Three lives are transformed at a much-anticipated total solar eclipse. Ally, almost 13, lives at the Moon Shadow Campground, purchased years ago by her parents as the perfect eclipse-viewing site. Ally loves the place and yearns to discover a comet. Jack, 13, glumly chooses helping his science teacher lead an eclipse tour over attending summer school. Bree, 13, who scoffs at science and believes that “[a] good hair day is worth its weight in gold,” is horrified to be yanked from her mall-and-makeup life and taken to Moon Shadow. Readers learn through Bree what Ally doesn’t know: Immediately after the eclipse, Bree’s parents are taking over the campground, and Ally’s family is moving to civilization. Each girl is heartbroken about her future until Bree sees the moon through a telescope, which inadvertently releases her “inner geek.” Bree’s shallowness is initially narratively weak beside Ally and Jack, who are both smart and honestly childlike, as the three voices alternate in the storytelling; however, by the gorgeous climax, Bree is special too. Glowing astronomical details entrance. (author’s note, further reading) (Fiction. 8-12)
