Erin Downing

"On the night of her thirteen birthday, Lucia Frank's shadow half slips out and begins to act in ways that Lucia has always wanted but been afraid to do. Now Lucia is becoming the girl she's always wanted to be -- fearless and assertive -- but is there another cost to bear?"--

Moon Shadow

Briar's Reviews

Moon Shadow by Erin Solderberg Downing is a delightful middle grade read with a dash of magic!

Lucia Frank is dealing with a lot of change - her parents have divorced, she had to move to Sweden for the summer, her old best friend has kicked her to the curb, and she's trying to find her way with her new friends. She was born on an eclipse and now on her thirteenth birthday there's another one right on her birthday! But something funny happens that night... suddenly, she's waking up and seemingly in different places. Did the eclipse work some dark magic on her? 

There is a lot of character growth in this book and it's such a nice change to fiction stories for the sake of fiction. I love a coming of age story that builds the lesson learning into the plot for a pinch of education but still packs in all of the fun. This book is definitely aimed at the middle grade reader and not necessarily for adults since I didn't enjoy it as much as some of the middle grade books that are aimed to make the adult have fun too. That doesn't make this book bad, but I just want to point out to any adults who might be thinking of picking this book up.

Moon Shadow shows the power of friendship, perseverance and learning to be yourself. It's a delightful read that I highly recommend!

Three out of five stars.