The Last of the Moon Girls

Secrets, mysteries, magic, and a fierce protagonist? Sign. Me. UP! These types of books are my favorites. Below the obvious mystery and the magic of this book, Davis comments on themes like friendship and love and family and forgiving those you love. There's so much in this book and so much to interpret how you want, and it's a remarkable author who can utilize one storyline to comment on other themes at the same time. Many authors do this, yes, but not all succeed. Davis succeeded. The cover, as well, is just as beautiful as the writing. The whole thing exceeded my expectations, and then some. If you like magical realism and relevant, haunting, and emotional plots, I think this is the read you gotta try out.

Fun Story, Could Have Done Without The Epilogue. This was one of those moving yet fun and quirky stories about a person fleeing their home town as a teen only to be drawn back to it in the face of tragedy. The quirkiness was fun, and the magick was downplayed just enough to arguably keep this out of “paranormal” labels even while being present. (And the honeybee scene... that was cool. Freaky, but cool.) Overall has some similarities to the 2019 book The Scent Keeper by Erica Baurmeister, and that is not a bad thing at all. (This book takes a more paranormal tack, that one takes a more science based tack.) Really the only quibble I have with this book is the epilogue, where things are tied up maybe a bit too tidily for the overall tone of the book. Excellent work with a compelling mystery and fun characters - even if I did get at least part of the mystery solved by about the 36% mark. Though the ultimate unveiling was more of a surprise. Very much recommended.