The Moonlight Man [Hardcover]

Betty Ren Wright (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Fifteen-year-old Jenny and her six-year-old sister love their new home. But there's one problem - it's haunted! How will they unlock the mystery of the Moonlight Man and reunite him with his lost love?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wright (A Ghost in the Family) spins a suspenseful modern-day gothic but leaves a few threads of the frame story dangling. Shortly after 15-year-old narrator Jenny Joslin and her family moves to Crescent Lane, she experiences a series of supernatural occurrences. Photographs appearing and disappearing from the wall, loud sobbing noises emerging from neighbor April's house and a sequence of household disasters next door all seem to be connected to a "moonlight man," an apparition both Jenny and her younger sister have seen wandering in the woods surrounding their street. In an attempt to find out the cause of these mysterious goings-on, Jenny researches the histories of former residents and interrogates her crotchety neighbors, the Carpeks, who have lived in the same house for more than 50 years. While many clues lead nowhere, the protagonist fits together enough pieces to reconstruct a tragic tale of ill-fated love. Readers anxious to reach the final unraveling of events may overlook a few narrative shortcomings: two-dimensional minor characters, contrived plot details and the undeveloped subplots of Jenny's tenuous friendship with self-centered April and the heroine's grief over her mother's death. Though the mystery may be solved by book's end, the narrative raises at least as many uncertainties for Jenny's future on Crescent Lane as it clears for her neighborhood's past. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In the five years since her mother's death, 15-year-old Jenny Joslin has moved seven times, and the little house on Crescent Lane finally feels like home. So in spite of a disappearing picture, phantom footsteps overhead, the sound of a woman crying, and a man walking his dog by moonlight, Jenny and her six-year-old sister, Allie, are determined to stay. With resourcefulness characteristic of Wright's plucky young heroes, Jenny questions the grumpy neighbors next door, searches through old microfilmed newspapers, and pieces together the story of a tragic accident and a doomed love affair of 50 years before. Wright is popular for good reason: she knows how to spin a story and capture her young audience. Sympathetic characters and spooky happenings make this eerie tale perfect for dark winter nights. Candace Smith

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1st edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590252372
• ISBN-13: 978-0590252379
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,185,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a real live ghost, November 23, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Moonlight Man (Hardcover)

This book is a very scary book but at the same time a book you would never wont to put down.It's about a family named the joslins.They have a daughter named Jenny.
she is a very brave girl.She has a sister named allie.Jenny and allies mom died when ythey were just youngh girls.they use to live in a old aperment now thewy live in a house.Jenny calls the row of houes the cresent cause it is shaped like a half-moon.If you like fun exciting books youll love this book.Find out who the Moomlight Man is and what does he want!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Moonlight Man, by Betty Ren Wright, June 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Moonlight Man (Hardcover)

Author Betty Ren Wright has once again produced a gripping story that is certain to delight young mystery lovers. Centered around a family, a neighborhood, and a 50-year-old community secret, 15-year-old Jenny Joslin and her 6-year-old sister Allie set out to resolve the haunting that begins practically the very moment they move into their little house on the edge of the woods. Jenny befriends April, a talented violinist living next door who hears a woman's wailing coming from her basement. Together, the girls piece together the answers to the puzzle of the ghost they name the Moonlight Man. This carefully crafted mystery captures the reader's attention on the first page and steadily builds in suspense until the last. A sizzler!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining ghostly read, August 1, 2006

By 

Kind Bean "can't read enough" (New England, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moonlight Man (Paperback)

Jenny Joslin, her sister Allie, and their father have moved from place to place ever since their mother died. They now have moved to Crescent Lane, and Jenny instantly feels like she is at home. But, things aren't as they appear; she and her sister see a ghost they call the "moonlight man" in their new backyard. Soon after that, Jenny and Allie encounter a sequence of paranormal events. Their new snobby self-centered neighbor, April, becomes frighten by an unexplained crying in her basement. While Jenny is busy playing `mom' at her house and to her family, she also manages to investigate the strange occurrences at Crescent Lake.

I enjoyed this book greatly. I adored the character of Jenny, she was quite the hero. She never gave up, on her investigation or her family. While the ending left a little more to desire, especially what happens to Jenny and her family. The story of the ghosts was a little weak, but it did not take away the pleasure of the book. Overall it was pretty good and entertaining. I highly recommend this to Wright's fans, and other mystery/scary book fans, young or old.