Over the Moon

by Natalie Lloyd

Twelve-year-old Mallie knows better than to dream. In Coal Top, you live the story you're given: boys toil in the mines and girls work as servants. Mallie can't bear the idea of that kind of life, but her family is counting on her wages to survive.

It wasn't always this way. Before the Dust came, the people of Coal Top could weave starlight into cloth. They'd wear these dreaming clothes to sleep and wake up with the courage to seek adventure . . . or the peace to heal a broken heart. But now nothing can penetrate Coal Top's blanket of sorrow.

So when Mallie is chosen for a dangerous competition in which daring (and ideally, orphaned) children train flying horses, she jumps at the chance. Maybe she'll change her story. Maybe she'll even find the magic she needs to dream again.

But the situation proves even more dangerous when Mallie uncovers a sinister mystery at the heart of Coal Top's struggles -- a mystery some powerful people will do anything to protect.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Adventure, Mystery, Audiobook, Juvenile, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2019

About the author

Natalie Lloyd is the New York Times Bestselling Author of novels for young readers (and the young at heart).

Her first novel, A Snicker of Magic (2014), was an ALA Notable Book, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a top 10 Kids Indie Next Pick and an NPR, iBooks and Parents Magazine best book of the year for children. The book has been optioned for television by Sony Tristar. Natalie’s other novels include The Key to Extraordinary (Scholastic 2016), The Problim Children series (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen 2017), and Over the Moon (Scholastic 2019). These novels have won accolades from Entertainment Weekly, Junior Library Guild, SIBA, Amazon and Bank Street College of Education, among others. Silverswift, her first Audible Original, was published in 2020. Hummingbird, her seventh (and most personal) novel for kids, was published in August 2022. In January 2023, it was awarded a Schneider Family Honor Award by the American Library Association. Her next novel, The Witching Wind, will be available in Fall 2024.

Natalie writes in the shadows beside a sunny window in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She loves adventuring with her husband, Justin, and their dogs.

Reviews

[mary liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

My heart is full.

Not my favorite Natalie Lloyd book, but it's still a special tale full of starlight & friendship & soaring mountains & constellations.

It will be a while until this smile leaves my face. :')

l o v e l y | q u o t e s

- Denver's hair is curly, soft as dandelion fluff. Wishing clocks is what my mama calls dandelions. That is a fitting way to think of my brother, too--so small and magical to me. A wish come true. From the first time I saw him, I knew I'd never love any person more than I loved Denver Ramble.

- This cold, starry night isn't just the most beautiful thing I've seen. This kind of silence is one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard. It's the sound of a winter-white morning, the space between the words I love you.

- "Gentle things are fierce, too."

[P.S. If Adam and Mallie don't get married later in life, I will be Upset. ;)]

4 stars

[Jill Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flying horses? An oppressed town. Over the Moon is a gripping middle grade story about a brave girl who not only gets to ride a winged horse, she uncovers the truth about the world she lives in, then faces it, head on. I adored Mallie's character. She was brave and bold and easy to cheer for. This story was fantasy with a hint of dystopian and a lot of heart. I am so glad I read it! My copy is going right into my classroom library. I highly recommend it to middle grade fantasy fans.

[Matthew Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the lovely, beautiful, moving story I thought it would be -- just as the other Lloyd books I've read are. The first thing to note is that this one is more fantasy than on that magical realism line that "The Key to Extraordinary" and "A Snicker of Magic" are. The setting still feels similar to the others and you can just feel the author's love for it -- even when it's shrouded in a cruel dust, infested with monsters, and life is so very hard. It will come as no surprise that while the hero doubts and she sometimes feels small or inadequate to the task, she's brave in a multitude of ways when it's needed. She's the person who stands up for family and friends. She's the one who hopes and refuses to give up. She's that character that can teach a young reader so much about what it means to be strong and to remind older readers that a sense of wonder is integral to it.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful tale about the triumph of the human spirit over tyranny. And, yes, there are flying horses!!! Natalie Lloyd is one of my favorite authors, because of her ability to write about spunky, flawed heroines. Mallie struggles with her negative impulses yet desires to do her best to help support her family in a dusty world where the stars have disappeared. Then she meets Leo and they fly over the moon together. Filled with heart and a snicker of magic (see what I did there?).

