Meet me at the Moon Tree by Shivaun Plozza

This is a story to make you cry, and to care for those who grieve! Carina’s family has been rocked by the death of her father, a man who could make them all love deeply, laugh often, experiment with life and look for opportunities wherever they are. His absence leaves an enormous hole for Carina and her Mum, brother and Gramps. Each of them is struggling in their own way, but moving to a run-down fix-me-up house in the tiny community in Forrest gives Carina an opportunity to search for a Moon tree  in the surrounding bush – a special tree her father had said was grown from seeds that had been to the moon with Apollo 14. Sadly, the move also makes her Mum withdraw into her grief-fueled renovation project, and her brother becomes an angry video game isolate. Gramps helps a little, but grief is overwhelming. It is only a little bit of hope provided by a tree, a new friend who is compatible with Carina’s strange way of looking at the world, and the possibility of magic and communication with her father that enables her to keep going. But will truth revealed just drag her further into the abyss of grief?

Because of the profoundly difficult subject of grief, this book is sometimes a hard journey as the reader walks alongside the 10-year-old Carina as she grieves. Because young readers rarely encounter this deep grief it may be a step too far for some, and a particularly difficult story for those who have lost a parent to illness. I was moved to tears by the poignant story, worrying for each family member in turn. The hope of the young girl in the ‘magical’ tree is not so much fantasy but misguided, and 'mature' readers would be aware that the girl will ultimately be disappointed, adding another layer of grief. Fortunately, the story does not remain stumbling in the mire of the hardest journey a young family has to experience, but this is still a story about grief and there are no easy ends. As much as I loved this poignant story, it is hard to read and young readers aged 10-14 may need to be prepared for its sadness, or at least mature enough to deal with the varied ways that grief expresses itself. There is hope, but melancholy also speaks loudly. Teacher's notes are available.

Themes: Grief, Family, Hope, Magic.

Carolyn Hull