Once in a Blue Moon

May 29, 2023
Twins deal with the fallout of their mother’s hospitalization in this emotionally raw verse novel by Flake (The Skin I’m In), set in Jim Crow–era North Carolina. After their mother nearly drowns, she’s sent to a Detroit hospital, leaving 11-year-old Black twins James Henry and Hattie Mae in the care of Gran and Uncle. Only James Henry knows what really happened the night she almost died, but his anxiety, fear, and guilt result in him feeling unable to speak to anyone except Gran and Hattie Mae, prompting suspicion and blame from Uncle and other townspeople. James Henry even refuses to leave the house, creating a rift between the siblings. He finds refuge in astronomy, only going outside to survey the moon. When Hattie Mae learns that a rare blue moon—or a wishing moon, according to Gran—will soon be visible, she’s sure that if they can get to the ocean, James Henry could wish away “his condition,” as he calls it. But she must persuade him to leave the house first. Brief but impactful poems narrated by perceptive James Henry deliver a poignantly compelling intergenerational story that underlines themes of community and family, forgiveness, grief, and healing. An author’s note concludes. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jennifer Lyons, Jennifer Lyons Literary.

June 1, 2023
After Ma nearly drowns one fateful night, a North Carolina boy doesn't go outside. Everything 11-year-old James Henry needs to do, including taking imaginary trips into the night skies with twin sister Hattie, he can do at home. He endures the stares and gossip of folks as they pass his house. Nobody but he knows what happened that night, but as long as he has the safety of home, as long as nobody touches him, and as long as he can avoid his own guilt, he's fine. But Hattie is done with James Henry's being "just fine." A rare blue moon is coming, and she thinks that it's time for him to go out and meet it. Everyone knows that things can change and worlds can shift under the blue moon. Using short poems, the tale takes readers on a soul-twisting journey once James Henry, a Black boy living during Jim Crow, leaves home with his sister and her friend Lottie Jean. Together they face off against racists and bullies. Readers also get joyous representations of Black children thriving in the outdoors: swimming, eating well, and using knowledge passed down to them to move forward. This is when these characters start to take full form, but it's interrupted by the mystery of what really happened to James Henry's Ma, something that haunts the storyline in confusing and distracting ways. The theme of recovery after deep trauma shines brightly. (author's note) (Verse historical fiction. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2023
Grades 4-6 Eleven-year-old twins James Henry and Hattie Mae live with their grandmother in North Carolina while their father earns money in Detroit to pay Ma's medical bills. James Henry hasn't left home since a mysterious accident traumatized him and left his mother hospitalized with unspecified injuries. Hattie Mae supports her twin against local bullies and tries to encourage him to confront his mental paralysis during a blue moon. In their story that's told in verse and set during the Jim Crow era, these African American twins are well aware of the rigid rules society dictates for them and the severe penalties for disobedience. The protagonists are well developed (James Henry has a passion for astronomy, Hattie Mae for her pet birds), and the support they receive from family is heartwarming; secondary characters--including the dentist's daughter, Lottie Jean (who has her own missing-mother issues), and the Baker brothers (most of whom are bullies)--are also multidimensional. An arduous journey to the beach where the accident occurred proves eventful and life changing, providing closure and a path forward.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from July 1, 2023
In sparkling free verse, Flake delivers a rich and compassionate story of family love centered on forgiveness. Eleven-year-old James Henry and his twin sister, Hattie Mae, live with their grandmother in North Carolina, in the Jim Crow South. After a traumatic incident involving their mother and a beloved stray dog, James Henry becomes reclusive, never leaving the house or communicating with anyone except Grand and his sister. Shouldering tremendous guilt, James Henry, an astronomy buff, copes by pretending to fly to outer space with his steadfast companion and constant protector, Hattie Mae. But when she makes a new friend, his troubles become more complicated as now he has to compete for his twin's attention. He knows the only solution to his problems is to confront his anxieties. His first steps out of the house turn into an adventurous odyssey under the luminous guidance of a mystical blue moon that Grand calls a "wishing moon." "What you want for, wish for / or need / on that day is yours / according to her." An evocative, immediate novel with compelling characters and a wonderfully well-paced plot. Pauletta Brown Bracy

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2023
In sparkling free verse, Flake delivers a rich and compassionate story of family love centered on forgiveness. Eleven-year-old James Henry and his twin sister, Hattie Mae, live with their grandmother in North Carolina, in the Jim Crow South. After a traumatic incident involving their mother and a beloved stray dog, James Henry becomes reclusive, never leaving the house or communicating with anyone except Grand and his sister. Shouldering tremendous guilt, James Henry, an astronomy buff, copes by pretending to fly to outer space with his steadfast companion and constant protector, Hattie Mae. But when she makes a new friend, his troubles become more complicated as now he has to compete for his twin's attention. He knows the only solution to his problems is to confront his anxieties. His first steps out of the house turn into an adventurous odyssey under the luminous guidance of a mystical blue moon that Grand calls a "wishing moon." "What you want for, wish for / or need / on that day is yours / according to her." An evocative, immediate novel with compelling characters and a wonderfully well-paced plot.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)