Thank you to Scholastic and Edelweiss for a digital ARC of this new middle grade fantasy.

[Michele Knott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely beautiful book that is full of layers that are begging to be discussed. Lloyd has outdone herself with this one - full of gorgeous language and set in a haunting, yet beautiful setting. I have a feeling this one will be well loved amongst readers!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Natalie Lloyd. Lyrical, imagery-rich writing, laced with hope and mountain charm. But this book had something else, too: gumption. Moxie. Grit. Courage to stand up and not accept the stories you’ve always been given. Now I can go back to anxiously awaiting her next novel. ❤️

[DaNae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Painful to complete. Disjointed and expository. Not to mention the overly-precious syntax.

[Penny Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ... okay. I kept reminding myself that I am not the target audience, but I did wonder several times who that audience might be. It seemed at first to be kind of a young JF - 3rd, maybe 4th grade - but the messages at the end seemed a bit heavy handed for that age group. So maybe middle school?

Themes/messages: don't believe the story you are handed, don't blindly trust authority figures, believe in your dreams. [Also: smash the patriarchy, the rich just want to be rich and hate all poor people and want to keep them in their place, rich men/boys are jerks - but that might be my age talking.]

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

From beginning to end every moment is captivating. The characters, compelling in every respect, embody all that is right and good and true and shades of the opposite, too. There are many places in our world literally mirroring the book's setting of mountains and mining, dense forests and valleys with rivers. At the same time these places and scores of other locations are figuratively identical in having the Dust, yellow-eyed monsters, and feeling the absence and silence of riders and weavers of light. When you complete a captivating title with compelling characters in a scene similar to your own, or one you can easily visualize, heightened with elements of possibility, you can't turn the pages fast enough. When you are done, the sense of triumph is so complete and sincere, you have no choice. You must read it again. . .immediately. And you do.

Upon the second reading, you pause and place small markers at sentences and paragraphs, profound and timeless. Even though you know the characters, setting and plot, your sensory experience is still exquisite. At the end, you have tears in your eyes, again. This is the experience readers will have when reading the latest title, Over the Moon (Scholastic Press, March 26, 2019) written by Natalie Lloyd.

My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...

[E.F. Buckles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book I’ve read from Natalie Lloyd. While I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult, I kept thinking that, had this been published when I was in Middle School, I probably would have loved it all the more. Overcoming darkness with the help of magical flying horses? My horse girl tween self would have been ecstatic. XD

Something I’m coming to love about Lloyd’s writing style is how descriptive and almost poetic it is. She paints her worlds so vividly while giving them a distinct atmosphere that pulls me in immediately. I started the audiobook “Over the Moon” one evening in the past month when a wind stormed knocked out my home electricity. Listening to a story about an electricity-free mining town that’s covered in magical dust so thick it’s blocking the light, all while sitting in a dark house, doing things by battery-powered lamp light? The vibes were vibing. I was walking around my dark bedroom to get something when Mallie was first being stalked by one of the monsters that lurked in the dark, and it was a little creepy for a second there. XD

While Mallie’s world was dark (literally), I love how her family brought light to their little corner of it with their love for each other. Her father had something happen that knocked him out of commission from being able to work in the mines to provide for his family, but Mallie’s brother is too young to go work in the mines himself. Mallie loves her brother far too much to let any harm come to him, so she initially disguises herself as a boy to go work in the mines herself (before she discovers the flying horses and other things happen.)

