Girls in the Moon by Janet McNally- Book Review

Girls on the Moon by Janet McNally was a Book of the Month Club selection for January. This book wasn't on my radar and I had not heard about it at all until it showed up there, but I was glad it did show up as it was a wonderfully told story about relationships.

Phoebe Ferris and her sister Luna are the children of Meg and Kieran Ferris, who were the lead singers/songwriters of a 90s band that made it big. It was big until Luna was born and Meg wanted out of the band. This also led to Meg and Kieran's divorce shortly after the band broke up.

Luna has come home to let her mother know she was dropping out of college to go on tour with her band in which she was living with the lead guitarist of the band. She moves from Buffalo to NYC, just a few train rides away from her now estranged father, to begin her new life.

Phoebe is left behind and sets out to visit with Luna. We will follow Phoebe around as she experiences her sister, reunites with her father, and learns the truth about who her parents were and how everyone broke apart.

We will also follow Meg as she meets Kieran, forms the band, starts to get famous, and finds out she is pregnant.

I have to write that I really enjoyed the back and forth narratives in the present with Phoebe and in the past with Meg. You get to see bits of Meg in the girls, even though Meg is left at home in Buffalo in Phoebe's story. You get to see how the sins of the past become manifest in the present with how Phoebe and Luna interact with one another, their parents, and their significant others. This is a book about relationships that even though they are far apart are connected deeply still.

The writing was fairly well done. There were a few sentences that were meant to be poetic, but came off a bit loopy, at least to me, but I enjoyed McNally's voice quite a lot. It is difficult to pull off a dual narrative, especially for a first novel. I am excited to see what she will bring to the writing world.

The book is marketed as a YA novel, but I enjoyed it quite a bit and I think most adults will get a lot out of it.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is a link to Book of the Month. You can try it for just $5 this month! Girls on the Moon by Janet McNally