Review: Between Us and the Moon by Rebecca Maizel

Between Us and the Moon
by Rebecca Maizel
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Publication Date: June 30th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780062327611
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Source: Publisher

Add to Goodreads

Available for Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

A luminous young adult novel that evokes Judy Blume’s Forever for a new generation.

Ever since Sarah was born, she’s lived in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Scarlett. But this summer on Cape Cod, she’s determined to finally grow up. Then she meets gorgeous college boy Andrew. He sees her as the girl she wants to be. A girl who’s older than she is. A girl like Scarlett.

Before she knows what’s happened, one little lie has transformed into something real. And by the end of August, she might have to choose between falling in love, and finding herself.

Fans of Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins are destined to fall for this story about how life and love are impossible to predict. (Goodreads)

I absolutely couldn’t wait to start reading Between Us and the Moon. It sounded like the perfect summer read, and summer-themed books are my absolute favorite at the moment!

Sarah’s love for the stars has consumed her life to the point where she is watching the world, instead of living in it. She’s smart and has her whole future planned out, including landing a scholarship that will pay for the next few years of her schooling. But she’s also always lived in her dazzling sister’s shadow, always in the background, never seen by anyone, including her parents. All that changes during the summer on Cape Cod, when she meets Andrew, a boy who sees her like no one else has ever seen her, and changes her life forever.

While I could totally relate to some of the things that Sarah went through in the story, the lying really, really bothered me, to a point where I was pretty uncomfortable with some parts of the story. I could totally understand how she felt about being in her sister’s shadow, and even wanting to reinvent herself so that she would finally be ‘seen’ differently by people. But the way she went about it was so wrong. The lies just built up, one on top of the other, and eventually blew up in her face. She was selfish, and her actions could have messed up not only her future, but could have totally ruined Andrew’s as well. But even though she was selfish and naïve throughout most of the story, the things that she experiences throughout the summer make her a completely different person, and we see that changes in Sarah as we turn the pages. I do believe that she learned something from all the mess she made.

The romance between Sarah and Andrew in the book was a really conflicting emotions for me. Had they been closer to the same age, I would have thought it of a lot differently. I didn’t expect for things to go as far as they did between the two, and it really made all of Sarah’s lies bother me even more. In another situation, it would have been really sweet and swoon-worthy, but for this story it kind of made me really uncomfortable, especially with Sarah being so much younger and lying about it as well.

The character I liked the most in the book would definitely have to be Andrew. WHY can’t all guys be like him? He was so sweet and kind and caring, and all throughout the story I felt so bad for him for the lies that Sarah kept telling him. I just wanted him to know the truth already, especially before things got as far as they got between the two. He was definitely a great character though, very well written.

I really like the idea for the storyline of the book. It’s a great coming-of-age, summer romance, and there is so much I did enjoy about the book. The setting is awesome, who wouldn’t love spending the summer at the beach? And there were also some really great secondary characters in the story as well. The only other issue I had with the book was the ending. After EVERYTHING that happens in the story, that’s how it ends?? I wanted more, and more, and a little more, please! Sigh.

Between Us and the Moon is one of those books where I’ve had a difficult time writing out my review, not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because even after typing out my thoughts, I’m still processing everything that I read.  While I liked the book a lot, I keep wondering what the story would be like if there hadn’t been so many lies, and such a big age difference between Sarah and Andrew. I think it still would have been a pretty epic love story without all the mess, in my opinion.

Overall; despite a few issues I had with Between Us and the Moon, I found the book to be an interesting and thought-provoking read. It is definitely a book that will keep you thinking, long after you turn the last pages, and I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more books by Maizel in the future!