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How the Deer Moon Hungers
For those who enjoyed reading books like Where the Crawdads Sing and My Sister's KeeperMACKENZIE FRASER witnesses a drunk driver mow down her seven-year-old sister and her mother blames her. Then she ends up in juvie on a trumped-up drug charge. Now she's in the fight of her life...on the inside! And she's losing.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 15, 2020
33 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Susan Wingate
64 books309 followers"My love of books is largely due to the Sevilla Elementary School librarian. I ran to her to tell on Jeff Sloggins who, after slurping spinach around in his mouth, gagged, choked, then barfed on our table in the school cafeteria." ~Susan Wingate
Susan Wingate holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Lindenwood University. Her poetry, short stories, and essays have been published in journals such as the Virginia Quarterly Review, the Superstition Review, and Suspense Magazine, as well as others.
Susan's novel, How the Deer Moon Hungers received eight book awards. Susan is a proud member of PENAmerica.
Susan Wingate writes about big trouble in small towns and is the primary caregiver of her husband who suffers from frontotemporal dementia. They live off the coast of Washington State on San Juan Island.
Susan Wingate holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Lindenwood University. Her poetry, short stories, and essays have been published in journals such as the Virginia Quarterly Review, the Superstition Review, and Suspense Magazine, as well as others.
Susan's novel, How the Deer Moon Hungers received eight book awards. Susan is a proud member of PENAmerica.
Susan Wingate writes about big trouble in small towns and is the primary caregiver of her husband who suffers from frontotemporal dementia. They live off the coast of Washington State on San Juan Island.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 8, 2020
I loved the lyrical, almost poetic language of this fabulous story. Wingate hits just the right chords in building suspense as we discover family secrets in young MacKenzie's life, secrets that caused the rupture of her parents' marriage. When she witnesses the death of her younger sister, Tessa, by a drunk driver, MacKenzie's life is forever changed. She is submerged into a lonely and horrific world of betrayal and cruelty, a world where she must face adversity and overcome it or be swallowed by the evil surrounding her. A poignant story that will engage you from the very first page! "How the Deer Moon Hungers" is an amazing novel!
July 18, 2020
MacKenzie Fraser is living her life in a small town where she witnesses her sister's death and gets the blame for it. From there her life gets worse when she finds herself in Juvie and has to learn to survive. This was an incredible journey the author takes you on as you read how MacKenzie survives and adapts. Definitely a page turner that keeps you entertained until the very end! Can't wait to see what is next for this author!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2020
This tribute to sisterhood shines with heart. This author pulls out all the feelings and tugs at your heartstrings. The talent and skill that flows from Wingate’s pen makes it a highly recommended read for older teens and young adults. And many adults.
November 18, 2020
I received a copy of How the Deer Moon Hungers by Susan Wingate from BookTrib. My review reflects my own views and has not been biased by receiving the free book. Wingate, https://www.susanwingate.com/, has written over fifteen novels as well as nonfiction.
How the Dear Moon Hungers won several awards: Best Fiction in the 2020 Pacific Book Award Winner, the 2020 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for Young Adult Novels, and the July 2020 Elite Choice Book Awards.
The story centers on Mackenzie, Mac, Fraser and how her life spirals out of control when she witnesses her younger sister being hit and killed by a drunk driver. Sadly, Mac’s mother blames Mac for not protecting her sister.
Clearly, Mac and her mother are both grieving and the mother does not realize the rift in her relationship with her remaining daughter she is creating. To compound Mac’s problems, she is sent to juvenile incarceration because of a bogus drug charge. Readers will feel outraged at the mother because of her blaming Mac, but they will experience additional feelings of anger at a system that then pushes Mac into critical danger in the institution.
Wingate is a talented writer at creating a teenage girl who faces tremendous odds in her life. Readers should read the whole story to see whether Mac can overcome the terrible events and come out on the other side whole and ready to face adulthood.
I particularly like the two endings of the book. Again, readers will have to find those for themselves. For book clubs, How the Deer Moon Hungers will produce a lively discussion. I can envision members of a book club who would tear Uma, Mac’s mom, to pieces for her treatment of her living daughter. Others will defend her actions and her words because of her extreme grief. Most members will certainly feel empathy for Mac as she struggles in the aftermath of two severe events in her teenage life.
How the Dear Moon Hungers won several awards: Best Fiction in the 2020 Pacific Book Award Winner, the 2020 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for Young Adult Novels, and the July 2020 Elite Choice Book Awards.
The story centers on Mackenzie, Mac, Fraser and how her life spirals out of control when she witnesses her younger sister being hit and killed by a drunk driver. Sadly, Mac’s mother blames Mac for not protecting her sister.