I kept tearing up a little because her love for her family was such a huge source of her courage. Repeating her brother’s name, reminding herself why she was doing this, gave her courage to take one step after the other into the deep darkness of the mines. Even after that, again and again, it’s her desire to help and protect her family that drives her choices. Rather than her family being a weight that holds her down and spoils her fun, like in some children’s literature, it’s her family that gives her wings and strength. Let’s have more of that, please!

Like I said at the start, middle school me would have loved the flying horses so much, and adult me enjoyed them, too. I’ll try not to spoil too much, but I loves the way Lloyd integrated them into the world. It wasn’t just horse girl fun for the sake of horse girl fun, they had a whole lore behind them, and were an essential part of the story.

I won’t spoil the ending, but I loved everything about it. Such important themes about thinking critically about the things we’re being told, investigating them, and revealing the truth, even when it’s hard. Even when we have to push through uncomfortable things to do it. The imagery in the end was so beautiful and poetic as Mallie and her friends fought the darkness with light.

I recommend this book for readers, especially fantasy and horse lovers, old and young!

Content Advisory:
Some spoilers ahead out of necessity, but I’ve put them in spoiler code. If you simply want to know if this book is appropriate for the target age range of middle schoolers, then I would say, yes, it absolutely is. If you need more detail, then please read on.

Language:
None.

Sexual/Romance:
Very light, age-appropriate, crushy feelings between Mallie and her male best friend. It doesn’t go beyond some warm, fluttery feelings, a little handholding and closeness, and just generally Mallie realizing she’s starting to like him as more than a friend. It’s a very healthy relationship where they’re kind and supportive of each other, and help each other multiple times.

Violence/Scariness
There is little actual violence. The majority of scariness comes from threats to people’s safety rather than actual harm or injury.

That said, there are a couple instances of bullying between children. Not everybody is kind to each other, or to Mallie with her one missing arm (but many people are supportive and kind.)

A mean, selfish boy attempts to sabotage other kids to get more money when they do better at their job of collecting the special gold dust than he did. This sometimes involves him kicking at them on their flying horses, putting them in danger. In one instance, he knocks a kid off a flying horse, sending the kid plummeting, but the kid is saved. In another instance, he kicks at Mallie and cuts her bag to make her lose her gold dust.

There are other instances of kids being mean to other kids, and adults being mean, bullying, and intimidating other adults and kids.

As for the monsters mentioned in the synopsis, they turn out to be shadowy creatures with yellow eyes and animal-like descriptions. Several times, they’re described as snakes, but they can appear like cat-like creatures with claws, too. They stalk and intimidate people, including Mallie. Very young readers might find them scary.

Mallie discovers eventually that the monsters are not real. The dust that the town leaders have been telling everyone is medicine is actually a substance they’re using to control the populace with fear. They can use the dust to create the monsters, but if a person stands up to the monsters and yells at them instead of running, the monsters turn back to dust.

Mallie’s little brother is forcibly taken away from his home to work in the mines. No description, because Mallie only learn that it happened after the fact, when she comes home to find her parents upset and their home torn apart. It doesn’t seem that her brother was harmed, but the mines are a dangerous place where he could be harmed. She rescues him and the other children there later.

Spiritual/Magic:
This is general market fiction with no explicit spiritual content. To my knowledge though, the author is a Christian, and fellow Christians will notice deep truths peeking through, as well as great representation of healthy relationships. Facing our fears and the truth setting you free are huge themes.

As for magic, Mallie lives in a fictional mining town where a fictional “dust” has covered the village to the point of blocking out the light for years. The dust is so thick that sometimes globs of it fall out of trees. If a person gets dust globs on them, or breathes it in, it can make them feel very sad or totally numb for weeks. Sometimes, when the local rule enforcers invade people’s homes to take someone or something, they intentionally spread dust in the home so the inhabitants get so depressed they won’t fight back. It turns out that the dust didn’t just randomly fall on the town years ago. The town leaders are actually generating it in the mines in order to control people into working for them and keeping them rich. The rules they put in place that they claim are protecting people from the dust (like, forbidding them from singing) are actually helping keep people afraid and subdued. People are told the thickest dust surrounding the village will kill them if they try to leave, but Mallie discovers this isn’t true and that you just have to be brave and push through the weight it makes you feel until you’re free.

