Beneath the Maggot Moon

Sometimes a story has more layers than an onion, with more and more meaning to peel away and peel away. Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner is just such a story. But you might not like what you find under each layer. 

Standish Treadwell isn't bright. At least, it is safer for Standish if you think that. In the alternative Britain he lives in, there isn't much of anything that could be considered "bright". No color, no fun, no happiness. But for a boy who can't read and write, this cruel world is particularly cruel. That is, until Hector comes along. As the only boy Standish has every called a friend, Hector is the most important person in his life besides Standish's grandfather. 

The world doesn't take kindly to friends. With the Greenflies buzzing around and teachers who are willing to beat a little boy to death for laughing, the world is a cold hard place. But when Hector disappears, Standish refuses to stand by and let it happen. He watched his own parents disappear after his mother was taken and returned disfigured, and he isn't going to let the same thing happen to Hector. Standish is the only one who can help. He is the only one who can help because he is the one who is underestimated the most.

Have you read Animal Farm? If you have, you know there are two (or more) layers to that story. You have the weird story about the talking animals taking over the farm, and then you have the deeper allegory into the world's political figures. Maggot Moon is the same kind of story. Honestly? This is NOT a book for young kids or even most young adults. It is deep, complex, violent, bizarre, confusing, and I am not even sure I really liked it, but it had my mind spinning all day. The author is severely dyslexic and she speaks of her learning disability quite candidly. Not only did she make a world with a dyslexic hero, but she also created this dyslexic world inside a dystopia. If you let yourself run with the way the book is written, it feels different, confusing at times. I love the statement this makes about the dyslexic mind... layers and layers of meaning hidden behind simplistic language and a confusing story.

That being said, I actually didn't enjoy this book in the way I enjoy other stories. It was difficult and painful at times, but you shouldn't let that to scare you away. It is the kind of book that will make your head spin if you let it, but you can't fight the odd story and characters. Like Animal Farm there is something deeper here that you have to find yourself. What does this story mean to you? Are you a Standish Treadwell? Is your brother or sister? Student? 

The dystopia angle of this story is very odd and won't appeal to many kids who likes the popular dystopias out there (Hunger Games, Maze Runner, etc.). It really shouldn't be classified as a dystopia, and in fact, I think this book defies most categories. But it's strange and interesting, and I still can't stop thinking about it!

The Moon's Control

Susan Beth Pfeffer is a giant among authors. Her name might not be as well -known as J.K. Rowling, but she has such a powerful and versatile writing style that her books will stay with you long after you have finished them. When the third Life as We Know it series ended, I thought the series had ended with it. But here, years later both in the publishing world and in the setting of the story, we are lucky enough to find a fourth book in the series called The Shade of the Moon. 

Jon was always the little kid. He was the kid who had to be taken care of and kept safe. That was how he came to be a claver. Only people with passes were able to "slip" into the Enclaves, and Lisa, Jon's stepmother, had three passes. One for her, one for her son (Jon's half brother) and one for Jon. It was decided. The rest of his family wanted him to live in the Enclave and have as close to a normal life as possible with the state of the world as it has been. Years ago a meteor hit the moon, and since then, the world has been subject to severe shifts in weather patterns, geological disasters like earthquakes and volcanos where they shouldn't be, and mass extinctions caused by a host of catalysts. When the blended family couldn't survive any longer in Pennsylvania, they traveled to the Enclave, hoping for something better but not knowing what to expect. 

Now Jon is a claver and his mother, sister, brother, and their families all live outside the clave. Everyone outside the clave is known as a grub. If you weren't fortunate enough to be a claver, your life as a grub was determined by the people of the clave. If they needed a domestic, it didn't matter if you had a PhD, you were a grub who would work where they told you. If you defied the Enclave, you were sent to the mines where no one lasted very long. Life in and outside the clave wasn't ideal, but at least it was life. That was more than most people in the world had. Jon has grown into a virtual adult as a claver, and even though he has family outside the wall, he still carries the entitlement that comes with being a member of the clave, even though those who aren't "slips" (slipped inside with a pass), don't let him forget that he is only one step above a grub. Slowly, however, it becomes clear to Jon that there are some ugly and even scandalous things happening in the clave. When a soccer match turns ugly between the clave and the grubtown, everyone sees just how lopsided the power truly is, and the results get deadly. 

I was so ecstatic when I realized Pfeffer was writing another of the Moon books. Beside myself, even. I loved the original series that consisted of the first book about Jon and Miranda's family, the second about Alex (who became Miranda's husband) and his family, and the third brought everyone together. With this new book we really had an opportunity to see them outside survival mode and really trying to live their lives, which was much easier for the clavers who lived in relative comfort with an endless supply of domestic servants than it was outside the clave in White Birch with the grubs who were their domestics. This clash and clear caste system was so intriguing that it brought the series to a whole new level. I loved the turn it took the series, and that the story centered around Jon, who we didn't see much of int he other stories. While Jon should be happy as a claver, he is haunted by his life before he reached the Enclave as well as living a life where everyone he knows relishes in reminding him that he is no more than an unwanted guest inside the community. Even his family in White Birch are shocked by his lack of empathy for the grubs like themselves, but it is Jon's transformation that really makes this story brilliant. He becomes the man everyone hoped he would, even though it took him a while to find that man. 

