Blue Moon [Mass Market Paperback]

Luanne Rice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1994

The moving novel of a family that discovers the everyday magic of life and the extraordinary power of love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though its setting is quite different, this highly readable, richly detailed slice of life offers the same absorbing vision of a single family in a particular time and place as do Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles. Set in a Rhode Island fishing village-cum-resort town, the narrative focuses not on the upper-middle-class, white collar characters that Rice has heretofore brought to life in such well-reviewed novels as Crazy in Love and Secrets of Paris , but on a family of hardworking restaurateurs. The action revolves around Cass Keating Medieros, the youngest granddaughter of Sheila and Eddie Keating, founders of the family's successful restaurant, Lobsterville. Though Cass and her fisherman husband Billy have been "madly in love since eighth grade, and proud of it," their marriage has begun to show the strain of caring for their partially deaf daughter Josie. Meanwhile, their teenaged son is experiencing his own first grand passion; their nephew dabbles in Satan worship; and Cass's embittered sister Nora blossoms when romance unexpectedly comes her way. These and other engaging subplots keep the narrative sailing briskly along; frisky sex scenes are another plus. A dangerous sea storm clears the decks for this multigenerational saga's unabashedly teary and heartwarming resolution. Rice writes with assurance and is particularly adept at illuminating the inner lives of the novel's youngest characters. 35,000 first printing; Literary Guild selection; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Novels such as Secrets of Paris ( LJ 4/15/91) and Stone Heart ( LJ 4/15/90) have led readers to expect hard-to-put-down plots and insights into family life from Rice. Here she presents four generations of a Rhode Island resort-town fishing family. The action focuses primarily on the granddaughters of the family founders (and mainly on the youngest, Cass), who are helping their parents run the family's waterfront restaurant. Some of the novel's best scenes involve the women's relationships, but much of it is predictable. Dad is thinking of retiring and selling off the waterfront property to developers, Cass's teenage son can't believe how incredibly dense his parents are, and Billy, Cass's husband, is nearly lost at sea. His rescue redeems the entire family and puts to rest any ideas about selling out. While Rice still has the knack for re-creating deep family feeling, and she handles well the dilemma Cass and Billy face in accepting their four-year-old, Josie, who has lost her hearing, the novel never rises much above its tired story lines. Fans may request, but otherwise, wait for her next novel. Literary Guild selection; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/93.
- Francine Fialkoff, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (July 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553568183
• ISBN-13: 978-0553568189
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #719,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LUANNE RICE is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, most recently The Silver Boat. Her books, including Cloud Nine and Dream Country, often center on love, family, nature and the sea, and have been translated into twenty-four languages. A number of Rice's novels have been adapted for television, including Crazy in Love for TNT, Blue Moon for CBS, the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations of Follow the Stars Home and Silver Bells, and Beach Girls as a summer drama series for Lifetime Television. She has contributed a theatrical piece to the new off Broadway play Motherhood Out Loud. Rice loves nature and frequently writes about it. Born in New Britain, Connecticut, Rice divides her time between New York City and Old Lyme, Connecticut, in the house where she spent all her childhood summers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting peak into a New England family, March 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

Luanne Rice has another appealing glimpse into family dynamics. I'm a new fan who is reading all her novels after enjoying "Cloud Nine" so much! Her characters and settings are believable, the situations are an interesting peak into a New England family.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, excellent, excellent, February 22, 2001

By 

Jayne (Santa Monica, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

I could not put this book down. I pretty much read it straight through, stopping only to make dinner and throw another load of clothes into the washing machine. I would have liked to read more (maybe even a sequel?) about these thoroughly enjoyable, interesting, lovable characters. I loved this book and plan to read more, if not all, of Luanne Rice's books.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing!, January 6, 2002

By 

mzglorybe (Southern CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Blue Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

I first read Luanne Rice's "Home Fires" and loved it so much I went looking for more, then read "Follow the Stars Home" which was also wonderful, and I started collecting her books. This is the 3rd one I have read by her and was sooo disappointed that it did not compare with the other 2 mentioned here. It is a lot of boring dialogue in the beginning, seeming to lead to nowhere in the first 100+ pages and you want to scream "get going here with something" - I am not giving up on her however, as her later books were better and this was only her 2nd book. Maybe she was experimenting or something. I am reading Summer Light next and keeping my fingers crossed!