Clearly, Mac and her mother are both grieving and the mother does not realize the rift in her relationship with her remaining daughter she is creating. To compound Mac’s problems, she is sent to juvenile incarceration because of a bogus drug charge. Readers will feel outraged at the mother because of her blaming Mac, but they will experience additional feelings of anger at a system that then pushes Mac into critical danger in the institution.
Wingate is a talented writer at creating a teenage girl who faces tremendous odds in her life. Readers should read the whole story to see whether Mac can overcome the terrible events and come out on the other side whole and ready to face adulthood.
I particularly like the two endings of the book. Again, readers will have to find those for themselves. For book clubs, How the Deer Moon Hungers will produce a lively discussion. I can envision members of a book club who would tear Uma, Mac’s mom, to pieces for her treatment of her living daughter. Others will defend her actions and her words because of her extreme grief. Most members will certainly feel empathy for Mac as she struggles in the aftermath of two severe events in her teenage life.
September 12, 2020
Wow, this book is such a roller coaster of emotions. Susan Wingates takes the reader on a traumatic journey from love, to tragedy, to despair, and back again.
When Mac and her sister Tesse are out riding their bikes one day, the unthinkable happens and Tesse is struck down. What follows is completely unimaginable in the stream of things. And Mac's life is changed forever when she is held accountable for her actions that day.
This book had me riveted to my Kindle. I couldn't believe the unfairness of Mac's consequences, and the hits that kept coming. Susan tells a compassionate and "real" story. Her characters are complex and at times, very shallow and unconscionable. Honestly, I wanted to slap a lot of the adults in this book. Gemma's parents, and Mac's Mom especially. This book will put your emotions through the wringer from sadness to anger and even to hope.
Wow, a very powerful book. Unfortunately, I can't say too much about the plot because one of the best things about this book are the plot twists.
I recommend this read!
When Mac and her sister Tesse are out riding their bikes one day, the unthinkable happens and Tesse is struck down. What follows is completely unimaginable in the stream of things. And Mac's life is changed forever when she is held accountable for her actions that day.
This book had me riveted to my Kindle. I couldn't believe the unfairness of Mac's consequences, and the hits that kept coming. Susan tells a compassionate and "real" story. Her characters are complex and at times, very shallow and unconscionable. Honestly, I wanted to slap a lot of the adults in this book. Gemma's parents, and Mac's Mom especially. This book will put your emotions through the wringer from sadness to anger and even to hope.
Wow, a very powerful book. Unfortunately, I can't say too much about the plot because one of the best things about this book are the plot twists.
I recommend this read!
July 18, 2020
Mac is a normal teenage girl living with her Mom and much younger sister on a Pacific Northwest Island. Her life quickly becomes anything but normal when her little sister is hit by a drunk driver.
This is a coming of age story that is both intriguing and captivating. However I found the language, violence, and sexual content much too strong for me. I advise caution before reading this book. I would only recommend it for the very mature reader who does not mind this sort of content.
August 18, 2020
Edge of Seat Novel
Author Wingate writes a riveting coming of age story where a domino of life-changing events spiral into not only death of naivety and innocence but the unraveling of family and friendship. Forgiveness, grief, amends and finally perspective run through the veins of the characters. Enjoyable to read.
Author Wingate writes a riveting coming of age story where a domino of life-changing events spiral into not only death of naivety and innocence but the unraveling of family and friendship. Forgiveness, grief, amends and finally perspective run through the veins of the characters. Enjoyable to read.
June 15, 2020
I received a complimentary ARC.
A longer read with good turning points. The characters are really well thought out. The writing style brings wit and an ease that keeps the flow until the very end.
A longer read with good turning points. The characters are really well thought out. The writing style brings wit and an ease that keeps the flow until the very end.
October 13, 2020
Susan Wingate hits it out of the park once again with this poignant novel, How the Deer Moon Hungers. This story draws you in and captivates you, even as your heart aches for the characters. It’s so well-written and the voice is so distinct that you feel like you owe it to the characters—specifically the protagonist, Mackenzie—to stick with them till the end even when the subject matter is difficult to read. If you enjoy plot twists and turns, as well as a roller coaster of an emotional journey, read this book.
October 6, 2020
Your heart will ache.
This book is so well written, and so sad. The thought that juvenile detention could actually be as horrific as this, is overwhelming. Still, the book is well worth reading and shows how easily a family can be destroyed, so relish every day you have yours intact.
