Review: Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon

Title: Valley of the Moon
Author: Melanie Gideon
Pages: 416
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Magical Realism
Source: Free ARC from Random House-Ballantine

Rating: A+

Note: As stated under the Source (above), I received this book for free from Random House-Ballantine via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review (and trust me, honest is always what you’ll get).

Review: Holy tears, Batman! What an emotional roller coaster that was. In hindsight, I wish I was writing this review right after I’d finished, but it was 1am (it was THAT good!), and I probably couldn’t have seen the screen through my water-filled eyes. And there would have been a lot of written blubbering and might have been a little raw and nonsensical because this book burrowed into my heart and broke it, and then lightened it, and then broke it again. It was happy-sad. So very, very happy-sad. Oh my god, the overwhelming feels of it all!

How do I even begin to explain what this book is about? In a nutshell, it’s about relationships – with our parents, our children, our lovers, and ourselves. It’s about expectations, not knowing definitively what we want, but maybe knowing what we don’t want, about growing into the person we should/can/want to be, about making sacrifices for those we love, and sometimes unintentionally sacrificing those we love as a consequence of pursuing what we want/need.

There is so much in this book that I could relate to. Unintentionally pregnant at 19? Check. Raising a child with little support (mostly because I was burdened by my own pride)? Check. Pain of separation from child for an extended period of time? Check. Trying to figure out how to have any semblance of the life you thought you’d have while meeting the needs and responsibilities that come along with being a parent? Check. And on and on and on…it was painful and therapeutic to go on this journey with Lux, to see her find herself, try to balance what she needed with what was best for her son, navigating the unknowns and just hoping that it would all work out in the end. I cried a thousand ugly tears about a million different times. A

Gorgeous, unusual, heart-wrenching and genius. I loved every bit of this book. Without a doubt it will be a book I recommend again and again. Easily top 5 for this year.

Must. Read.