Moonrise

April 23, 2018
Itâs been 10 years since 17-year old Joe has seen his older brother, Ed, who is on death row for murder. After Edâs execution date is set, Joe travels to Wakeling, Tex., to be near him in his final weeks. As his brother vehemently denies his guilt and hopes for a stay of execution, Joe, lonely in an unfamiliar place, reflects on their difficult childhood; the good-hearted, protective Ed of his memories; and the shadowed, convicted murderer he sees daily. Crossan (One) masterfully portrays Joeâs intense feelings of confusion, anger, and abandonment through conversational, fluid free verse, with thoughtful rhythm and line breaks. Joeâand even Edâare sympathetic characters, and readers may shudder at memories of their motherâs neglect and the guilt-by-association Joe experiences as a relative of a convicted felon and death-row inmate. New relationships with Wakeling locals, all of whom have an attachment to the prison, allow Joe a retreat from the heaviness of his thoughts and room to recognize important truths: âWe arenât the worst things we did / or the worst things that happen to us. / Weâre other stuff too.â Ages 14¬up. Agent: Julia Churchill, A.M. Heath.

Starred review from March 1, 2018

Gr 10 Up-This exquisitely well-balanced novel-in-verse is painful to read yet almost impossible to put down. Told in a series of titled poems, it weaves in and out over a time line spanning most of 17-year-old Joe Moon's life, alternating between the present, in which Joe is spending his summer in a dusty small town in Texas, visiting his older brother Ed who is on death row, and moments in the past. Readers catch glimpses of Joe's early childhood, when Ed and older sister Angela essentially served as his parents, as well as the moments after Ed leaves home, his arrest, and vignettes of the family's life over the intervening decades. As complex as this structure is, the plot maintains its momentum and clarity. This work also manages to be adamantly anti-death penalty, which is delivered with a light touch and integrated seamlessly into the story. Instead, the focus is on Joe and his struggle to come to terms not just with his brother's sentence, but also with the nagging worry that he might come to a similar end. Most impressive, each character is fully realized, with even walk-on characters brought vividly to life with a few deft words. VERDICT A must-purchase for collections serving thoughtful older teens.-Eileen Makoff, P.S. 90 Edna Cohen School, New York City

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2018
Moonrise encapsulates the decline of the Moon family after the eldest brother, Ed, is incarcerated for allegedly killing a police officer.Joe, Ed's 17-year-old brother, makes the trek from New Jersey to Wakeling, Texas, where he visits his brother on death row before his execution. As the brothers haven't seen each other in 10 years, their exchanges are as intense as they are endearing. As Joe waits and hopes that his brother's fate will be changed, he meets witty Nell, a waitress in a Texas diner, and she brings temporary relief to his lonely and grief-stricken state. But a surprise encounter with a member of Nell's family could have devastating consequences for the budding romance. This is a brutally emotional novel in verse that explores the complexity of the American justice system, the death penalty, and the irreparable toll taken on the families of loved ones who are in the penal system. The characters in this story are all white, but issues of race and class are lightly touched upon--particularly the severity of punishment for individuals accused of killing white law enforcement officers.Crossan's (We Come Apart, 2017, etc.) eloquent usage of language in this deeply affecting novel puts readers right at the heart of a very sensitive and timely story. (Novel in verse. 14-18)

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April 15, 2018
Grades 9-12 Seventeen-year-old Joe Moon lives in New York state with his older sister, since their father died and mother went MIA. He also hasn't seen his brother, Ed, for 10 years, and now there's a month to go before Ed will be executed in Texas for a murder he says he didn't commit. Determined not to let Ed spend that month alone, Joe heads to Wakeling, Texas, where he manages to wrangle a job, rent a tiny apartment, and befriend a local girl who understands his anger and frustration more than he knows. The penetrating impact of the situation is both touching and heartrending in this free-verse novel as Joe reconnects with Ed, interacts with those in charge of Ed's life, and recalls the brother he once knew. Crossan admirably examines the issues of ethics, incarceration, and the death penalty, with a frayed backdrop of family and the basic need for human interaction. A timely catalyst destined to spark discussions about rights, fairness, and a justice system that succeeds for some but devastates others.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)