Customer Reviews

Shout Down the Moon

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fineexample of a literary page turner. It has a fast moving and moving plot, extremely well drawn characters, a strong and meaningful theme.

For long sections I forgot I was reading at all. And then I'd read a sentance that would be so insightful about love or music that I'd force myself to stop reading so I could think about what she was saying.

I think if I had to compare it to anything it would be the more powerful examples of Joyce Carol Oates fiction.

I was moved by Shout Down the Moon. I couldn't put it down for days, on the way to and from work and would intentionally not read it at home so I would have something to look forward to on the long subway rides to and from Manhattan. This morning, I
could not even come to work until I finished reading a certain section. I went into a coffee shop and read and read until I knew what had happened in the scene. Although I have never had such experiences in my own life as these characters have had, the character development in this book was amazing. I have never felt for characters as I do for Willie, Patty and Jonathan. I was angered by Sylvia, saddened and scared senseless by Rick and touched by Willie. I almost told my husband about something Willie did before I remembered he was a character. I am still emotionally stirred since this morning in the coffee shop. I can't wait to read Lisa Tucker's other books

From the first page of SHOUT DOWN THE MOON, I was hooked. I am a big fan of Lisa Tucker's, and I wasn't surprised that this book was as wonderful as her first novel. The narrator and main character, Patty, is completely believeable and likeable throughout the book. How she deals with issues in her life--mainly when her ex-boyfriend, Rick, comes back into her life, and her everyday dealings with difficult band members--is truly astounding. She really grows and changes throughout the book, and by the end becomes much stronger and more self-assured. What I particularly liked about the book was how it portrayed life on the road with a band AND a small child. Even though Patty has been through a lot in her life, and has to deal with very uncomfortable situations, she has a fierce love for her son and is able to view the world in a positive light.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to be taken away from their own world for awhile! It's a glimpse into a woman's life who, like most of us, is struggling to make something of herself and find her place in the world. A definite five stars!

I finished this book two weeks ago and can't get it out of my mind. Lisa Tucker has a perfect ear for the way language sounds and she's created a truly musical experience for the reader of Shout Down the Moon. The characters are complex, real, and sympathetic, even the "bad guy" Rick. Patty's relationship with her little boy was especially heartwarming. I cried several times when Patty was talking about her feelings for Willy. I'm not a single mother but I feel the same way about my three kids.

A woman in my book group said this is being made into a movie. We could all see why, because the story is very visual and very suspenseful. We just hope the actress they pick for Patty can sing!

This book has got to be one of the most awesome books I have read in a long long time. I bought it on a whim, after reading what it was about. I have yet to be so pleased with the purchase of a book as I have been about this one.

It is the story of Patty Taylor, single mother to two-year old Willie. She is a musician struggling on the road to make it bit and to give Willie the life he deserves. She is use to struggle though- coming from an alcoholic mother, homelessness, and working graveyard shifts as a dishwasher for a diner.

On the road, life is tough, never living in anyone place very long. She feels that the band sees her as a meal ticket not as a human and definitely not as a serious singer. Enter Willie's father, on parole from prison for dealing drugs. Rick wants nothing more than to have Patty and Willie in her life. He pleades with Patty to take him back, that prison changed him for the better.

Thus begins Patty's epic journey that will transform her from a girl who can just about take anything life throws at her (or so she thinks) to a woman who can shout down the moon.

Tucker creates a very real character in Patty Taylor. There is depth to Patty and even flaws- like in each of us. Patty Taylor is one of the most real characters I have read in a long long time. She may be a heroine but she is more real than most heroes and heroines that you will read about it. All supporting characters are very true to themselves and the story throughout the novel. I highly recommend this book.

I am now going to go purchase her other book.

Patty Taylor has always been beaten down, it seems. First by her alcoholic mother, then by her boyfriend, Rick, and now by the band she works with. She doesn't realize, of course, that she invites this kind of thing by her actions. She is timid and does not speak up, she really isn't worth it, she thinks. However, Patty Taylor has a son, William, and she will not allow anything to happen to him. She will fight to the end!

How Patty Taylor ended up as the lead singer in a band is a good question. She fought her entire young life with her mother. Then she took up with Rick, who turned out to be a drug addled alcoholic, and abuser. He was sent to jail for theft. Patty Taylor needed to find a new life, and then she discovered she was pregnant. She refused her mother's demand to have an abortion. She had her son, alone. She turned her life around. She started anew. This is an old story, young girl gone wrong, but Patty Taylor does catch your heart. She has a message- follow your dreams, overcome your obstacles, and become the person you really think you are.

Rick gets out of jail and all of her dreams start to fall away. However, the friends she has made help her to pull everything back together, but in time? Can she overcome this lost love, the drugs and alcohol she has beat?

This is a book that tends to draw you in, unaware of what is happening. Lisa Tucker has written a book about a young woman who is determined to change her life and actually succeeds. This is a book for all, young and old. prisrob

Once more, Lisa Tucker delights me. With another tale flavored with music and motherhood, Mrs. Tucker peels back the skin of Patty Tucker, young mother and singer with the Patty Tucker Band, a floundering jazz quartet turned pop band. Patty needs this job, this chance. She's not the girl she once was. She has a new voice now, a mother's wail, loud enough, strong enough to shout down the moon.

Don't miss this. Patty Tucker is someone you want to meet. She'll be with me always.

I just picked up The Philadelphia Inquirer and read Lisa Tucker's interview with Tanya Barrientos. I'm delighted that this fabulous new author is getting the attention and respect her wonderful, intelligent writing deserves. I saw Ms Tucker speak at a Borders in Philadelphia and was just blown away by her. She's funny, really smart, and writing about women and class in a way that that's honest, provocative, and really, REALLY entertaining. I gave THE SONG READER to every woman in my family last year for Christmas. This year SHOUT DOWN THE MOON will be in every stocking--if I can possibly wait that long to share my new favorite book. Tucker tells the story of Patty Taylor and her son Willie with riviting, passionate intensity. I laughed, I cried. What more could you ask from a good story?

"Talented author Lisa Tucker brings the story of Patty, a single mother raising a young child on the road. After her first love and father of her child was sent away to prison, Patty tries to rebuild her life working as a singer in a band, and raise her young son. Tucker's words are true, spot on and never patronizing as she takes us through Patty's struggles with her alcoholic mother, difficult band members, possessive ex-lover while trying to build a life for herself. Patty comes across as a true and honest heroine, who tries hard to be and do the best she can while struggling with doubts, feelings and responsibilities.
I highly recommend this book."

Shout Down the Moon is a compellingly readable novel, one which has you rooting for Patty, the charming protagonist and first-person narrator from the very first page. Patty has had a difficult life, her father died young, her abusive mother is an alcholic, her dangerous ex-boyfriend, and father of her child, just got out of prison and she has a difficult job. The boyfriend wants her back, but her co-workers and her mother don't really want her, for various reasons. Patty also struggles with her choice of career, lead singer in a small band doing pop song covers. Most of the other members of the band would rather be playing jazz, but Patty wants whatever puts food on the table, which she thinks is pop and not jazz. For all her difficulties, Patty is a charming narrator--her story keeps you reading. The resolution of the novel is a bit predictable, but that's my only complaint about this engaging novel.