Customer Reviews

Pack Up the Moon

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pack Up the Moon has quickly become one of my favorite books ever. It's about loss, pain, friendship, love, and finding your way. As a reader, you feel like you personally know the characters and fall in love with the story as it makes you cry and laugh. It is emotional and real. I didn't want it to end, but when it did, I felt satisfied and content. I'll be raving about this book for a while and would recommend it in a heartbeat!

It's not a book that will haunt me now that I'm finished with it in that deeply impacting way that others have done. But while I was reading it, I couldn't put it down.

I love the attention McPartlin pays to each character, loving them each equally, creating real people with complex lives out of every one of them. Her voice as an author is delightful, very pleasant and quick-paced. Despite the heartbreaking beginning to this book, the tone is quite uplifting.

It is clear that McPartlin put much thought into the emotions that accompany love, loss, and friendship. As I read in the back of the book, she draws, of course, on some of her own experiences, particularly with death of loved ones. Believe me, there is much to be learned from this book about the power of friendship and the search for one's own soul.

In short, the plot allows for a heartwarming journey through one woman's life and those closest to her. The author's skillfulness as a writer induces tears and laughter both. You can't ask for a better mix.

I may not be kept up at night tossing and turning thinking about Pack Up the Moon. Don't get me wrong, it's a deep book. But it is tender and loving enough that you feel healed and at peace after reading it. So I know that should I think back to this book in the future, it will be with warmth. Recommend it.

WOW! I love this book! I finished this morning when I woke up and I am so happy that I picked this off of that bookshelf! Anna McPartlin, a writer I had never heard of, has officially changed my idea of reading. I love her writing style and her depth of character. I can't believe that she was able to capture so many universal emotions and stories in a 300 and some odd page book. Thank you for sharing this story with me! I will never forget it! Absolutely reccommended!

I enjoyed this book immensely! I could relate every character to someone that I know in my own life. This book made me laugh & cry out loud - lots of applause for Ireland's next Maeve Binchy!!

When a night that was supposed to be filled with laugher and celebration ends in the tragic death of her boyfriend John, Emma wonders how she will get her life back on track. Emma has friends and family to rally round to help her with her grief though. Trouble is, they all have problems too and the tragic death of John hurts each and every one of them in different ways. There's Sean, John's best friend who's struggling big time with his guilt/grief and ends up hitting the bottle; Clodagh, Emma's best friend can't help feeling angry about what happens; Anne and Richard struggle to understand their loss but have each other to help them through their grief and Emma's brother Noel questions his faith after the death of his friend. As the friends come to terms with their grief, Emma realises that the only way she'll truly be able to love again is to lay John's ghost to rest, but is that easier said than done?

The book starts with Emma worrying whether or not she's pregnant and her relief is palpable when there's no blue line on her pregnancy test. She then carries on her preparations for the night ahead - her friends Richard and Anne have come into some money and are having an inheritance party. It's at that party where the drama unfolds and John ends up dying. It was such a shock to me as although I knew it was coming, it was still unexpected for me. We then see how the tragedy has affected not only Emma but her friends: Sean, Clo, Anne, Richard and even her brother Noel. It's very powerful seeing how differently it affects all 6 of them. McPartlin captures the grief of all six friends perfectly and Clo's in particular was incredibly powerful. It says at the front of the book that Anna lost her parents at a young age so the grief of her characters is undoubtedly real and must be taken from her own experience. Anna explores each friends grief that you can't help but feel so sad for them all that such a tragic thing has happened to them.

Do not let the pretty cover fool you - Pack Up The Moon doesn't half pack an emotional punch. It's definitely an emotional rollercoaster of a read and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. Pack Up The Moon may not be a light or fluffy read but if you like chick lit that packs a punch as well as being heart-warming then this book is for you. Yes, it deals with grief but it also offers hope for loving again and moving past such heartache. Someone may well die at the beginning of the book but it's an uplifting read and I hugely recommend it.

I absolutely loved this book. It only recently came out in Australia and unfortunately none of her other titles are available here so thank you to Amazon.. now I can read all of Anna McPartlin's titles by ordering on line. Love her, love the book, highly recommended.

I usually stay away from "heavy" reading during my summer breaks, but I thought this looked interesting and decided to give it a shot. I greatly enjoyed the story and found myself moving from laughter to tears and back again throughout the book. I think McPartlin does an excellent job developing a meaningful story with vibrant characters. I would agree with other posters who felt the editing was a bit shoddy. There were several mistakes that could potentially distract readers. All in all though a great book and I look forward to reading more from this author.

This books was great. It was hard to put down. It is one of the a few books I've read where it deals with after the happily ever after. In the end however it has a new HEA.

This book was fantastic. It's got a different feel than any other books I have read. I really appreciated the realistic aspects conveyed through the characters. It made me laugh and made me cry. Great book to curl up and read on a cold winter day.

I chose this book for our book club and everyone enjoyed it. It had you hooked from the first page and then it put you in a tailspin at the end.

Amazing, I really appreciated the author