The Trouble with Half a Moon

December 1, 2010

Thirteen-year-old Dellie lives in the shadow of her brother's death, a death for which she feels culpable. Living in crime-ridden urban projects with her protective parents and the memory of Louis, Dellie goes to school and does her best to get by. She finds a focus in sweet Corey, a neglected boy who moves into the downstairs apartment. The little boy needs protection from his abusive mother, and Dellie steps in to this dangerous relationship. The first-person, present-tense narration allows readers to feel Dellie's pain and confusion as she tries to figure out how to make it through the difficult months, which are made even more trying because she is estranged from her best friend and begins to chafe at her parents' restrictions. Debut author Vigilante packs a lot into one story, and some plot twists seem too convenient. However, readers cannot help but cheer for Dellie and the little boy who helps pull her family together. Rich secondary characters add depth and dimension to this fast-paced tale of bereavement, forgiveness and healing. (Fiction. 10-14)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

March 1, 2011

Gr 6-9-Dellie's life exists between the locked door of her family's small apartment in a government housing project and her inner-city classroom. Since the death of her younger brother, her mom doesn't allow her outside except when her father follows her to school, and the 13-year-old wonders if she could have prevented the accident that took Louis's life. Like any young teen, Dellie just wants to be with her friends and get to know the cute boy in her math class a little better. When a new family moves in downstairs, the night becomes a time of gunshots and loud fighting and people keep their doors locked and bolted. But Corey, a small boy caught in an abusive situation, gets Dellie to open her door and her heart and in time provides the catalyst for the family to heal itself. It's a neighbor's explanation of a large mural of a half moon on her wall that leads Dellie to understand that sometimes you have to believe in things you cannot fully see that will become more illuminated over time. Dellie's story will speak to young people who've needed a little faith to get them through tough times. Interesting scenarios, like the cloaked Jamaican woman who moves in next door, provide interest to an already well-developed story.-Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2011
Grades 5-8 Haunted by the belief that she caused the death of her beloved little brother, Louis, in a car accident, Dellie, 13, grieves with her loving, hardworking Puerto Rican parents. She also nurtures Corey, 5, her neighbor in their rough, housing-project building, and she tries to protect him from his abusive mom. Then Dellie is falsely accused of shoplifting; her relationship with a cute, smart classmate, Michael, takes a downturn; and she is betrayed by her best friend, Kayla, who is ashamed of being poor. The novels resolution is too neat: Kayla apologizes, Dellies enemy is demonized, things with Michael improve, and Corey helps Dellie overcome her guilt about her brother. What will grab readers in this first novel is the realistic sense of the diverse neighborhood community, both rough and caring. With lots of fast, immediate dialogue, the characters grief, anger, and heartbreaking coming-to-terms are realistic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)