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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
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| 33607002835778 | Young Adult | MASS | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
And as streams of light fan out behind the darkened sun like the wings of a butterfly, I realize that I never saw real beauty until now.
At Moon Shadow, an isolated campground, thousands have gathered to catch a glimpse of a rare and extraordinary total eclipse of the sun. It's also were three lives are about to be changed forever:
Ally likes the simple things in life--labyrinths, star-gazing, and comet-hunting. Her home, the Moon Shadow campground, is a part of who she is, and she refuses to imagine it any other way.
Popular and gorgeous (everybody says so), Bree is a future homecoming queen for sure. Bree wears her beauty like a suit of armor. But what is she trying to hide?
Overweight and awkward, jack is used to spending a lot of time alone. But when opportunity knocks, he finds himself in situations he never would have imagined and making friends in the most unexpected situations.
Told from three distinct voices and perspectives, Wendy Mass weaves an intricate and compelling story about strangers coming together, unlikely friendships, and finding one's place in the universe.
Author Notes
Wendy Mass was born in Livingston, New Jersey on January 17, 1967. She received a B. A. in English from Tufts University. She worked as a book editor at numerous publishing houses in New York City and Connecticut and co-created a teenage literary magazine called Writes of Passage. She has written several nonfiction books for teenagers including Stonehenge, Readings on Night, John Cabot: Early Explorer, and Ray Bradbury: Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Her fiction books include Leap Day, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall, Every Soul a Star, 11 Birthdays, Finally, and The Candymakers. A Mango-Shaped Space won the American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award in 2004. She wrote the storyline for an episode of the television show Monk, entitled "Mr. Monk Goes to the Theatre," which aired during the show's second season.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Wendy Mass was born in Livingston, New Jersey on January 17, 1967. She received a B. A. in English from Tufts University. She worked as a book editor at numerous publishing houses in New York City and Connecticut and co-created a teenage literary magazine called Writes of Passage. She has written several nonfiction books for teenagers including Stonehenge, Readings on Night, John Cabot: Early Explorer, and Ray Bradbury: Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Her fiction books include Leap Day, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall, Every Soul a Star, 11 Birthdays, Finally, and The Candymakers. A Mango-Shaped Space won the American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award in 2004. She wrote the storyline for an episode of the television show Monk, entitled "Mr. Monk Goes to the Theatre," which aired during the show's second season.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-The opportunity to see a total solar eclipse draws thousands of people to the Moon Shadow campground. Wendy Mass's novel (Little, Brown, 2008) skillfully spins a tale combining an intriguing combination of fiction and astronomy, presented from the point of view of three distinct voices in alternating chapters. Home-schooled Ally is fascinated with astronomy, but her parents' abrupt announcement that they plan to sell the campground, the only life she has ever known, leaves her uncertain of her future to "secure immortality" by discovering a comet. Beautiful Bree, co-leader of her school's A clique, is mortified when her parents announce that they purchased Moon Shadow so they can continue their scientific research. But when her "inner geek" rears its head, she begins to wonder if there is more to life than making sure her lip gloss matches her purse. Jack's weight problem and low self-esteem keep him from being popular, and his preference for drawing graphic comics and reading science fiction cause him to fail science class. Consequently, he is sentenced to summer school, but snaps at the chance to join a tour bus of eclipse chasers, led by his science teacher, in exchange for documenting his experience. The three teens converge on the campground, each discovering something new about themselves and their place in the world. Ally, Bree, and Jack are well-drawn characters and are brought to life by the exceptional narration of Jessica Almasy, Ali Ahn, and Mark Turetsky. This compelling combination of scientific information and fiction is almost as rare as a solar eclipse.-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Confirming her mastery of the middle-grade novel, Mass (Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life) combines astronomy and storytelling for a well-balanced look at friendships and the role they play in shaping identity. Three narrators take turns: Ally, who lives with her parents and younger brother at the Moon Shadow Campground and loves every tree and every rock on it, but most especially the stars above it; glamour-loving Bree, who announces to readers that she must have been "switched at birth" to explain her presence among physicist parents and a geeky younger sister; and Jack, who is helping his science teacher lead a solar eclipse tour to the Moon Shadow to make up his failing grade. The trio's paths converge because Ally's parents have sold the Moon Shadow to Bree's, and everyone meets up at the campgrounds during a major eclipse. The voices reflect the distinct personalities, and while the outcome is never in doubt--each character discovers unexpected powers of adaptability and new talents--Mass keeps the developments believable. Information about solar eclipses and astronomy is carefully woven into the plot to build drama and will almost certainly intrigue readers. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-The opportunity to see a total solar eclipse draws thousands of people to the Moon Shadow campground. Wendy Mass's novel (Little, Brown, 2008) skillfully spins a tale combining an intriguing combination of fiction and astronomy, presented from the point of view of three distinct voices in alternating chapters. Home-schooled Ally is fascinated with astronomy, but her parents' abrupt announcement that they plan to sell the campground, the only life she has ever known, leaves her uncertain of her future to "secure immortality" by discovering a comet. Beautiful Bree, co-leader of her school's A clique, is mortified when her parents announce that they purchased Moon Shadow so they can continue their scientific research. But when her "inner geek" rears its head, she begins to wonder if there is more to life than making sure her lip gloss matches her purse. Jack's weight problem and low self-esteem keep him from being popular, and his preference for drawing graphic comics and reading science fiction cause him to fail science class. Consequently, he is sentenced to summer school, but snaps at the chance to join a tour bus of eclipse chasers, led by his science teacher, in exchange for documenting his experience. The three teens converge on the campground, each discovering something new about themselves and their place in the world. Ally, Bree, and Jack are well-drawn characters and are brought to life by the exceptional narration of Jessica Almasy, Ali Ahn, and Mark Turetsky. This compelling combination of scientific information and fiction is almost as rare as a solar eclipse.-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Confirming her mastery of the middle-grade novel, Mass (Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life) combines astronomy and storytelling for a well-balanced look at friendships and the role they play in shaping identity. Three narrators take turns: Ally, who lives with her parents and younger brother at the Moon Shadow Campground and loves every tree and every rock on it, but most especially the stars above it; glamour-loving Bree, who announces to readers that she must have been "switched at birth" to explain her presence among physicist parents and a geeky younger sister; and Jack, who is helping his science teacher lead a solar eclipse tour to the Moon Shadow to make up his failing grade. The trio's paths converge because Ally's parents have sold the Moon Shadow to Bree's, and everyone meets up at the campgrounds during a major eclipse. The voices reflect the distinct personalities, and while the outcome is never in doubt--each character discovers unexpected powers of adaptability and new talents--Mass keeps the developments believable. Information about solar eclipses and astronomy is carefully woven into the plot to build drama and will almost certainly intrigue readers. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved