Customer Reviews

Knee-Deep in Thunder

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was eight, I read this book for the first time. I read Knee-Deep in Thunder at least twice a year for the next ten years. Then the library closed down and sold off all their books. I don't know where this book went, but I missed it. For two years.

Majesty, tragedy, myth, beauty, friendship and the eternal human search for meaning in a world gone mad power this book with an energy that I've never found elsewhere.

A cast of bugs, accompanied by two ragtag young people, shouldn't feel as real as this does, but each character somehow rings true. If you have not read this book, you are missings out on a real experience.

"How many a man has measured a new passage in his life from the reading of a good book. -Henry David Thoreau

Like the first reviewer for this book, I first read "Knee Deep In Thunder" in 5th grade. I've read it several times since after purchasing it from an online "out of print" bookseller. I cherish my copy although last night after pulling it from my daughter's bookshelf I was sad to see that the front cover is ripping off. The idea of finding the book dawned on me and I searched the house for it (even moaning loudly at one point thinking I may have let someone borrow it who did not return) because I'm bringing it with me to Alaska tomorrow to hopefully read to my dying mother who cannot read any more. Just like Maris's adventure, the story has come full circle because it was my mother, an elementary school librarian, who first introduced it to me. The poem on the front pages, "The Timid Folk Beseech Me..." was something that adorned our bathroom wall. I memorized it then, and I love it still. My mother is just about to walk the fields of clouds and follow vanished lighting and she'll be standing knee deep in thunder with her head against the sky.

Sigh... It's just another one of those "must read" books.

I read "KNEE-DEEP IN THUNDER" about 20-25 years ago, and loved it. It was the first book that i had ever read, that carried me along with the adventure. I could'nt put it down,and read it, untill I finished it (which was the first time that THAT had ever happened)! I was going to ask the librarian if I could buy the book, before summer break, I talked her into it, but the book was gone. About 10 years ago, I remembered the book, and started looking for it. I couldn't believe that it could not be ordered from the bookstores, so i started looking in second hand stores and yard sales. NO SUCH LUCK! I was THRILLED tonight to find it is in reprint.....I'm getting several copies, so that I can give my neices a copy, and let them take the adventure that has stayed in my mind, from so long ago. Thank you SHELIA MOON, for one of the best "mental adventures" that I still remember to this day. It played a BIG part of my interest in reading, and I haven't stopped yet. Thank You, -ken-

I read this book 33 years ago (4th grade) and haven't forgotten it for a second. It touched me in so many ways. I, too, remember where it was in the library. I, too, searched for it and couldn't find it until a friend tracked it down when I was in my mid-20's. Sheila Moon was part of a group called (if I remember this right) The Psychological Guild based in California. I was on their mailing list and I remember the day and where I was standing when I recieved a notice of her death. I felt so sad. No one I have known has ever read her or heard of her. To hear others speak of her book in the same way makes me feel like I have found long lost brothers or sisters. Maybe this is somewhat corny but since reading the other reviews I see that the feelings are the same. Thank you for carrying such a valuable book.

Fantastic book. One I read many times as a child and young adult from our local library. I went back to read it again as an adult and it had "disappeared". I finally was able to purchase two copies through our local book store (before I had internet and Amazon access), one for me and one for my sister. It's one of those books you can read again and again. At any age.

I read this book over 20 years ago as a young teen. I found it at my local library. It was the first book I ever seriously considered stealing from the library (no, I didn't, despite the temptation). Several years later, I tried to buy a copy for myself, only to find it was out of print.

More than any other book I've ever read, this book captures the uncertainty of female adolescence in a fantasy setting. Other writers, especially Andre Norton and Anne McCaffery have written novels that come close. But Knee Deep In Thunder challenged me as a teen, and continues to challenge me today.

Maris, the protagonist, must overcome obstacles and win against the bad guys, just as in most other fantasy novels. But she has to deal with the cost of making decisions, both positive and negative.

The imagery and construction of this book is compelling. Sheila Moon uses elements of Native American myths, along with classic fantasy components. Anyone interested in fantasy as a genre will enjoy this book.

I recommend this book highly, particularly to young women. The fantasy field has few feminine role models. Maris should be known by a much wider audience.

I found this book in the 5th grade, as a very troubled child living in a very troubled home. Reading it was like being in an extended dream from which one has a hard time waking. I found it difficult to get through - almost painful, for some reason. But it seemed to me - even at that age - necessary to get through the book. I felt there was something to be gained at the end. And there was: wisdom.

In the decades since, I have occasionally asked friends if they'd ever heard of this book. They invariably responded with a blank look. I searched once or twice for it only to come up empty-handed.

"Knee Deep in Thunder" has haunted me all my life. I don't know why. Any book that makes this kind of impact on a person is a very powerful work.

Please - read this book and be changed.

I first read this book in 7th grade. I cannot think of any other book that has made such a lasting impression on me. I remembered it so clearly that, in high school when I learned of the Index of Poetry, the first thing I looked up was the poem "Climb" by Winifred Welles, from which the title "Knee-Deep in Thunder" was taken. The poem has become a life-long favorite, too. This book is magical and inspiring.

Like another reviewer, I read this book as a child (11). It was the first book I " wanted", and did read more than once. I believe the fact that I am 40, have not seen the book since grade school, yet clearly remember the title and authors name is a testament to the power of the characters and experiences they share. It is a moving story of unhappy girl, who retreats to a fantasy world. There she experiences great friendship, trials, tests of courage, endurance and grief. She evolves through this experience and finds strength to take back into her own "real" existence.

Over the years, I have checked new and used book stores hoping to find it for my personal library. I am delighted to find it now.

As so many others have written, this book had a profound influence on me. Over the years I have tried to locate a copy and was beginning to think that I'd imagined it. But the title and author's name have been imprinted in my memory ever since grade school, bringing back deep and fond feelings over the years. I look forward to reading it again and embarking on the adventure first experienced so long ago!