Customer Reviews

Jack Rabbit Moon

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Every so often you are lucky enough to find a work that will grab you on the first page, almost force you to keep the pages turning until the last word, and then be nice enough to stick with you long after the read is over. This is one of those rare and wonderful works! The first requirement for such a book is that the author must be a natural story teller. The second, the author must have a story to tell, and the third; the story must be filled with believable characters, ones that allow you to feel what they feel, see what they see and react as they might act. Dorraine Darden has more than fulfilled these requirements with Jack Rabbit Moon.

Simply and briefly, this is a story of a young eleven year old girl who has just about everything going against her, but has been blessed with an unconquerable spirit and a very quirky outlook on life. Marnie Evans is a child who is basically without love, and is by just about any definition, an abused child. Her family is almost completely dysfunctional as are many of the adults around her. She lives is poverty and is more or less forced to fend for her self. Marnie's struggle to escape her situation and find love is the frame the story hangs upon.

This entire story is told through the eyes of three people, Marnie, the main character, a park ranger, Rick, and the ranger's wife, Claire. The author has used a rather fascinating first person technique where she gives us the story through the eyes and words of these three people. This novel is populated with a number of strong and interesting characters and Ms. Darden has had the ability to develop each of these characters in a way that you feel you have actually met them, and indeed, are apart of some of their lives. The back drop of the story is Garner State Park, located in Texas. The author possesses the ability and skill to describe wilderness and outdoor surroundings in a manner which causes the reader to shut their eyes for a second and actually be there. Lest you feel this is a grim read, fear not. You will actually find you self chuckling throughout the entire read and sometimes even laughing out loud. Some of the one liners coming out of Marnie's mouth are absolutely priceless. This is one spunky little girl, who has had to grow up quite quickly, and as I said before, has a pretty quirky outlook on life. Like our real lives, there is some sadness, some happiness and most of the time a mixture of both. This has all been wonderfully captured in this work. Ms. Darden apparently has a wonderful sense of humor and it shows. I am not sure where this author learned or acquired her writing skills, and developed her craft, but I must say that this is some of the best writing I have read in several years now.

On a personal note, I cannot believe that this book has not been picked up by some major publishing house. Some evaluators, some readers, at some publishing house somewhere, have really ripped their knickers letting this one get buy. There is no doubt in my mind that we will be seeing and reading a lot from this author in the future.

Recommend you put this one at the top of your "to be read list" and also recommend you buy an extra copy because when you loan your personal copy to a friend, you probably won't get it back.

Author Dorraine Darden's Jack Rabbit Moon took this reader on an emotional adventure filled with the sights and smells of Garner State Park. I especially liked the story being told through the three main characters. It is like real life...everyone sees things through their own emotions and perspectives. This is a good read. L. Peters

This book is populated with characters trying to do the best they can, with the knowledge and experience they have and the situations in which they find themselves. Some do well, some not so well. And caught in middle is Marnie, who has experienced more of the negative side of life than a 12-year old should; unloved, ridiculed and pushed aside. But thanks to the writing talents of the author and her ability to turn a phrase, Marnie is not maudlin in the least but emerges as a strong, optimistic girl with a great sense of humor. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll think. And you'll enjoy the lush settings described throughout the book. Thanks for a great read, Ms. Darden. May you give us many more.

Jack Rabbit Moon by Dorraine Darden is a beautifully told story with a sparkling, tender heart. Marnie Evans, the young heroine of the book, is at once to be both pitied and admired; pitied for her life filled with hard knocks, but admired for her spunk in making the most of it as she befriends a young ranger and his wife at a state park in rural Texas. As the story unfolds, you find yourself drawn into the intersection of these three characters lives, a journey that will warm your blood and stir your heart. There's much to admire in Darden's writing style: her skill in convincingly telling the story from three distinctly different points of view, her care to give readers a true sense and appreciation of the story's setting (Garner State Park), and her delightful use of occasional humor and unexpected one-liners. I'm looking forward to reading more by Dorraine Darden.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait for another from this author. This little girl was determined to be important to someone no matter what it took to do it. I loved the adventure, the suspense, and the emotional turns of this book. Thanks Mrs. Darden for a wonderful piece of work.

My daughter gave me this book for my Birthday Day gift, I'm sure, because it centers around Garner State Park, in Texas. I'm on chapter 7 and I can't put it down! So far, I've laughed and cried and felt like I was a part of this story. I'm going to Garner next week and I plan on visiting some of the actual places mentioned in this wonderful book. Thank You Dorraine Darden!
High Cotton (in Texas)

The story is so heart warming and touching. It shows how the Carpenters really missed out on having a child of their own and how Marnie endured a great deal of hardship but over came them through pray and belief in the good in people.I hope that Mrs Darden writes another book soon. It also took you into the forest with the people. I could almost smell the flowers and hear the water running in the creek.It was a very wonderful story.

I was so captured on the first page!!! The story draws you into the life of an abused and neglected 11 yr old girl. Marnie's beautiful spirit and and positive disposition keeps you smiling. This is hands down the best book I've read in a very long time. The Author, Dorraine Darden has a special gift.

Last night I tearfully finished Jack Rabbit Moon. I'm not one to read novels. I'm not sure if it's because I have a short attention span or if I'm too much of a realist, but I rarely finish one. Jack Rabbit Moon kept me glued from the beginning. I cried, I laughed, I got mad...

Some of the characters got on my last nerve. I just wanted to mollocate them! Others tore at my heart-strings. The setting of the story, the Garner State Park area of Texas, is a nature lover's delight. Dorraine's descriptions of the area are so beautiful they draw you right in. So much so I'm trying to figure out a way to convince hubby we should go visit. (He's not a one for vacations)

To sum it all up, Jack Rabbit Moon is an engrossing, laugh out loud, tear- jerking, nature-loving dream of a story that keeps you pinned to the sofa until the fat lady sings. I just hate that the fat lady sang!

Maybe Dorraine will write a Marnie series???

Another high-spirited, hard-luck-to-happiness girl heroine, Anne (of Green Gables), liked to use the term "kindred spirits." Marnie Evans (of Jack Rabbit Moon) is a kindred spirit. I guessed she would be by page 5 ("Pixie Sticks and a book") and knew she was by page 7, when she revealed which author's "descriptions made [her] dizzy with joy." Any woman who remembers being an imaginative girl who was tough and yet sensitive, tomboyish and yet girlishly romantic, and fond of books--will like Marnie, I'm pretty sure.

Jack Rabbit Moon is about Marnie Evans' quest to find a loving family. The obstacles in her way and the forces that ultimately drive her to her dream make an interesting story. In particular, I found Rick ("the singing cowboy"'s) resistance very interesting and believable. He's a guy who likes his life the way it is. But life has a way of not staying put . . .

Things happen. Sometimes big, shocking things happen. There was a plot twist in Jack Rabbit Moon that really threw me (and Rick too). I liked how the characters reacted to this event. Rick had his epiphany, and another character made a choice that resolved things in a very satisfying way. I was very pleased with Who made this choice, for Marnie.

Jack Rabbit Moon is written in first person, and Marnie's "voice" is distinctive and interesting always. Rick is a very well-executed character. Even the icky people and the folks-about-town are drawn with depth and complexity. The world feels real. I am glad I (accidentally) discovered Jack Rabbit Moon, and hope this sweet book gets the exposure it deserves.