The MoonStone Girls

De: Brooke Skipstone

Narrado por: Shelley Reece

KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW: "A moving and romantic coming-out story and a triumphant celebration of lesbian liberation."

GOLD MEDAL IPPY AWARD—Young Adult Fiction

Tracy should have been a boy. Even her older brother Spencer says so, though he wouldn’t finish the thought with, “And I should have been a girl.”

Though both feel awkward in their own skin, they have to face who they are—queers in the late '60s.

When both are caught with gay partners, their lives and futures are endangered by their homophobic father as their mother struggles to defend them.

While the Vietnam War threatens to take Spencer away, Tracy and her father wage a war of their own, each trying to save the sweet, talented pianist.

At 17, Tracy dresses as a boy and leaves her parents in turmoil, with only the slimmest hope of finding peace within herself. She journeys to a girl with a guitar, calling to her from a photo, "Come to Alaska. We'd be great friends."

Maybe even The MoonStone Girls.

©2022 Brooke Skipstone (P)2022 Brooke Skipstone

impressive!

I knew, based on the dates covered, this wasn't going to be all sweetness and light. And it sure wasn't. While it was a reminder of how much harder our people had it "back then," it was also a message of strength. And it was nice to see how they could be good role models for those coming after them (in contrast to those going before them(.

Good narration, too.

loved it

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

Could have been outstanding. Ends up a disaster.

As a historical book with an openly lesbian main character, there was so much potential to show life for the LGBTQ community in that era. The prologue is so powerful that I was looking forward to an exceptional story. Unfortunately, the plot soon regresses into a lust fest, full of details of physical attractions and sexual activities, as if the only thought a homosexual person has is that of sex. The entire first half is infuriating for this reason because there are no feelings explored except for the physical. The second half is just a little better. I wish there were more emotional depth to the content.
The title, the cover, and the blurb gave me expectations of reading a story about a lesbian girl who travels to Alaska as a boy. This doesn’t happen until well into the second half. “The Moonstone Girls” of the title don’t come together until chapter 21 of a book with 24 chapters (not counting the prologue and epilogue.) The pre-Alaska and in-Alaska segments feel like two separate books.
1.5 stars - 0.5 for the writing intention, 1 star for the narration. Rounding down because it was not worth reading were it not for the audio version.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book at my request and these are my honest thoughts about it.