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Moonglass

Jessi Kirby

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By Patricia · 1 post · 91 views

last updated Jan 12, 2012 05:53AM

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Feb 07, 2013 Kim Smiley rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Not my favorite kind of book. It didn't really hold much purpose to me. Anna is 16 yrs. old and is moving back to the place where her father fell in love with her late mother. See, her mother just walked into the water and killed herself right in front of Anna when she was 7 yrs. old. She never understood why. So now they're moving away from Pismo Beach back to where her father fell in love with her mother, (another beach). Her Dad got his job back as the coast guard and their hut is right on th ...more

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Feb 18, 2011 Patricia (Patricia's Particularity) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, favorite, own, own-ya

Jessi Kirby's debut novel, Moonglass, is a wonderful tale of loss, love, and hope. At a very young age Anna looses her mother to suicide. Now Anna is in high school and has just moved to a new town where their home is right off the beach. You would think that Anna's love for the ocean, surfing and finding moonglass (sea glass), Anna would fit right in and love it automatically. But her new home has it owns ghosts, along with Anna's, that she cannot run away from.

Despite Anna's reluctance at firs Jessi Kirby's debut novel, Moonglass, is a wonderful tale of loss, love, and hope. At a very young age Anna looses her mother to suicide. Now Anna is in high school and has just moved to a new town where their home is right off the beach. You would think that Anna's love for the ocean, surfing and finding moonglass (sea glass), Anna would fit right in and love it automatically. But her new home has it owns ghosts, along with Anna's, that she cannot run away from.

Despite Anna's reluctance at first she finds new friends right away; while at first she is unaware of their importance. Constantly being haunted by her Mother's decision to leave her and her father, Anna learns more about her Mother, her Mother's past as well about herself. Not only does Anna grow as a girl troubled by something she could not control, her relationship with her father rides the waves of it all.

Moonglass was an AMAZING debut novel. Jessi Kirby's use of detail, emotion, character development and symbolism are all superb, each playing a vital role in the overall novel. Kirby's details of the beach, the water, and even something as simple as the sand make you feel as if you are walking or running on the beach along with Anna, jumping off a high cliff and then hitting the water. Your experience as a reader is heightened to a new level. Kirby's character development is also done very well. While the novel centers on Anna, other characters are treated as main characters as well. Even though Anna's mother is not physically present in the book, the emotional hauntings of Anna and her memories turns her mother into a main character; on level with Anna herself.

Of course we cannot forget about the Moonglass (the namesake of the novel). The Moonglasses in themselves serve many roles, creating new dynamics for this novel: they serve as a connection for Anna to her mother, they serve as a connection to the past but at the same time the future. Just like Anna's Mother, the Moonglass serve as a main character themselves.

I could go on and on about how amazing this novel was. Jessi Kirby has really set the bar high for her next novel. Every aspect of this novel was beautifully written, created and executed. As an author Jessi Kirby has earned my respect and I for one cannot wait for her next novel. I highly recommend everyone who may have experienced something similar to Anna's experience, or loss of any kind, or anyone looking to read an amazing novel, to read this! ...more

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