RED MOON: SECRETS OF A SIXTIES SCHOOLGIRL

Andrea Hampton’s going to break through the north midland gloom and her fog of misery her way: she'll get pop-star look-alike, Brendan James, and be like the older girls. But she hasn't planned on being a fourteen-year-old mum to be, or, on the opportunities afforded via the move south to London, where life could be fun…

This award-winning fictionalised memoir, set during a unique time in history, encapsulates issues concerning families and young adults today. It will take you on a journey through the ‘dark night of the soul’ to light at the end of the tunnel.

It’s a ‘coming of age’ story, based on real-life events in the mid-1960s, UK: a world of pirate radio, Beatles, duke boxes, mods and rockers and suspenders set against fog and furnaces to final sunshine. It’s an evocation of rebellion, discontent and decisions amidst grief, love, and longing.

The manuscript made semi-finals in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, 2011, won the Olvar Woods Fellowship Award in 2010 the Varuna Longlines in 08.

RED MOON - Secrets of a Sixties Schoolgirl

Red Moon - Secrets of a Sixties Schoolgirl book image

RED MOON
Also available as an eBook

Red Moon - Secrets of a Sixties Schoolgirl book image

Panel reviews from The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest, 2011 

Reviews:

• Prose: 5-stars; Very great characterization and pacing. Overall: 5-stars; It's ready for prime time. Hook: 5-stars; Easily. I very much want to find out if Andrea is pregnant, and if she'll be okay with the wake of her move and her father's death. Prose: 5-stars; Very great characterization and pacing.

• Originality: 5-stars; Pretty sure this is my first teen pregnancy novel this year, and the prose is very original and unusual. I love the M/M/C symbolism and the tarot cards - reminds me a lot of Joanne Harris, and it's nice to see pagan-friendly literature.

• ...mature, intelligent and a stunning reading experience. It should rank very highly in the Young Adult genre but it is also worthy of an advanced placement in the more coveted General Literature genre. The narration successfully employs the first person narrative voice as well as a liberal use of authentic dialogue in a charming English (UK) vernacular. The characters are fully realized and three dimensional. This will undoubtedly become a successful novel. It is fresh, original and compelling. The writing is fluid and mature, showing an extraordinary amount of polish and panache. I enjoyed it very much and applaud the author!

• ...scenes that could have been melodramatic are instead written deftly with a mix of humor and pathos. She (Andrea) grows up a lot, keeping the attention of readers through it all, to eventually find a bright new beginning. Publishers Weekly, Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest 2011

• The pacing and characterization is superb, and the opening is such a strong hook - pregnancy scares and (sarcastic?) threats of suicide, all covered with this wonderfully dry wit. I think it would have been easy to turn Andrea into a snarking Mary Sue, but that thankfully hasn't happened - she seems very real and genuinely vulnerable.
Ana Mardoll, reviewer, Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest 2011

• I found this fascinating. I was wondering how teenagers today would relate to it. (EG no morning after pill in the sixties) I am a Librarian & I run a teenage reading group in the Library. They were all very interested in the book and want to find out what happens next. It has many surprises and twists and turns and the pace is just right. D.Bruno, UK.

Chapter Listing:

chapter 1:  Long Dark Night
chapter 2:  God and Billy
chapter 3:  Rise and Fall
chapter 4:  Silence Sticks and Songs
chapter 5:  The Diary
chapter 6:  Christmas
chapter 7:  Winter World
chapter 8:  Breaking Seas
chapter 9:  Silhouettes
chapter 10: Stranger in the Mist
chapter 11: Time and Tide
chapter 12: Winds of Change
chapter 13: Times They Are A-Changing
chapter 14: Never Go Home Anymore
chapter 15: My Secret
chapter 16: Rite of Passage
chapter 17: Two Bulging Chimneys
chapter 18: Grammar Sounds and Sayings
chapter 19: Bed, Bath and Prayer
chapter 20: Gin in the Bath
chapter 21: Wishing and Hoping
chapter 22: Red Moon Drama
chapter 23: Red Moon and Them
chapter 24: Black is Black
chapter 25: Red Moon Rising
chapter 26: Moon Between the Pillars

RED MOON: SECRETS OF A SIXTIES SCHOOLGIRL

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