Review: Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now, I've thought maybe my mother drowned in both.

Anna's life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It's bad enough that she has to leave her friends and her life behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love--a place awash in memories that Anna would just as soon leave under the surface.

While life on the beach is pretty great, with ocean views and one adorable lifeguard in particular, there are also family secrets that were buried along the shore years ago. And the ebb and flow of the ocean's tide means that nothing--not the sea glass that she collects on the sand and not the truths behind Anna's mother's death--stays buried forever.

My first thought after finishing this: if you could bottle beauty and put it into a book, Moonglass would be the result. Cheesy? Perhaps. True? Completely.

Anna Ryan is an only child living with a single parent. She lost her mother long ago, and now she's bound to lose the only home she has ever known as her father's occupation shifts to a new location. But Crystal Cove is not  entirely unfamiliar to Anna; it was the site of her parents' first meeting and thus filled with history that she has yet to discover.

As a narrator and protagonist, I thoroughly admired Anna's character. She shows remarkable strength despite facing tragic loss right in the face. At the same time, Anna is not detached or insensitive; she reacts just as any person would if they were in similar circumstances. The supporting cast, including love interest Tyler Evans and new friends Ashley and Jillian, each added a new dynamic to the story that only made me adore Moonglass even more with each page.

I've always been one to find beauty in simplicity, and that may have been what drew me into the novel. Between a gorgeous cover, a setting fairly close to home, and an intense internal conflict, I was hooked from the very beginning. Even despite the slower pace than what I typically prefer, I found myself consistently wanting to know more. The writing style captivated me, reaching a crescendo at phrases and segments that were almost lyrical in nature.

I'm so glad that I have a copy of Ms. Kirby's newest release, In Honor, to flip through now that I've read Moonglass. Contemporary YA fans, give this one a shot.

Rating: 4/5 stars