove to be an amazing story and the second half was nearly perfect. I look forward to the sequel, Sun in Annubis, and hope to review that title as well.

--
I read this title for a blog tour! To read the rest of the post and gain easy access to the rest of the tour, visit: https://www.westveilpublishing.com/?p... ...more

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Mar 16, 2020 E.S. Danon rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hi everyone! Moon In Bastet is a symbolic account of my life, set in a fictional realm with a nonspecific time period (which changes as the characters travel between the realms.) Eva is very much my inner child, and I am her other self.

I set the knowledge realm in Israel because of the Jewish diaspora and also, because Israel helped bring me back to Judaism. My mother is Catholic and my father is Sephardic. If I could have chosen from the start, I would have chosen Judaism and gone to Hebrew sc Hi everyone! Moon In Bastet is a symbolic account of my life, set in a fictional realm with a nonspecific time period (which changes as the characters travel between the realms.) Eva is very much my inner child, and I am her other self.

I set the knowledge realm in Israel because of the Jewish diaspora and also, because Israel helped bring me back to Judaism. My mother is Catholic and my father is Sephardic. If I could have chosen from the start, I would have chosen Judaism and gone to Hebrew school, but nobody ever asked me what I wanted. They chose for me. Jewish law chose for me, which is why I’m a strong proponent for either parent being Jewish to pass on Judaism. I wish I didn’t have to convert to be “Jewish”, but that’s the sad reality of many kids today with Jewish lineage.

The knowledge realm was unspecified in time because it’s where all history of the universe is stored - past, present, and future. It’s my take on the Akashic records, symbolic of the fact that I believe my life is fated, and so is Eva’s, as well as everyone else’s.

I chose Bastet as one of the mystics, and my guardians, because I love cats and have always been intrigued by Egypt. Also, the Hebrews and Egyptians have a long standing, and overlapping history, so it’s my way of giving a nod to our shared story. Also, there are many Jews who have Egyptian ancestry, myself included. Genetically I am part Levantine.

When it comes to Sephardic culture and history, I tried to weave our story into Moon In Bastet by it’s characters. For example, my mother and Queen Isabella inspired Bella, and Ferdinand was inspired by King Ferdinand. I also used my grandparents, my guardian angels, as a way to explain some of the places Sephardic people have lived, although it’s not entirely comprehensive. Also, let’s not forget when Eva, Jack, and John made burmelos.

When it comes to the Bedouins, I wanted to show a few things. First, that Arabs and Jews can coexist peacefully and with love, and that we have more similarities than differences: especially when it comes to food. Believe it or not, kanafeh is both an Arabic and Sephardic dish. Also, many Jews are Arabic, and vice versa. There are even Palestinians finding out that they have Jewish ancestry - even more reason for peace. For more information on this I highly recommend learning more about Sephardic Jews and Mizrahi Jews.

When it comes to feminism, I wanted to bring light to the Women of the Wall because not many people know of what’s happening in Israel when it comes to the oppression of women. Female rabbis and cantors aren’t even allowed to hold services at the western wall, albeit the men being able to do so, simply because of their gender.
...more

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Aug 20, 2020 James Bartowski rated it it was amazing

I don't say this a lot about books, but this one was absolutely beautiful.

The symbolism and mysticism you'll find in this book is quite like non-other that I've ever found before. I do personally feel like this book is quite the gem.

I myself am not Jewish, and you can tell by my name that I am not a woman. So, the issues of sexism and antisemitism are not hatreds that I have myself experienced. I do however have a wife I love and friends who are Jewish. I find that I often try to educate myself ...more

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Aug 20, 2020 Disa Travis rated it it was amazing

Moon In Bastet is inspiring, stunning and thought-provoking!

I swear with this book...ugh. I cannot express my love enough for the writer and her honesty and unique approach in telling her own story through fiction.

I found this story absolutely beautiful because it touches on so many important topics, including strength-of-self and listening to our own intuitions.

The information about the Women of the Wall was wonderful to learn about and I'm so glad it was included in the book. I'll be looking m ...more

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Aug 20, 2020 Liz Wulff rated it it was amazing

..."Don't be afraid of anything, not even death..."

E.S. Danon has very originally created a new type of memoir with this magical, mystical and majestic work of art!

She's exploring the real-world issues many women face, and more specifically Sepharic/Jewish women face within and outside of their own religion. Don't get me wrong, any one of any gender will enjoy this story, I just personally found it resonating within me because of my own personal struggles reflected in the main character, Eva.

Als ...more

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Aug 20, 2020 Margaret Wolfe rated it it was amazing

Moon In Bastet deserves every praise it receives!

