From the Moon I Watched Her
Named by BuzzFeed as one of Winter 2021's Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Books and Top 10 New Books To Add To Your Reading List! It’s hot, Texas, and the year 1977. Jimmy Carter is in office. The Walters are a good, churchgoing family who stand for holiness, purity, grace, and Christian love. Except when they don't. Family patriarch and fanatic preacher, Victor Black, knows many things for sure, including the fact that abortion is murder and should be punishable by death--a position he defends live in a televised debate. Black’s youngest granddaughter, Stephanie Walters, sits in the front row wearing her frilly Sunday dress, listening carefully to every word. But it doesn't take long for cracks to appear in the Walters upstanding family facade. Stephanie's mother, Lily, begins telling unsettling stories about having a baby who died, and her story keeps changing. It’s clear Lily has a secret--one that righteous Victor Black would kill her for if he knew. This family secret burns more than the lies . . . From the Moon I WatchedHer is a coming-of-age tale about the skeletons that lurk under church pews and the little girl who goes looking for and finds them. Amid the dark and quirky terrain of camp revivals, burning crosses, and public shunnings, one child from the Southern Churches of Christ cries out.
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This book is tough for me to review. I have SO many questions, and things I want to bring up/discuss, but obviously cannot without giving away too much of the plot. I definitely think this book lends itself rather well to being a “bookclub” book!
There are heavy topics tackled here (abuse, incest, rape, abortion), just to name a few. There is also A LOT of preaching/religion throughout. I usually steer clear of books that “preach”, however, it didn't bother me in this one. I found the story interesting and skillfully written. Most of the characters had a decent amount of fleshing out to them as well.
I probably would have given this 5 stars, but I felt that the ending was rushed, and for “me” a little ambiguous(?) As I mentioned above, it left me with A LOT of questions that I wanted a little more insight on. A little more explanation. I also would have liked a chapter or two farther in the future. Just to have a little more closure. However, that is probably more a “preference” issue than a flaw with the book.
Overall, this was an excellent book, and deserves two strong thumbs up from yours truly.
ARC Via NetGalley