Girls in the Moon

October 3, 2016
Sisters Luna and Phoebe Ferris are struggling under the personal and professional disappointments of their rock-star parents, Meg and Kieran, of the defunct band Shelter. The girls’ mother, Meg, long ago took herself out of the spotlight, refusing to let her daughters grow up in the media’s eye, and turning her focus to sculpture. In a moody and reflective fiction debut, McNally follows Phoebe as she heads from upstate New York to Brooklyn to visit older sister Luna, who is on the cusp of fame and about to go on tour with her band, interspersing briefer chapters that flash back to various points during the 1990s and 2000s when their mother was in love, pregnant with each girl, and deciding whether to leave their father. As Phoebe falls for a boy in Luna’s band and reconnects with their estranged father, Luna and Meg try to allow the youngest member of the family to find her own way. McNally is a polished storyteller, her prose alive with vivid descriptions, the excitement of romance, and an artist’s yearning to create. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jay Mandel, William Morris Endeavor.

Narrators Amanda Dolan and Erin Spencer complement each other perfectly in this coming-of-age novel. The story is told from the alternating points of view of ex-rock goddess Meg Farris and her sweet 16-year-old daughter, Phoebe. As Phoebe visits her older sister in New York in search of her famous family's untold history, Meg remembers her transition from a carefree badass to a protective new mother dealing with the pressures of fame. Like actual family members, the two narrators sound similar but not identical. Spencer's air of wonder as daughter Phoebe contrasts with Dolan's portrayal of Meg, who is jaded but softened by motherly love. Older sister Luna sounds like the creative soul she is; her languid speech at times spikes with unbridled passion. The dual narration further brightens a descriptive story. A.L.C. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine