FAE AND THE MOON

A child in turmoil takes matters into her own hands.

Light-skinned, red-haired Fae lives in a secluded cabin, lonely and aching for her missing mother. With only two silent mice, a talking bunny named Percival, and her nightmares for company, Fae struggles with anger and sadness while holding out hope that her mother will return. Her mysterious mother brought her to this place and, before she disappeared, told her stories from their old home, tales of the moon, dragons, and the blue rose. Those stories keep Fae feeling connected to her mother, so when Percival suggests that she find a way to honor her mother’s memory by the light of the full moon, Fae plucks the moon from the sky. This sets off a chain of events Fae could not have predicted, with wild beasts, long held at bay by the protective glow of the moon, once again going bump in the night, forcing her to finally understand her own mystical abilities and purpose. Fae’s expressive, innocent face contrasts perfectly with the more sinister characters throughout. Aureliani spares no time getting into the plot, building suspense and layering in the emotional complexity of Fae’s abandonment. However, this pace sometimes feels breakneck, set at Mach 10 to keep a low page and word count to suit a younger audience when the complexity of the tale could have easily been scaled up for an older age group.

Readers aren’t likely to be moonstruck by this one.