Red Moon Rising {ARC review} * * * 3/4

Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore

Feb 15, 2010

- paranormal, YA -

reviewed by Tara SG

received for review via Book It Forward ARC Tours

Book Order (??)

It definitely ended with me wanting more and with the feeling that a second book would be in the works, but I couldn’t find any information on the series.

Links

Author’s Website : couldn’t find

Amazon : pre-order hardcover

Add To Your GoodReads TBR List

This book in 6 words:

this fun book makes you think

Why did I read this? And am I glad I did?

I came across this via Book It Forward Tours and thought the summary sounded interesting. I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did. Red Moon Rising took the vamp/were fad and used it to write a fun YA read with important messages about prejudice and accepting who you are. I think the author did a fabulous job building the world and history. The ARC seemed a little off at the end, but I get the feeling it will be edited/formatted better for the final print. I’ll definitely be picking up the next book in the series and I’ll even be looking for the author’s previous books.

Cliffhanger Warning : The book ends with a lot of unresolved issues. Some of the major points are somewhat wrapped up so I didn’t feel the need to throw the book

Brief Summary

Being only half-vamp in a high school like Carpathia Night makes you a whole loser. But Danny Gray manages to escape the worst of the specists at his school. Thanks to the genetic treatments he had as an infant, most people assume Danny’s other half is human. Which is a good thing.

Ever since the development of synthetic blood – SynHeme – vamps have become society’s elite, while wulves like his father work menial jobs and live in bad neighborhoods.  Wulves are less than second class citizens; once a month they become inmates, forced to undergo their Change in dangerous government compounds.

For Danny, living with his vamp mother and going to a school with a nearly all-vamp student body, it’s best to pretend his wulf half doesn’t even exist.

But lately Danny’s been having some weird symptoms — fantastic night vision; a keener-than-usual sense of smell; and headaches, right around the full moon.

Even though it’s tempting to live in denial, it’s hard to ignore evidence. There’s only a month until the next full moon, and Danny’s time is running out.

- via GoodReads.com

Plot/Pacing/Writing Style

I thought that I would like the overall plot, but it exceeded my expectations. The author used vampires, werewolves, and humans to tackle issues that related to race, sexual-orientation, and religion. I didn’t feel like his personal opinion was heavy-handed. I think it is a great book for adults, but would be even better for teens learning about issues like segregation and the holocaust.

The pacing was great. I read it all in one sitting without once feeling bored. The author’s writing style made the book easy to read and the characters acted and spoke realistic to their age.

Characters

You don’t come across a lot of books written from the male perspective and I really enjoyed the change of view. Danny is extremely relateable and his feelings and actions were constantly in character and worked for his age and the way he was raised. It was really interesting watching him struggle to find a place when he had a foot in each world and didn’t fit in completely with either.

Claire is Danny’s gay best friend and I really liked that it was talked about without being a huge deal. She was trying to find herself (and a girlfriend) and is a great best friend with quick wit and sarcastic humor.

Danny’s family was also very well-developed. I LOVED watching them grow as Danny was challenged with possible changes.

Recommendations

If you liked YA paranormal with a mystery/thriller feel then please try this out. There is a touch of romance, but it isn’t the main focus. I think this would be enjoyed by both adults and teens.

Going Deeper – NO spoilers

It was really interesting to see racial prejudices turned into species prejudices. The vamp kids make crude comments including terrible slang and not wanting to share restrooms/water fountains/ schools with wulves. It made me sick. The saddest part is that it wasn’t that long ago that this happened here (well I guess it does still happen in some places). I was very lucky to be raised in a family that didn’t believe in judging others by their skin, god, or love. Hell, my best friends and I are quite the varied group as far as those things go. I really hope that my kids think of the discrimination of today the way we think of our ancestor’s stupidity.