Mallie’s father is not working at the mines at the start of the book because the dust down there quite literally stole his voice and he is no longer able to speak or work.

There is gold dust on the mountains that children are paid to collect. There’s also a kind of yellowish dust that has negative effects on people. (See the spoiler in the violence/scariness section.)

There are magical, flying horses in Mallie’s world. They have wings and seem highly intelligent. When a horse bonds with a person, the person and the horse get a matching streak of colored hair.
Ending spoiler: In the end of the book, Mallie discovers that the reason the town leaders have told people to stop singing is because it actually makes the magical starlight come down through the choking dust, and if the people realize that, they’ll be able to chase the dust away and throw off the control of the people who have sought to repress them. It turns out that the people have a natural starlight-weaving skill of sorts, and when they band together at the end, they make use of this and do get rid of the dust.

Other:
Excellent disability representation. Mallie only has one arm and uses a device called a “pop socket” to replace her missing one. We see her overcome challenges again and again.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of hope and exciting! Super cute fantastical vocabulary: starpatches, dustblobs, and starbirds.

[Terrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine a world where you couldn’t see the sun or stars. A world where dust covered everything and being close to a lot of it made you sad, angry, and violent. A world where you aren’t allowed to sing. A world of monsters that grow from the dust. Monsters that are a cross between snakes and wolves. A world where the old people say they remember a time of stars, light, flying horses, and happiness.
Twelve-year-old Mallie is tired of being afraid. Tired of all the secrets around her. Tired of not being heard or allowed to work in the mine just because she is a girl. Tired of hiding her little brother from the Guardians who seem to rule their world. Tired of the Guardians who want to take him away to work since her father was injured and can no longer support them.
When an unimaginable opportunity presents itself, Mallie sneaks in to join. It might kill her. Or her friends. It might reveal the truth. Or it might be the answer to everything and turn her into a hero.
This is a very imaginative setting that in a way feels familiar, like a poor coal town run by bully inspectors, so it is relatable and unique all at the same time. I am not a fan of fantasy, but I loved this world and the characters. A great adventure that I read all in one sitting.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd, 304 pages. Scholastic Press, MARCH 2019. $17.

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Mallie lives a dreary, desperate life in tiny town on Coal Top Mountain. An insidious dust has covered the skies for almost a generation, blocking out the sky, the sun, and stars. Mallie slaves each day in the valley below for a meager salary, but one day she finds an ad looking for brave boys willing to risk their lives for an adventure. This may be just what Mallie needs to quickly earn the money she needs to save her little brother from the mine. What she finds when she disguises herself and applies is beyond her wildest dreams. And it may just be the answer to returning sunshine and magic to her town.

Lloyd is so good at inserting magical yearnings into her writing! You can see from the cover what I mean, but it’s even better than you think. Fans of A Snicker of Magic will dive on in.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun short read with a strong female lead. Targeted at older elementary kids, I was particularly pleased at the inclusion of a character with a limb difference. I think boys and girls alike will find things they have in common with Mallie and want to root for her throughout. Stories like these expose kids to others that may be different from them, but more importantly, highlight all the ways they are the same. I'm hopeful that for kids and others that read this book they'll keep this in mind as they meet others in their life that may look or seem different than themselves.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

How ridiculous of me to have this book sitting on my unread shelves for a whole year. I kept wanting to read it and always having some other thing I "needed" to read, like a book for a book club or a buddy read, or something due at the library, or whatever.

Well, anyway, I've read it at last. And I loved it. I didn't love it for like the first two-thirds of the book, I just liked it a lot, but that ending! I had tears in my eyes repeatedly during the last couple of chapters.

