Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby


Release Date: May 3, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Rating: YA 14+
Format: eBook
Source: Pulse It
Buy: Amazon ❘ The Book Depository
Goodreads ◆ Website

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.

There's something about a beach, a new adventure and love, and memories of loss that's always alluring in a book. Moonglass is a book I'd been pining for a while, seeing multiple reviews and the cover popping up everywhere. The cover itself is gorgeous, with the glowing moon and the couple hand in hand walking on the beach, which really made me think that it would be a fabulous romance story. That's where I got it wrong. Not the fabulous part of course, because it was. It wasn't just about romance and the usual teen boy-girl thing seen in YA books. It's much more– about discovering clues about the past and piecing them together.


In this novel, Anna the main character is closed-off, reserved and wants to start over. I guess that's understandable, as if I were in her place, I wouldn't want anyone finding out about my past. I also love her seaglass collection, it sound beautiful and has so many memories attached to it. The pain and emotions she feels in this book are described so well that you feel empathic– feeling her loss. And what is it with girl MC's all loving to run? What is with that? This is yet ANOTHER book which has a girl obsessed with running. Just pointing it out.
TYLER. TYLER. TYLER. Hottie and a life guard?! Boy of my dreams. *sigh* too bad he isn't real. Ashley was also another cute character which I couldn't help but fall in love with. She totally goes against the stereotype of a popular or girly-girl. She's determined and a little clueless, but that's what makes her adorable!


I love how Kirby adds in details about what happened to Anna's mom piece by piece. The way she tells it makes it sounds like a chilling ghost story. It's beautifully described, in a haunting tone and the sheer emotion which comes from the simple words used to tell exactly what happened, really gets to you.
I also like the whole background story, about the people that lived there, how it all ties up in the end, the connections of the place and Anna's history, the clues she discovers– all make one brilliant beach read.


Jessi Kirby has written a fabulous debut, twisted in unexpected ways to make it even better than it already is. Cute and mysterious, this beach read will have you wishing for waves and hot lifeguards, for summer nights and bonfires. Can't wait for her second novel, In Honor to come out!


If you like this, try...

• Stay by Deb Caletti ◆ Goodreads
• The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski ◆ Goodreads
• The Day Before by Lisa Shroeder ◆ Goodreads
• Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott ◆ Goodreads
• The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han ◆ Goodreads

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