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The Girl Who Chased the Moon  By  cover art

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

By: Sarah Addison Allen
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
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Publisher's summary

In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times best-selling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world - no matter how out of place they feel. Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. Such as, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? And why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew - a reclusive, real-life gentle giant - she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes.

Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes - which is a good thing, because Julia can’t seem to stop baking them. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also in the hope of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Flour, eggs, milk, and sugar...Baking is the only language the proud but vulnerable Julia has to communicate what is truly in her heart. But is it enough to call back to her those she’s hurt in the past?

Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

©2010 Sarah Addison Allen (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

"There are love interests, big family secrets, and magical happenings (color-changing wallpaper, mysterious lights) aplenty as Allen charts the spiraling inter-generational stories, bringing everything together in an unexpected way." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Lovely Writing ends Abruptly

I was in the midst of enjoying this book when it suddenly and without warning ended. It leaves many things unsettled or unexplained and I was very dissatisfied. The reader has a lovely voice and I did enjoy listening to her.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely

This is a really fun read with gorgeous imagery. A chick flick with literary pizzazz.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

This was a 4 star read until the last page.

Then the unfinished ending made me mad.

I was angry, frustrated and disappointed at the end. Something wonderful and important is just about to happen. A person opens the door to enter, and the book stops. I felt deprived. I wanted to see the conversations, reactions, and feelings during the coming scene. It would have been fabulous. But the author stopped. It ruined the feel good ending.

Most of the book is about two females who come to town, one recently and one a few years ago. I enjoyed their stories and the relationships they find with relatives, friends, and yes love. The endings for them were feel good.

There is a little bit of magic - like most of this author’s books. There is a secret about members of a certain family who never come out at night. There is also a curiosity about why the wallpaper changes in Emily’s bedroom.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Rebecca Lowman was excellent.

OTHER BOOKS:
I’ve read the following books by this author.

5 stars. Garden Spells 2007
4 ½ stars. The Sugar Queen 2008
3 stars. The Girl Who Chased the Moon 2010
3 stars. The Peach Keeper 2011
2 ½ stars. Lost Lake 2014 (too much grief)
3 stars. First Frost 2015 (sequel to Garden Spells)

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 269 pages. Swearing language: none. Sexual content: one sex scene referred to no details. Setting: current day Mullaby, N. Carolina plus some back stories. Book copyright: 2010. Genre: womens fiction with a little romance and fantasy.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Must read for 2010!!!

This is one of the best books of 2010!!! An "adult" story for those of us who still believe in magic. Enchantingly written and wonderfully narrated. This author is a breath of fresh air. I loved this book. Note to men: perhaps this book is more left for the female persuasion ;)

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

This book starts to unravel at the halfway point, and then it continues to fall apart in the most anticlimactic and cliche-ridden way possible. I greatly enjoyed "Garden Spells", but this book seemed like it was born from the notebook of a teenage Twilight fan. You will not believe how boring the much-hyped town secret is.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Slow but sweet

This book had a slow start for me and I found myself setting it aside a few times. Once I got through the first few chapters, I found myself enjoying the story greatly. There are a few references to the cliff hanger, and yes, the book ends with a question. Searching the title for Allen's next book, I believe that she will continue the story and answer the qestion in her next novel "The Lake House." I found myself smiling during the last few chapters, Im excited to hear what happens with Sawyer and Julia, as well as Wynn and Emily.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A little magic

The Girl Who Chased the Moon is full of little mysteries and unusual characters which make you wish the world Allen's created in Mulaby, NC could go on and on. Allen must know what I've known since I was eleven, that small Southern towns simply have a bit of magic here and there.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Just delicious

I really can't rave about Sarah Addison Allen enough. Her books are sweet, charming, and just full of the most wonderful Romance (love stories, not bodice-ripping). They're also beautiful when read aloud. I'm sure it helps that I grew up in North Carolina, but when I listen to them, I always feel a little like a kid listening to grown-up fairy tales. Also, there aren't many great English-language novels that are magical realism.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A magical read

Sarah Addison Allen lives up to her track record: an addictive book about a small town and the possibilities inherent in even the most painful of human relationships. It's a book about grown-ups finally growing up, and love, and being a teenager, and prejudice, and good, old-fashioned cooking. At the very end I wished she'd satisfied my craving by recording the promised conversation, but maybe the best ending for this book is about the possibilities of the future. Highly recommended: good for escapism OR reflecting.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

sweet

I definitely enjoyed this novel. It is charming and well written. As we all know the narrator can make an average book better or make an excellent book impossible to listen to. Rebecca Lowman is excellent, absolutely perfect for this story. It is a pleasing listen.

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3 people found this helpful