This book is so well written, and so sad. The thought that juvenile detention could actually be as horrific as this, is overwhelming. Still, the book is well worth reading and shows how easily a family can be destroyed, so relish every day you have yours intact.
December 15, 2021
The book feels so real and it is so moving, I couldn't put it down. I can recommend it to everyone who enjoys well-written, character-driven stories.
December 3, 2021
How the Deer Moon Hungers is a compelling yet hard-to-read novel. I say hard to read because of the topic. The life of this girl turns a sharp turn and it goes from bad to worse to well enough. It is an emotional read.
March 20, 2022
The novel opens with a throat-grabbing scene narrated by the spirit of seven-year-old Tessa, who floats above a team of paramedics who are frantically trying to save her life as they transport her to an emergency room after an accident. Then the story jumps back in time several days.
Tessa and her sixteen-year-old sister Mackenzie, live on an island in the Pacific Northwest with their mother Uma, who is stressed out, overwhelmed, and raging since her husband left the family. Mackenzie—Mac—just wants to be a teenage girl, hanging out with her best friend Gemma, rolling her eyes at the things grownups do, and maybe, if she works up enough nerve, giving in to her friend's urging to try marijuana. But because Uma is too overwhelmed to handle her current life, Mac also has to spend more time than she'd like looking after Tessa. The two sisters adore each other, but having a seven-year-old tag along can really cramp a teenager's style.
Then the unthinkable happens. On a day when Mac and Gemma planned to do "big kid" things, they have to take Tessa with them. During a few minutes of inattention on the older girls' part, the local drunk runs over Tessa and her bike with his massive tank of a car.
Tessa dies, and Uma blames her older daughter. So do the police, who decide—based on some dubious eyewitness testimony—to arrest Mac on drug charges. The only people who can vouch for Mac's innocence choose self-protection rather than honesty, and Mac finds herself being sent to juvenile detention, where her already shattered life turns into a nightmare of terror and abuse.
Fortunately, Susan Wingate doesn't leave us there but rather takes us through the worst of it and into the early stages of Mac's road to redemption and healing. I recommend this to anyone who wants to be reminded of the possibility of hope after deep despair.
Tessa and her sixteen-year-old sister Mackenzie, live on an island in the Pacific Northwest with their mother Uma, who is stressed out, overwhelmed, and raging since her husband left the family. Mackenzie—Mac—just wants to be a teenage girl, hanging out with her best friend Gemma, rolling her eyes at the things grownups do, and maybe, if she works up enough nerve, giving in to her friend's urging to try marijuana. But because Uma is too overwhelmed to handle her current life, Mac also has to spend more time than she'd like looking after Tessa. The two sisters adore each other, but having a seven-year-old tag along can really cramp a teenager's style.
Then the unthinkable happens. On a day when Mac and Gemma planned to do "big kid" things, they have to take Tessa with them. During a few minutes of inattention on the older girls' part, the local drunk runs over Tessa and her bike with his massive tank of a car.
Tessa dies, and Uma blames her older daughter. So do the police, who decide—based on some dubious eyewitness testimony—to arrest Mac on drug charges. The only people who can vouch for Mac's innocence choose self-protection rather than honesty, and Mac finds herself being sent to juvenile detention, where her already shattered life turns into a nightmare of terror and abuse.
Fortunately, Susan Wingate doesn't leave us there but rather takes us through the worst of it and into the early stages of Mac's road to redemption and healing. I recommend this to anyone who wants to be reminded of the possibility of hope after deep despair.
December 10, 2020
This story has some wonderfully descriptive language, almost too much language. The weakness is that the characters lack motivation. Sure, the protagonist is plunged into awful situations but she is no more a wilful character than a leaf in the wind. Other characters have the same lack of motivation or unexplained motivation. For example, why did Gemma reveal to Mac's mother that she was the owner of the pot, some 14 months after the incident?
There were other gaps as well. Who was the rich man with whom Mac's mother had an affair? Why was there a non-disclosure agreement between them? What about Dad's girlfriend--Who was she, what is her story, why did Dad consider reconciling with Mac's mother?
So, despite some wonderful description of the physical world surrounding the characters, there is a paucity of explanation or motivation, a lack of description of the characters' inner landscape.
There were other gaps as well. Who was the rich man with whom Mac's mother had an affair? Why was there a non-disclosure agreement between them? What about Dad's girlfriend--Who was she, what is her story, why did Dad consider reconciling with Mac's mother?
So, despite some wonderful description of the physical world surrounding the characters, there is a paucity of explanation or motivation, a lack of description of the characters' inner landscape.
July 22, 2021
This book surprised me, I really thought it'd be better. I liked the writing style much better than the story!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews