Schnell weggelesen, während die Besitzerin des Buchs durch Beat Saber abgelenkt war. War okay und hätte mir vermutlich als Kind gut gefallen, aber mein jetziger Kopf wird vermutlich bald alles wieder vergessen haben. Auffällig frauenlos: die Mutter ist schon tot, als das Buch beginnt, die Freunde sind Jungen, alle Erwachsenen sind alleinstehende Männer.

Alabama Moon caught my eye in the store because, well, I live in Alabama and the premise sounded interesting. The story centers around 10-year-old Moon Blake, a boy raised in the forests of Alabama by his government-hating father. Moon's mother died when he was a baby, shortly after their move off the grid, and after his father has an accident Moon is left on his own with his father's final instructions: Find your way to Alaska.

It isn't long before Moon gets thrown into the system and lands in a Tuscaloosa home for juvenile boys. Will Moon be able to cope with having to live in-doors and meeting the outside world for the first time? And will he fulfill his father's instruction to go to Alaska? Well, I'm not telling you.

Now for some thoughts:
This book is aimed at the young teen/advanced reader crowd, much like Hatchet or Island of the Blue Dolphins. But whereas those books were about young people learning to survive on their own in the wilderness, this is a story about a boy, already fully capable of living on his own, learning to survive in the real world. And while this was written with children in mind, don't worry, there is plenty here for adult readers to enjoy.

Moon is practically every young boy's fantasy; no school, no parents, just total freedom from the world. Only Moon is able to realize that living on one's own isn't such a great thing if you have no one to share it with. It's only after escaping from the boys' home with 2 cohorts that he finds the value in having friends.

Alabama Moon is a short read, but a thoroughly enjoyable one. I liked seeing familiar settings mentioned, as I am a Tuscaloosa resident myself, but that really has no weight on the story. The dialog can be a bit terse at times, but maintains a sense of realism. Honestly, this feels like something you would be assigned as required reading in school, but I don't mean that in a bad way. I say that because if I were to have read this at the age of 10 or 11, I likely would have fond memories of it today, just like Island of the Blue Dolphins.

If you're looking for a classic-style children's adventure story, you could do a lot worse than Alabama Moon. I give it a 3 out of 5 because, while I liked the story, I wasn't terribly moved by it, though there are moments I felt a connection to. It's good, but not amazing.

I picked this up the other day while browsing the YA section of my library; I'm so glad I did. The main character, Moon, is fascinating and heart breaking, and toward the end I couldn't put it down until I found out if things would work out for him in the end.

This is a five star book for one reason: Moon. Watt Key has written something really special with his character Moon Blake. I read the synopsis of this book months ago and even had it recommended to me by a friend, but I didn't pick it up because while it sounded interesting, the plot didn't leap out at me.

There's really only one thing you need to know about the story: Moon's Pap has died and left him to fend for himself in the woods where they had always lived alone, survivialist style, with instructions to head for Alaska. The rest of the book is all Moon as he confronts the real world and navigates friendship, trouble and where he fits in, and he is fabulous. Moon is confused and angry at all the grown-ups trying to control his life now that his dad is gone and there's no one else to take him in-- ostensibly he has no family other than his deceased father. He knows so much about how to live by himself in the forest, and yet is so naive about how the world works.

I cried at the beginning when Moon's Pap dies and then laughed as Moon refuses to back down repeatedly, "whipping up" on multiple adults who underestimate him throughout the book. It's really a poignant story of loss and love and finding a sense of normalcy. There aren't that many truly unique characters out there, where you feel like the author gets it exactly right, but Moon is one. He sticks with you after the book is done. He's really something.

There are only 2 people I know who haven't enjoyed this book and I'm one of them. Everyone else loves it. I just never cared about Alabama Moon, a boy raised away from civilization by his father to distrust the world, government, and people. After his father dies, Alabama is all alone. After being sent to a local boys home, he engineers an escape with two other boys he has befriended. Throughout the multiple chases and escapes, Alabama learns more about friendship and the outside world. The happy ending makes it a safe book for middle school readers. Just not my kind of book.

Summary
Moon Blake is only ten years old when his survivalist father dies, refusing to enter civilization even to get life-saving treatment for a broken leg. Moon's father tells him that he's capable of living on his own and advises he travel to Alaska to find more people like them. In some ways, Moon's father is right. Moon is capable of surviving off the land without adult help. In other ways, Moon's father is wrong. Moon has questions about the world and no one to answer them. Worse, he's lonely. But even if Moon is willing to give the world a chance, the world might not be willing to make room for Moon.

Thoughts
It's been years since I first read this book but it came to mind when I saw a YouTube documentary about reform schools in the midwest. It was enough to make me track the book down on Kindle and give it a re-read.

For starters, you know a story is compelling when you remember it 10+ years after first reading it. Most books I read are enjoyable in the moment but all besides the faintest impression is quickly forgotten. Alabama Moon stuck with me. The author strikes a great blend of innocence, gritty realism, and the whimsy that makes middle grade novels stand out from fiction for other ages.

That said, the "gritty realism" aspect may make this book a bit too much for some middle grade readers and their families.

Content
Language: A smattering of PG-13 level profanity used throughout. The Lord's name used in vain a few times.
Romance: Moon's older friend comments that the girls at a local laundromat are pretty and Moon responds that he doesn't care about girls.
Violence: Moon isn't afraid to fight for himself. He's roughed up a few times by a corrupt constable. Moon's father's broken leg is described. Animals are killed and butchered, though the process isn't described in great detail.
Religion: Moon doesn't make a cross for his father's grave because he figured his father was never much for that sort of thing. For most of the book, Moon believes that burning letters allows him to communicate with his deceased father.

I first read this book in German when I was in middle school.
It was a school assignment, but I had enjoyed it. In the past few months I didn't read as much as I wanted to and I was looking for a book that might ignite my interest/will to read again. Whenever I thought about it, for some reason I kept remembering this book. And there was this feeling that I kinda wanted to read it again. This time in the original language.
Well, two weeks ago I bought it and now I finally read it! I really liked it and it was pretty nostalgic. In the beginning the book seemed a bit... childish, I guess? But as I kept on reading I got more and more into it and now that I am done, I'm really glad I read it. Moon is such a weird character, even though it definitely makes sense, because of the way he grew up.
I feel quite hyped to read some more now, so this book definitely did what I wanted it to do.

Read aloud...my boys loved it.