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Fae and the Moon : A Librarian’s Perspective Review

Fae and the Moon gets huge props from me for the gorgeous illustrations, but the story and characters are underdeveloped. I do think elementary students will like it, despite the weak plot.

AUTHOR: by Franco Aureliani
ILLUSTRATOR: Catherine Satrun and Sarah Satrun
SERIES: no, but there is potential for a sequel at the end
PUBLISHER: Yellow Jacket
PUBLICATION DATE: February 21, 2023
PAGES: 144
GENRE: graphic novel, fantasy
SETTING: magical world, home and garden of a young girl
GIVE IT TO: ES

AWARDS AND KUDOS

none as of April 2023

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Fae, in mourning for her missing mother, sits night after night below the Moon that her mother so loved.

Then one night she discovers she can pluck the Moon out of the star-filled sky!

Back safe in her house, she holds it close, feeling comfort at last. But Fae loses the Moon, and finds that taking it has awakened ancient monsters–rats, dragons, and more, who hunt it for themselves.

Will Fae be able to reclaim the Moon, find her own inner strength, and save the world from eternal darkness?

THE SHORT VERSION

Gorgeous illustrations; weak plot and characters.

WHAT I LIKED

The illustrations are definitely the best part of Fae and the Moon. The color palatte is shades of pink and purple, seafoam green, browns. Very pretty! The characters are also cute. Fae has long reddish-purple hair, large expressive eyes, and cute cherub cheeks. Her mice and bunny friends are also adorable.

You can click the screenshots below to make them larger.

Fae and the Moon screenshot Screenshot of Fae and the Moon
 

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Oh, I so wish I loved the story, but it just didn’t make a lot of sense. Fae’s mother has been missing, so she decides to take the moon out of the sky to get her missing mother’s attention. Her motivation to take the moon, which sets off the rest of the story’s events, isn’t all that convincing. Readers don’t know what the moon has to do with her mother, nor do we know why Fae is able to simply pluck the moon out of the sky. And why is the moon so small that Fae can snuggle with it like a ball?

Also, Fae took the moon to get her mother’s attention and hopefully bring her back. Fae’s mother has left her beloved young daughter behind – she’s not going to come back for the moon. This plot point just makes no sense. The reader doesn’t ever get enough information to explain why Fae thinks stealing the moon will bring her mother back.

The characters’ motivations – from Fae to Percival the Rabbit to the Rat King to her mice friends – just don’t make much sense. We don’t know enough about the characters to be able to understand the reasons behind their actions. They are good or evil simply because the book tells us they are.

(SPOILER ALERT BELOW)

The mother’s return is nonsensical. Where was she all that time? Fae was able to touch the dragon and the moon at the same time, and POOF! Here’s her missing mother! Where did that dragon come from anyway? I thought maybe the dragon was her mother the whole time because the dragon is the same color as the mother’s hair, but that isn’t the case.

The last line suggests a sequel, but again, it falls flat. For me, Fae and the Moon feels like a story a third grader made up after she finished her work early. Characters and plot are just not nearly as developed as they should or could be.

It’s really a shame because the illustrations are truly lovely.

DIVERSITY

Fae and her mother are white with long purple hair and large eyes. Rabbit and mice friends are white. Rat King is gray. Dragon is purple. Monster is green.

ARTWORK/ILLUSTRATIONS

Gorgeous. Definitely the best part of this book.

THEMES

moon, missing parent (mother), rabbits, mice, rats, dragons, stealing, magic, powers

LIBRARIANS WILL WANT TO KNOW

  • Would adults like this book? I doubt it, but maybe they can appreciate the artwork.
  • Would I buy this for my high school library? NO – way too young
  • Would I buy this for my middle school library? I would not, but I can think of some middle schoolers who I would recommend this to. There are lots of better-quality graphic novels for MS, and I also feel this is still too young for many middle schoolers.
  • Would I buy this for my elementary school library? YES, but for larger collections only. If you have a healthy budget, I do think there is an elementary audience for this. But if your budget is limited, there are lots of better-quality graphic novels to buy instead.

MATURE CONTENT

I’d consider this a clean read. I have no content concerns for elementary or middle school.

  • Language: none
  • Sexuality: none
  • Violence: very mild; evil animals fighting over the moon’s power
  • Drugs/Alcohol: none
  • Other: no concerns

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