Moonstone [Paperback]

Marilee Brothers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2008

MOONSTONE A Fictionwise Fantasy bestseller Young Adult A sickly mom. A tiny house trailer. High school bullies and snarky drama queens. Bad-guy dudes with charming smiles. Allie has problems. And then there's that whole thing about fulfilling a magical prophecy and saving the world from evil. Geez. Welcome to the sad, funny, sometimes-scary world of fifteen-year-old Allie Emerson, who's struggling to keep her and her mom's act together in the small-town world of Peacock Flats, Washington. An electrical zap from a TV antenna sets off Allie's weird psychic powers. The next thing she knows she's being visited by a hippy-dippy guardian angel, and then her mysterious neighbor, the town "witch," gives her an incredible moonstone pendant that has powers only a good-hearted "Star Seeker" is meant to command. "Who, me?" is Allie's first reaction. But as sinister events begin to unfold, Allie realizes she's got a destiny to live up to. If she can just survive everyday life, in the meantime. Marilee Brothers is a former high school teacher turned full-time author. She's married to her college sweetheart, and they have three sons. Marilee lives in Washington State, where she's hard at work on more books in the Moonstone series. You can visit her website at www.marileebrothers.com. Reviews: Cross Twilight with a Stephanie Plum book, and you'll get Moonstone. It's supernatural and smart, funny and affecting. I didn't want to put the book down. I cannot wait to read the next part of Allie's story. – unmainstreammomreads.blogspot.com “A gem of a book. An author to watch.” – YoungAdultBooksCentral.com I can't wait to see what happens next for Allie. I encourage you to pick up a copy today. – Great Reads Review.com Full of magic, twists, and pure fun, Moonstone is the first in a new young adult paranormal series. The characters come to life in this shining debut. I look forward to reading more about Allie and the Star Seekers. What a wonderful book! Wendy’s Minding Spot “Filled with emotion, made more so for the reader as we watch this well-balanced young woman cope with a very unbalanced life. You can’t help but respect Allie for stepping up and taking charge of her future, and the surprising hero is sure to worm his way into your heart. I’ll be looking forward to seeing how Allie’s changed world grows in the next installment.” Kimberly Swan, Darque Reviews Moonstone nicely establishes a solid back story and cast of characters to launch the next volume in the series. Recommended. SciFiGuy.caet Must captures you and she knows how to write a great story. The pace of the book was just rig This is another [see her review for Bite Me] good choice for public library teen/fantasy collections - I look forward to the next title in this series. – Simone Sidwell, Teen Librarian, Grinnell Stewart Public Library GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: With so many paranormal young adult books out right now it's hard for each one to be different or stand out. Marilee Brothers succeeds in creating a fun original heroine in Allie. Sarah Bean, The Library Center, Springfield, Missouri A great start to a new series filled romance, paranormal, finding yourself, and family drama which just equals fun. I love how Allie discovers something new about herself, that changes her outlook on life. I'm already looking forward to the next book. http://yabooknerd.blogspot.com/ Jennifer Rummel Head of YA department Otis Library, Norwich, Connecticut

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (August 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980245346
• ISBN-13: 978-0980245349
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #362,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a life long resident of Washington state and the author of a young adult urban fantasy series (Unbidden Magic) as well as two adult novels, Castle Ladyslipper and the Rock and Roll Queen of Bedlam. My husband and I spend five months a year in southern California, not far from Los Angeles and San Diego. I spent a number of years as a teacher and school counselor. Those years gave me a wonderful array of characters to write about. In addition to writing, I love to read, spend time with my family and hack my way around the golf course. I'm on Facebook, Twitter and love hearing from readers. Please visit my website, www.marileebrothers.com. If you send me a comment, I promise I will answer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Moonstone, December 29, 2009

By 

YA Book Queen (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Moonstone (Paperback)

I can really go either way with this novel. I had read some great reviews and the story just did not live up to them, in my opinion. I hate to be the one to say that I disliked this book, a lot.

Allie was a good main character, but it took me awhile before I started to really like her. In fact, in the end I'm still not sure if I did like her as a character. Her mother, on the hand, I despised. This is what I wanted to say to her: Get off your *&$@ing @#$ and get a job (use your imagination). Needless to say, her mom - Faye - landed on my list of characters I want to punch in the face (and I don't even have a list...).

The story was kind of blah for me, it didn't seem too original, and in the end I saw it all coming. None of the "shocking" moments shocked me. As a whole, I was really disappointed with the story. Usually I love magic, and whatnot, in stories, but this one just made me think about how much I loved all those other stories.

HIGHLIGHTS: Um...it actually was amusing at points. I also liked how Allie didn't just say "Oh sweet, I have magical powers". She was more realistic about the whole scenario, and she was a giving kind of character.

LOWLIGHTS: I think I've said enough. However, do not let my review keep you from reading this story, because everyone has different tastes and sometimes certain stories don't mesh well with certain readers. This story + me = not good.

Despite that, I've seen some amazing reviews about this novel on Amazon, so I would definitely recommend anyone to check out their thoughts to see if it's something you'd like to read.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awkward in places, but a good read overall (Kindle formatting review at the end), March 3, 2010

By 

Dawn S. Miller (CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moonstone (Kindle Edition)

At first, I wasn't sure I'd like the story, but it got better as I continued to read. Especially after meeting characters like Diddy, "the only non-black African American in Peacock Flats." The humor that showed up toward the middle of the book really helped me enjoy it.

The narrative voice is conversational, and a bit wordy at points. It's in first person, and sometimes that meant I felt stuck in Allie's head when she stopped describing the world around her.

The book could have done with one last proofread. It had just enough typos to irritate, like this one in Chapter 1: "When I wiped the steam off the mirror, I saw a dark-red, dime-sized circle the size in the exact center of my forehead."

But even with all of that, it was a fun read. The author is a decent writer with some imaginative scenes. And I was pleasantly surprised at the moments of suspense.

Would I reread this book? Yes, I might.

Would I spend money on this book? I'd pay a few bucks. And I'll be checking the sequel out from the library.


Kindle info
Formatting: Looks like the book was scanned. Some of the words were lighter or thinner, which made some of the italics difficult to read, and on occasion a paragraph had an accidental hard return or a word with an extra space. Bothersome, but otherwise not bad.

Length: 2206 locations (2207-2296 include Acknowledgements, About the Author, and an excerpt from the book BITE ME)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice light read, June 22, 2010

By 

sailorwind "sailorwind" (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moonstone (Kindle Edition)

I can't honestly say I was blown away by this book. It wasn't bad. It was light and fun and kept me occupied for a few hours. It was somewhat predictible and formulaic, but it didn't bother me too much. The main character was likeable, although I personally found her mother to be my favorite character. Based on the ending this was a little unclear as to whether it was going to initiate a series or not. I guess I wasn't intrigued enough to check on that.