This is a series that is not only great for young adults, but it is clean enough to be suitable for stronger middle readers. Some of the content is mature, so choose your reader wisely, but the story itself is clean and accessible enough for some middle readers. The characters are the heart of the story, and it is amazing to see all your familiar faces back again, but in a new capacity. Alex and Miranda are now supporting characters, which keeps the story from burning out or dragging on for too long. And Jon is a complex character, full of demons and haunted by his past, which makes him even more spectacular of a redemption. I really loved this whole series, but this story in particular. I am keeping my fingers crossed that in a few years, Pfeffer will announce a fifth book and will keep me in the Moon world. It might not be the best world to live in, but it is full of family, and love and hope, despite all the obstacles standing in the way. 

Who Worries About the Moon?

I have been addicted to post-apocalyptic and dystopia fiction lately. In my literary travels, it has been hard to find too much PA or dystopian YA fiction, but I found a really great series with Susan Beth Pfeffer's The Last Survivors series. She has the sensitivity and understanding of a young adult author combined with the hard, stark truth of a post-apocalyptic author. It is a wonderful combination!


In the first book, Life as We Knew it, the story begins with a family in Pennsylvania. A meteor is scheduled to hit the moon, and the whole world is excited to witness the phenomenon. However, something goes terribly wrong, and scientists misjudged the size, density, and power of the meteor. When it hits the moon, it knocks it closer into Earth's orbit, causing a host of problems the world couldn't have fathomed. The pull of the closer moon on the tides causes tidal waves and tsunamis that ravage the coastal cities. The increased gravitational pull causes the earth's crust to weaken in spots where earthquakes ravage the world and volcanoes are created. The volcanoes are so numerous and powerful that they spew such acrid ash into the sky with such enormity that the sun is even blocked out, eventually changing the climate of the world.

Miranda tells the story of the meteor and her family's survival through a journal she is keeping. The family sticks together and manages to gather as much canned food as possible before the world really takes a nose dive. Thanks to the resourcefulness of Miranda's mother and her disciplined use of the food, they are able to make it through the summer and into the early winter, but they quickly start to run out of food. A flu epidemic ravages through the town and Miranda is forced to take care of her mother and both her brothers. But when they begin to run out of food, it looks like they will all starve to death...


In the second book, The Dead and the Gone, the story follows the impact of the moon's shift upon a family in New York. Alex Morales is forced to take care of his sisters, Bri and Julie, in anyway possible since his parents are presumed dead. His incredible faith and involvement in the church is both integral in his family's survival, and in the death of his sister. He must do things that go against everything he believes in to stay alive, but he does it with great burden and guilt. New York is slowly dying, and the people left inside might never be able to flee. The government is keeping the city alive long enough to save the dignitaries, the priceless artwork and artifacts, the history, but they aren't nearly as concerned for the people left behind. Finally, Alex realizes they have to get out, in anyway they can...


In the final book of the trilogy, The World We Live In, Miranda and Alex's stories come together. Miranda's father had left the east coast with his new wife to find her parents in the first book, but they return to Pennsylvania with other survivors: Alex, Julie, a friend named Charlie, and Miranda's new half-sister. Now the families must try to survive together, especially when there is barely enough to feed Miranda, her mother, and her two brothers. But they all come together and vow to make it work. However, Alex has other plans to take Julie to a convent in New York and leave her there. When everyone protests, he insists they stop being a burden on the family and seek out their own destinies. What he didn't expect was to fall in love with Miranda.

This is a great story, and I loved how the first two books are totally different stories that come together in the final installment. I liked the fact that the story was Miranda's journal in the first and third books, but I had to adjust to Alex's story being told in the third person. I was also skeptical of the strong religious aspects of the second book, but since their presence only revolved around Alex and his family, I think it was Pfeffer's representation of a faithful Latino family. I definitely liked Miranda's story more than Alex's, but that was because I could relate to Miranda's situation in rural Pennsylvania more than Alex's life in NYC. Overall, however, this was a great series for a variety of ages. It is talked about in many post-apocalyptic circles by adults, but it is written in a way to be appealing yet not overwhelming for the younger crowd. I think this is appropriate for a high-skilled middle schooler up to high school aged students. The books are fast reads and very interesting! But you may never look at the moon the same again...

Also, if you are interested, Pfeffer has a cute blog at http://susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com/