Between Us and the Moon

by Rebecca Maizel

Overview

A luminous YA love story that evokes Judy Blume's Forever for a new generation.

Sarah—Bean to her friends and family—is an aspiring astronomer and champion mathlete. She lives behind her beloved telescope, with her head in the stars and her feet planted firmly on the ground. For as long as she can remember, she's also lived in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Scarlett.

But after a traumatic end to the school year, Sarah goes to Cape Cod for the summer with her family, determined to grow up. It's there that she meets gorgeous, older college boy Andrew. He sees her as the girl she wants to be. A girl like Scarlett. He thinks she's older, too—and she doesn't correct him.

For Sarah, it's a summer of firsts. Before she knows what's happened, one little lie has transformed into something real. And by the end of August, she might have to choose between falling in love, and finding herself.

Fans of Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins are destined to fall for this romantic and heartfelt coming-of-age novel about how life and love are impossible to predict.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062327611
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/30/2015
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

Rebecca Maizel hails from Rhode Island, where she teaches literature at her alma mater the Wheeler School. She tries not to force her students to read her books, though. Rebecca is the author of several published novels for young adults, and recently received an MFA in Writing for Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Editorial Reviews

04/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—Sarah has always been fine with living in the shadow of her sister, Scarlett, who has a larger-than-life persona. Between tracking the Comet Jolie and her boyfriend, Tucker, Sarah hardly notices that it is not exactly normal to be over-obsessed with science and to make handy lists for everything in one's life. She didn't even realize that Tucker has been spending less time with her. When he breaks up with her for one of the most popular girls in school, life seems unbearable. Sarah welcomes the opportunity to go with her family to Cape Cod and spend the summer with her Aunt Nancy. Here, she is determined to finally grow up, be more like her sisiter, and make her own choices. At the beach, while Sarah is channeling her "inner Scarlett," she meets Andrew, a gorgeous college boy. Soon, one little lie grows into a cacophony of problems. By the end of the summer, the protagonist is teetering between finding herself and falling in love. Maizel's writing is clear and concise, and has enough witty humor to keep pages turning. Readers will relate to Sarah and how her bad decisions lead to consequences that keep piling up around her. VERDICT With its themes of confidence and discovering one's true self, this summer romance is a great choice for teens.—Brittney Kosev, Dave Blair Elementary School, Farmers Branch, TX

School Library Journal

2015-03-17
Can inner truth be found when the journey starts with a lie? "You watch the world." That's the criticism Sarah's boyfriend makes when he dumps her. Sarah thought she was happiest looking through her telescope, tracking the path of the Comet Jolie. But when Sarah considers what her ex said, considers how her beautiful older sister, Scarlett, always commands all the attention—she's ready to find out if she can be part of the world. On Cape Cod for the summer, Sarah experiments by borrowing both Scarlett's clothes and her personality. But when she meets Andrew, she can't help being herself, scientific facts and all. The only problem is that he's 19 and she's barely 16—and he's best friends with Scarlett's summer fling. So Sarah lies about her age and doesn't reveal that she's Scarlett's sister. But as she falls more in love with Andrew, Sarah is left wondering about just what kind of girl she is. While the depth of her parents' inattention is exaggerated for the sake of the plot, Sarah's journey to craft her own place—in her family and in the world—is delicately handled. The romance between Sarah and Andrew is what first love is meant to be. A fine summer fling for a satisfying summer read. (Romance. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

Newly-sixteen Sarah is a curious, intelligent girl who has always been more fixated on academics than teen culture and society. Although it is summer vacation, her head is in the stars as she plots a comet’s path so that she might win a prestigious scholarship. Everything seems to be going smoothly for Sarah, until her longtime best friend-turned-boyfriend Tucker breaks up with her. Hopefully the annual trip to visit wealthy Aunt Nancy on Cape Cod will provide a relief from this heartbreak. Certainly, helping her dad with his work at Woods Hole and writing her scholarship application should be good distractions for her. Cape Cod, though, provides a wealth of other distractions, including the attractive Andrew. Eager for his interest, she lets him believe that she is older than she is. As their relationship develops and the pair becomes more intimate, it becomes harder for Sarah to reveal the truth. Maizel explores Sarah’s growing sense of sexual curiosity with candor and pulls no punches about the challenges of developing one’s sense of identity. Unfortunately, the ending is rushed. It would have been interesting to see how Sarah carries her new realizations about herself back to her home life. Reviewer: Heidi Hauser Green; Ages 14 up.

Children's Literature - Heidi Hauser Green