E.S. Danon has written an amazing story about inequalities of the sexes and between religions in a way that no matter who you are you can truly understand we're all just humans on this planet.

On the other hand, there is so much magical and mythical detail within the book that you don't feel preached to or that you're in the middle of a women's studies class. The amount of mysticism and symbolism weaved within this whimsical tale is a talent within ...more

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Aug 20, 2020 Sabrina Bryan rated it it was amazing

I was so surprised by how much I ended up loving this book!

Not because it didn't sound good in the beginning but because we are reading along with Eva and some of her hardest life scenarios. It's not all sunshine and rainbows for this poor kid but I wasn't left depressed and sad.

It left me with hope and love and this.....power of self?

Moon In Bastet felt like it woke up something within me and I'm excited to read the next book in the series! ...more

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Nov 19, 2020 Miriam A Maddock rated it it was amazing

With little knowledge of Jewish religion and mysticism, my eyes were opened to it, after reading this book. E.S. Danon knows how to target her young audience in this exciting YA story. It’s primarily based around a young girl, Eva—a fourteen-year-old orphan who has to learn to survive the harsh reality of her circumstances: being bullied, neglected and abused by those she’s been forced to live with—ignorant individuals who have no time for her. However, she has a true friend in Jack—a thirteen-y ...more

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Nov 27, 2020 Hurn Publications rated it it was amazing

Moon In Bastet is inspiring, stunning and thought-provoking!
I cannot express my love enough for the writer and her honesty and unique approach in telling her own story through fiction.

I found this story absolutely beautiful because it touches on so many important topics, including strength-of-self and listening to our own intuitions.
She's exploring the real-world issues many women face, and more specifically Sepharic/Jewish women face within and outside of their own religion. Don't get me wrong, ...more

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Oct 09, 2020 Dorothy J rated it it was amazing

What an amazing book, It definitely brings your attention to many questions. I find it was beautifully written and a must read for moon lovers.
@tisonlyme143

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Mar 11, 2021 Brooke rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: jewish-books-authors

"Judaism is not just a religion. It's a culture. A remembrance. I believe that a Jew's DNA still remembers all of our exiles. Our genocides. Our strength."

This book was totally out of my comfort zone. I don't typically read mystic fiction, but I picked this up because I wanted a book with Jewish rep and because I've interacted with E.S. Danon a couple times on social media and wanted to support her. I didn't really know what I was going to get into, but I couldn't put it down.

From the first page ...more

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Oct 19, 2020 Om Kini rated it really liked it

This book revolves around Eva, an orphan who lives in Negev dessert of Israel. She is controlled by bella. Eva works as a custodian of Cirque Du Christianisme along with some teenagers who constantly bullies her. Here she meets jack, a thirteen years old boy with whom Eva creates an unbreakable bond.

In the middle of Nowhere Eva comes across one cat who saves her life. she decided to adopt that cat as she is under the eye of Bella, she has to be careful that the cat is not noticed.

Eva, Jack and c ...more

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Mar 16, 2021 E.I.Q. E.I.Q. rated it really liked it

Shelves: indie-authors-read

This story was unlike anything I've ever read. I felt thrust into a world I knew nothing about and barely understood, pulled by the imagery and descriptive language to keep reading. I won't pretend I fully followed along with the plot, but the twists and turns surprised me.
It was more emotional and painful than I expected for a story revolving around such a young character. I felt Eva was portrayed realistically because of this, rather than a watered down, idealized version of a girl her age and ...more

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Feb 21, 2021 Jessica added it

Absolutely loved it! Everytime I opened the book I was immediately sucked in to Eva's world. I could feel the sand on my feet as Eva walked over the dunes in the desert. I could also feel her pain as she dealt with many unfortunate circumstances in her life from having no real family to dealing with religious oppression. Thankfully she had her trusty sidekick Jack to encourage her through her struggles regardless of their slightly complicated relationship. I thoroughly enjoyed learning tid bits ...more

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Feb 07, 2021 Craig rated it did not like it

Honestly a waste of your time. Clunky, wordy, and just plain awkward reading. If this is the author’s voice, Danon needs to find a new hobby. If forced upon you, it can make a good lining for your birdcage or tp if you find yourself in a pandemic shortage.

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About E.S. Danon

E.S. Danon

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Elizabeth Danon received her B.S. in Marine Science from Stony Brook University before working as a Marine Biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service. She traveled the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and Gulf of Mexico: collecting data aboard commercial fishing vessels and dredges.

When that didn’t pan out to be the glorified job that she expected, finding herself covered in shark snot and fish sca ...more