Cattail Moon (Avon Flare Book) [Paperback]

Jean Thesman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Avon Flare Book | Publication Date: August 1995

Hearing a musical, enchanting voice coming to her from across the marshes, Julia rushes out and briefly glimpses a beautiful, white-clad figure and is drawn into the mystery of the unknown girl and a boy named Luke. Reprint. SLJ. K. PW. H. AB.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

PW praised Thesman's "exuberant sense of humor and keen ear for dialogue" in this supernatural tale of a musically inclined girl's growing identification with a long-dead musician/novelist. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10-According to her mother, "kids who play classical music won't ever be popular with the people who matter." To 14-year-old Julia, music is an intricate part of who she is. Unable to deal with her mother's constant criticism, the girl leaves Seattle to live with her father and grandmother on a farm in Moon Valley. Surrounded by the natural beauty, she misses her friends and her music lessons, but enjoys the nonjudgmental company. When she meets 16-year-old Luke Sutherland, she discovers another reason for wanting to be there. Julia's life takes a mysterious twist after she sees a young woman by the river and realizes that she has seen the Moon Valley Ghost. As she tries to find out about this apparition, her life and that of the ethereal Christine Woodmark intertwine. Unearthing the tragic circumstances of Christine's life helps Julia realize that she must learn to trust and like herself and choose what she wants to be. This haunting, coming-of-age story has it all-an intriguing plot, memorable characters, a lyrical setting, and an intelligent, sympathetic female protagonist. Thesman has written another thoughtful and fascinating novel that draws readers into its world and holds them there to the story's end.
Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Flare (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380725045
• ISBN-13: 978-0380725045
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,534,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An enchanting tale of First Love, December 3, 2002

By 

Brandy Jaramillo (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cattail Moon (Avon Flare Book) (Paperback)

I read this book in one day, it was the kind of story that isn't too long and isn't too short, also it isn't very complex so it can be absorbed in one sitting.
The story is about Julia, who is this not pretty but not ugly fourteen year old. Her mother is the type who is pretty, skinny, perfect, is married to a lawyer and has all the right friends.
Julia is the opposite of her mother, she loves the thrill of playing the piano in front of an audience, she prays for an opera voice, and loves to hang out with her fellow musician friends at her Seattle high school.
Well her mother has different plans, she nags and nags about her daughter dressing dowdy, having ugly hair, not wearing the right make up for her skin tone, and she hates the fact that her daughter wants to be a musician- -because in her mother's mind 'no one ever got anywhere playing the piano, unless they were one of the crude rock 'n roll stars'.
Julia just can't take it anymore, so, she calls her father who lives in the Rural Moon Valley and talkes to her stepfather-who by the way adores her-and they decide that she should spend the school semester in Moon Valley.
Her mother is furious, but she goes, at first everything is so off, her grandmother is a hermit-but a nice one-her dad is always working on his hand moade cabinet buisness, and she keeps seeing this girl in the marsh who runs every time Julia tries to talk to her.
Slowly as the year presses on she makes some girl friends, gains an enemy named Tammy, and falls in love with this beautiful boy with sapphire eyes and unruly auburn hair.
The boy who's name is Luke, seems to know something about this mysterious girl, but he's not talking, everyone in town says she's a ghost? But there's no such things as ghosts right?
Through lonliness, defending herself against her nagging mother and the vengeful Tammy, falling in love with Luke and meeting the mysterious lady in white of the marsh Julia searches for solid ground and a way to get what her heart desires. A good book, I reccomend it to Christian teenage girls looking for a story that teaches morals and how to deal with life and problems the right way.
BRANDY.J

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An insightful book about dealing with changes, July 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cattail Moon (Hardcover)

_Cattail Moon_ is definately not the most realistic of all books for young adults, but it is definately one of the best. Throughout the book the reader is thrown for different twists and turns that inspire critical thinking as to what he or she would do in the same situation. Although I am no musician I felt as though I could really relate to Julia. The ending I tried not to agree with but, as heartbreaking as the ending was, it seemed to be the only ending the book could have without sounding like an overdone fairy tale. That's the cold reality that the book gave that made it so hard to put down and so unforgettable. Kudos to Jean Thesman for this one and all the others of hers that I've read.

3.0 out of 5 stars a good read, November 21, 2007

By 

J. Gurnea "mostly objective" (Garden Grove, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cattail Moon (Avon Flare Book) (Paperback)

I read this book when I was in middle school and recently reread it. I found myself thinking some of the same thoughts I did nearly a decade ago when I first read it--I like Julia because she is not perfect and young teenage girls will be able to relate. As a round character the reader gets to mature right along with Julia as she handles the changes in her life amongst her best friend Emmaline back home, her new friend Beth, and of course, Luke. The mystery of Christine draws the reader in further. This book will engage pre-teen to early teenage girls very well as it is written at the proper reading level for this age reader.