The Moon Over High Street by Natalie Babbitt

The Moon over High Street by Natalie Babbitt is the story of Joe Casimir and one particular summer he had. See, Joe’s parents had been killed, and he was living with his Gran. When she had a terrible fall and couldn’t take care of him for a while, he went to live with Aunt Myra. Little did they know how much life would change for them that summer.

Likes

I loved the conflict that came early in the story. A rich man in Aunt Myra’s town offered Joe a chance to change his life by agreeing to let the rich man adopt him. Joe had gone to live with Aunt Myra after his parents died. The catch is Joe felt close to Aunt Myra and struggled with the idea of allowing the rich man to adopt him as it would change his relationship with Aunt Myra. This sets the stage for several things that come next.

Which brings me to my next appreciation for this story. I loved the character growth that occurred throughout the book despite everyone being your ordinary people who didn’t have extraordinary circumstances to navigate. To me, it goes to show how much you can do without having to have crazy huge or dangerous or whatever plotlines. Joe’s sense of conflict over what’s “best” for him, Aunt Myra’s respect for Joe’s autonomy despite being a kid, the way they all cope with the various things life thrust on them, and more are just so well written. They’re real without being trite, and the growth feels genuine.

Finally, I loved the beautiful simplicity of the story. I think overall it worked well with the focus being about what Joe and his family’s decision would be with this offer to be adopted and made a millionaire’s son. Yet the implications of this possibility ripple throughout the story well.

Dislikes

While I said I loved the simplicity of the story, it sometimes was a bit too simple. I would have liked to see more tension because I felt like you knew what Joe’s decision would be long before it got revealed.

I also struggled a bit with Joe’s character. He is a kid in this story, yet reads much more like an adult. I get, given his history, he’s more mature like than other kids, but he is still a kid. I wish he would have behaved a bit more that way in the story.

Conclusion

I liked this book. It’s not one I’d go nuts over or insist you should go out and read. If you want an easy, engaging read without stressful or high-stakes plotlines, this is a great option. If you get a chance, go check it out.