Also, this book has flying horses, and I LOVE FLYING HORSES. They aren't in nearly enough books, and I'm so glad this book has them :-)

[JoyAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because of a middle school book club and because it’s on the YHBA list in Indiana, and boy am I glad I did. This book’s hope and heart was a breath of fresh air after a winter with lots of negativity. Mallie is one of my favorite types of hero - the kind who is an underdog, who is fierce and full of heart, and who questions the evil around her. Many books show the power of stories, but this book also shows how stories can lead to fear and following leaders with bad intentions, and it also shows how people can write their own stories instead of the one they were given.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Natalie Lloyd’s books. I read them each time they come out after discovering A Snicker of Magic. This one had her signature magic flare, her impeccable enchanting way with words, and her trademark genuine, feisty, bold heroine. I felt the resolution was rushed and happened too quickly which was the only reason I did not give 5 stars. Read this for a fantastic spellbinding story.

[Heather Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mallie Over the Moon will fight the dust and fly straight into your heart! Natalie Lloyd creates another magical experience for her readers. The power of love, family, friendships, and song shine brightly in Over the Moon.

[Jacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

With my level of work stress, weather-induced pain, and general existential ughness right now, "gives-no-fucks girl with prosthetic arm and magically bonded flying horse stands up for workers' rights, tells male oppressors to get bent" exactly fit the what-I-needed bill.

[Rebecca Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upper Elementary or Middle school appropriate. The world building was super interesting and super vivid. The injustice of what the lives of mining families were like worked really well in a fantasy setting.

[Sheri Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute. Listened with Brian…he said four stars as well. I started this book as I was planning to attend a Local Authors event at the library, but then didn’t make it.

[Dana Carmichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another utter delight by Natalie Lloyd!

[Tirzah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always start a Natalie Lloyd book not knowing what to expect but being certain it's going to be magical, fun, and full of positive messages. This is probably my favorite of hers as the whole concept of flying horses and weaving stars is quite romantic. I like Mallie's fierce and yet gentle way of protecting her family and searching for truth. I think young readers will enjoy this book and learn important lessons from the characters and their situations.

[Elizabeth Appenheimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! I'm so excited to recommend this to students.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a three star read most of the way, but I think the ending and the lessons implied in this book bump it up to four stars. This is a Beehive Nominee for 2020/2021.

[Melissa Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this one of my favorite authors, but I did not want to put this book down once I started reading it! I read it on a plane ride home, got home late, and then stayed up even later to finish reading! Natalie Lloyd has such a wonderful way of connecting the reader to the characters. You can just feel her smiling personality come out in her creations!

I got an early copy of this book while attending a reading conference for educators.

[༺Kiki༻ · Rating 3 out of 5]

You might also enjoy:

✱ Spirit's Key
✱ Saving Wonder
✱ The End of the Wild
✱ Canary in the Coal Mine
✱ Hour of the Bees
✱ Where the Watermelons Grow
✱ Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe
✱ Katerina's Wish
✱ Unicorns of the Mist

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohmyword, I loved this one so much! Natalie Lloyd is so creative and fun. She loves sad towns and the kids who save them---and now I do, too!

Over the Moon was even more fantastical than The Key to Extraordinary or A Snicker of Magic with flying horses and dust monsters. I think it would be a perfect movie.

This one also had even more heart and imagery in it. I may be reading into it but it felt like it was about faith. The darkness and pain sin brings versus the LIGHT and joy that Jesus brings. It was not remotely about that, but it's the story I felt underneath it.

And again, thank you, Natalie Lloyd for giving us another boy-girl friendship without romance!

[Jessica Girvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will always be a fan of Natalie Lloyd and this one did not disappoint!! This is such a powerful story about the need to push through the dark times! I don’t know a single person that will not be able to relate to this story!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love middle grade novels, and this one is no exception. Can’t wait for my rising 5th grader to read it with our language arts curriculum next year. I’m going to have to look into other Natalie Lloyd books now. 🥰