A review by finesilkflower
Looking at the Moon by Kit Pearson

reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Three years after the events of 'The Sky Is Falling,' Norah Stoakes is still a war guest living in Canada; now 13, she's going through puberty, struggling with first love and other everyday occurrences made more awkward by living away from home. This book takes place entirely at her host family's cottage in Muskoka; it wasn't until I visited my Canadian family's cottage for the first time as an adult that I realized how deeply Canadian this content was.

This was my favourite of the 'Guests of War' trilogy when I was 9 or so. As an adult I think 'The Sky Is Falling' is a better standalone book objectively (stronger premise, better character development), but the lower tension of 'Looking at the Moon' is an extremely welcome follow up. This is the book that least relies on the War Guest premise, but Norah's status as a family outsider and the WW2 home front setting are integral to the plot. Although Canada in general and the cottage in specific serve the role of safe places to escape to, the ongoing war is beginning to touch them in larger ways, as cousins consider enlisting, young men disappear from teen parties, and gas and food rationing place limits on the family's usual vacation traditions. Pearson effectively weaves in global and personal stories as Norah not only changes in the usual 13-year-old ways (i.e. suddenly becoming interested in boys) but also in her values as she sheds her childlike black-and-white thinking for more nuanced adult perspectives on war, honour, and cowardice.

This is a great vacation book because it so joyously captures what is wonderful about a family cottage while also not shying away from the more downbeat aspects of teen drama, family conflict, and global events.

Nitpicks: Norah's changes of heart feel a bit too extreme; while I enjoyed her discussions about the meaning of war with both Andrew and her elderly aunt Catherine, it does kind of come across that she decides war is wrong only because a cute boy is shipping off. It would have been interesting to see her grapple more with the philosophy here. 

Nice Touches: It's alluded to in the first book, but I particularly like seeing how the characters have more relaxed "cottage" personalities. Aunt Florence is still a stuffy blowhard, but she also gets in the lake in an elaborate bathing costume. Aunt Mary is still quiet and unassuming, but also has an adventurous streak and takes Norah for a spontaneous midnight paddle. Even Gavin is different at the cottage, quietly assuming a leadership role with his "cousins". Although the book is told from the POV of a teen who's too old for it, a side plot about the younger kids forming a detective agency was especially interesting to me as a younger child reading the book.