Book Shelf: Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

'They think I hurt someone.
But I didn't. You hear?
Coz people are gonna be telling you
all kinds of lies.
I need you to know the truth.'

Joe hasn't seen his brother for ten years, and it's for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row.

But now Ed's execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think ...

From one-time winner and two-time Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this poignant, stirring, huge-hearted novel asks big questions. What value do you place on life? What can you forgive? And just how do you say goodbye?

More info on Goodreads.....


Review: 

Moonrise is Sarah Crossan's latest release and is a powerful and emotionally packed story about life, death and the strength of forgiveness. 

Joseph Moon hasn't seen his older brother for ten years, not since Ed was convicted of a brutal crime and sentenced to death. Now Ed has an execution date and Joe is about to travel to the small town in Texas where Ed is held in prison to spend a final summer with his brother. Time is running out and Joe isn't sure he can face what is about to come, but with chances running out for Ed's appeal Joe may just have to acknowledge that time with his brother is about to end....

Moonrise is a beautiful and poignant stories from one of the queens of verse novels. Sarah Crossan so diligently depicts the harsh reality facing the loved one of someone on death row in this honest and at times heart breaking tale. Moonrise is a quick, but effective read, introducing readers to a seventeen year old young man who is facing the upcoming loss of one of the few people he has in his life. 

Crossan writes Joe's pain and attitude honest and true, never sugarcoating the obstacles faced by Ed even as you hope for a miracle alongside our main character. It's difficult not to feel for Joe in Moonrise. He comes from a single parent household where the person who should have looked after and taken care of him never did. and instead it was his older brother who normally stepped in to make things as good as possible for Joe. 

The estrangement between Joe and Ed over the years is only made sadder by Ed's looming execution and the overwhelming feeling that time is running out. Crossan focuses around the difficulties faced and experienced by the loved ones of those whose lives are on death row, giving you as a reader a glimpse into their pain as well as those of the actual victim and perpetrator. It's throughout provoking reading amongst a YA setting. 

Gripping and emotional, Moonrise is a well told and strong story, highlighting something not seen in YA. Sarah Crossan proves once more why she is a master at exploring powerful stories with real messages that stay with you long after you've turned the final page.  

Rating:
Source: Sent for review by publisher (Thank you guys!)
Publisher: Bloomsbury Australia
Format: Paperback
Australian RRP: $16.99
Release Date: Septemnber 2017
Purchase: Bookworld | Booktopia | The Book Depository | Amazon
Final Thoughts: Another beautiful and bewitching novel from Sarah Crossan--she can do no wrong!