Hang The Moon by Jeannette Walls

 


Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

Submitted by Heather Groom Branch Manager for Sullivan Gardens Public Library

    Before publication "Hang the Moon" was listed as a "Most Anticipated Book of 2023" by Oprah Daily, Elle and LitHub magazine. I would have put it on all the other lists as well, as I have been eagerly awaiting a new novel by Jeannette Walls!

    Walls is best known for her memoir "The Glass Castle" which was published in 2005 and spent almost 10 years on the New York Times best seller list. (It was also adapted into a movie starring Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson.)  It's a tender, gripping book about her own childhood, being raised by alcoholics and the effects it has on herself and her siblings. Walls gives no less care and attention to the fictional characters in "Hang the Moon". 

    The novel's protagonist is lovable tomboy Sallie Kincaid. After a nine year banishment due to a tragic accident, Sallie returns to her childhood home in the mountains of Virginia. Now that she's back at "The Big House", she starts to unravel the secrets and questions that permeated her childhood. She fights against the backwoods thinking of Prohibition Era Virginia where right and wrong are a vague gray area and the locals are both judge, jury and executioner. Walls packs in gunfights, affairs and crooked lawmen in this 346 page novel. Despite penning an amazing page turner, she still applies the same careful compassion to her characters that she is famous for. Walls has a unique ability to make the reader feel both spite and sorrow for the antagonists, and fierce loyalty to the heroes, sung and unsung. The characters in this book are both fantastical yet accessible, like stories told about ancestors you've never met.

    If you're a super reader, I suggest reading "The Glass Castle" first, then pick up "Hang the Moon". While one is memoir and the other fiction, reading them both creates some fascinating parallels that can keep you thinking for days. It also gives a rare insight to the voice of the writer, bringing her stories to life with ultra HD clarity. Either way, this book does not disappoint!

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls can be checked out at any of the five Sullivan County Public Libraries.
Also look for this title on Libby and Hoopla!

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