Review: 'The Moon Coin' by Richard Due

 

There is a big difference between stories and tales and I am beyond happy to have found a book that agrees with me.

Uncle Ebb was so good at telling his tales of the Moon Realm that sometimes it sounded like he’d been there himself. 

As children, Lily and Jasper listened raptly to his bedtime tales of a place where nine moons swirled around one another, each inhabited by strange and wondrous beings: magical lunamancers; undersea merfolk; wise birds; winged dragons; and Lily’s favorite, the heroic, leonine Rinn. 

There was only one rule: don’t tell a soul. 
But now, years later, Uncle Ebb is missing. Lily has learned the secret behind the tales, and soon Jasper will too. But there’s one big problem. You see, something terrible has happened in the Moon Realm. . . .  

Most book fans have memories of being read to or hearing someone make up stories. But what would happen if these stories turned out to be real? Lily is faced with this realization when she suddenly finds herself on one of the moons her Uncle told her so much about. Lily is a great protagonist and while reading I realized I liked Lily more and more. In books, female protagonists are often dependent on men and I could never recognize myself in them. But Lily has an adventurous spirit that makes it more feasible she would survive all the different moons she is thrown onto. Because this is Lily's first time in the Moon Realm, we get to experience everything with her and her doubts become the readers. Therefore it will be exciting to see how it works out in the next book when Jasper travels through the Moon Realm. 

As a fantasy novel for junior to young adult readers it shows the full range of what fantasy has to offer. There are dangerous dragons, a huge variety of worlds and amazing characters. And as a novel for a younger audience, it balances perfectly between action and danger and the underlying message. Thankfully, the message isn't too present, allowing the reader to find it out first, before it is said. The idea that it is possible for different kind of people to work together is amazing and Due portrays this beautifully.

I really enjoyed the drawings (hop over for an amazing guest post by Richard Due) in the novel. They are so colourful and vibrant and my favourite is probably the one on the cover. I love the red of the lion and the emotion on Lily's face, so definite kudos to Carolyn Arcabascio.

I give this book....

 

4 UNIVERSES!!!!!

It is an amazing fantasy book and I  hugely enjoyed it. The different worlds leave so much to the imagination that you can dream on after the book is finished. I definitely cannot wait for the sequel and hope that we will hear more about the destiny of the Moon Realm.