Moonglass [Hardcover]

Jessi Kirby (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 3, 2011

When Anna was little, she and her mother used to search for sea glass, but since they looked at night, they called it moonglass. Now, ten years after her mother's mysterious death, her father is working as head lifeguard on the same beach where her mother grew up and her parents first met and fell in love.

Reluctant to get close to anyone (including her father) and not pleased about having to start at a new school, Anna begins to spend more time alone, running the length of the beach and wondering about who her mother really was. After meeting a lifeguard named Tyler, she slowly lets her guard down and together they start exploring the abandoned houses that dot the beach.

But when learning more about her mother's past leads to a painful discovery, Anna must reconcile her desire for solitude with ultimately accepting the love of her family and friends.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I couldn't put this book down. Kirby's voice is fresh and wise, all at once. An incredible first novel."

--Sarah Dessen, New York Times bestselling author of Lock and Key

"Like sea glass, this smooth, radiant debut, reminiscent of Sarah Dessen, sets authentic and sympathetic characters working through a life-changing transformation against the backdrop of a steamy summer romance. Great for beach time—or anytime."

Kirkus Reviews

"Kirby is an author to watch, and her debut will be enjoyed by a large array of teens in search of identity stories."--Booklist

"Well written, with clearly drawn, sympathetic characters, and will be a good read for those dealing with losses of their own."--VOYA June 2011

A poignant book about a teenager seeking answers yet fearful of what she might learn.

---SLJ, September 2011

About the Author

Jessi Kirby is the author of Moonglass, which was an ABA New Voices selection in 2011; In Honor; and Golden. When she’s not writing, she works as a middle school librarian. She lives with her husband and two children in Crystal Cove, California. Visit her at JessiKirby.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (May 3, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442416947
• ISBN-13: 978-1442416949
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jessi Kirby is the author of MOONGLASS, IN HONOR, and GOLDEN, available May 14, 2013. She is also a wife, mom, middle school librarian, runner, and beach lover.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Vivid and heartbreaking May 5, 2011

By Brent Taylor

Format:Hardcover

There's something about beach reads that get me every time. I love heading to beach (vicariously) with a great set of characters. I love the sand, the bon fires, the flip flops, and the ice cream. There's nothing better than reading about that cute boy down the beach. I'm always on the lookout for books that capture everything summer is perfectly--and I squee every time I find one! MOONGLASS is one of those books.

Anna spent her childhood on the beach, scraping through the sand with her mother to find little bits of sea glass. But that was until her mother drowned herself in the ocean.

Ten years later, when Anna's all grown, she returns to the beach of her childhood with her father. Anna makes friends, falls in love, and learns more about her mother's death than she ever thought possible.

Jessi Kirby hooked me with the very first page of MOONGLASS. Her writing is so, so beautiful--I had to keep reading. I was sucked into Anna's story as Jessi Kirby slowly unfolded all her grief and emotions.

Anna's love interest is pretty . . . uh . . . not likable at first. Tyler is cocky, over-confident, and just a little arrogant. At the very beginning of the novel, I didn't get why Anna liked him at all. But with each chapter, I understood more and more why they were a perfect fit for each other. By the end, I think I was a bit jealous of Anna.

Read MOONGLASS because it's almost summer. Read MOONGLASS because it will make you tear up. Read MOONGLASS because Jessi Kirby is a superb writer who perfectly captures a summer that changes a girl's life. Read MOONGLASS because the cover is pretty. Read it for whatever reasons. You'll love it.

Related: The dude on the cover of MOONGLASS has a real nice butt.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars YA Contemporary Romance June 15, 2011

By J. Kaye Oldner VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Being a fan of debut authors and any YA romance, this caught my eye. Plus, it's summer and what better way to get into the mood than with a setting on a beach. This story begins with Anna's father relocating to Crystal Cove. Anna wanted to stay behind with her grandmother to finish high school, but her father refused.

Crystal Cove holds more than Anna realizes. Not only does this place hold early memories of her mother who died when she was young, but insight into her father and secrets of her past.

MOONGLASS is a subtle tale of love and loss and self-discovery. I found myself falling in love with Tyler Evans right along with Anna. I think fans of Sarah Dessen will also enjoy this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Resounding emotional impact and gorgeous writing May 20, 2011

By CMiller

Format:Hardcover

There's one place on Earth I want to go to more than any place else. New Zealand. But I didn't grow up wanting to go there. I merely read about it a few years ago--in a work of fiction. The setting was so vivid, so inspiring and beautiful, even with all its fictional flaws, that I made a vow to go there someday. Maybe live there.

Okay. So.

Guess what new place I'm determined to go to? The latest addition to my bucket list? Crystal Cove. MOONGLASS has done this. No, Jessi Kirby has done this. Reading MOONGLASS was a bit like sitting at the beach, digging my toes in the sand, the scent of salt in the air, the sound of waves crashing and children laughing and seagulls screeching in the distance. I swear I could smell the coconut sunscreen. When I closed my eyes, I could see the white teeth against tan skin, the finely cut abs coming up out of the red swim trunks...the sparkling sea glass half buried in the sand. Kirby knows how to paint a picture and then suck you into it. I don't know that I've ever been more absorbed in a story's setting.

But while the setting might lure you in, it's the characters that will have you reading to the end at a breakneck speed. What starts out as a more typical new-girl-in-a-new-town story quickly turns into something much more complex, more beautiful, and far more heartbreaking. It is exactly what a story of a girl who has lost her mother should be. No melodrama or trivialization. And most importantly, no stereotypes (and yet perfectly relatable characters). Just a girl who is lost, finding her way as best as she can to answers--and to herself. Anna also happens to be the kind of character I would love to have as a friend, so spending a book with her was cake. She's laid back, more of an observer than a reactor, just on the edge of snarky, but kind--and she's confident in her differences and who she is. Her only real insecurities revolve around her mom, and those drive the plot in a very natural, genuine way. Then of course, there's the secondary characters which feel as appealing and three dimensional as Anna. The romance is built up beautifully, and in an unexpected way. The love interest contradicted nearly all of my expectations--and I'm a sucker for any book that can take me by surprise like this.

As if that weren't enough, the prose is gorgeous with turns of phrase that will have your breath catching. And the images Kirby creates--it's like opening a picture book. So sharp, so memorable. And so perfectly in tune with Anna, delivered to us through her eyes, adding to our understanding of who she is. All of it--the setting, the characters, the writing--it's like a trifecta of bookish awesomeness. It's not an action-packed, suspense-filled sort of book, but it's packed with tension and curiosity and love and humor and heart-wrenching soul-searching. MOONGLASS is more than just a coming of age novel. It's a quest for forgiveness, understanding, and acceptance of a reality that cannot be altered.