Moon White by Melody Carlson

Moon White
Melody Carlson
ISBN 9-78157683-951-5
215 pages
TH1NK Books, 2007

Genre: Christian

Readers Annotation
After a new girl moves into town and supplants Heather as prima ballerina--not to mention steals her boyfriend--Heather feels like her life is spinning out of control. She takes up Wicca in an attempt to control her own destiny but finds her newfound spirituality may not be all she had bargained for.

Plot Summary
17-year-old Heather's mother died four years ago. Her father has recently remarried a younger woman, a free spirit named Augustine, who has remodeled their home and almost erased all memories of her mother. Heather accepts some of Augustine's new ideas, such as embracing veganism, but worries that she is losing control over her life. With her stepmother's blessing, Heather decides to learn about Wicca. Her Christian friend Lucy warns her against it, and then ends their friendship when Heather decides to continue on a Wiccan path.  Meanwhile, a new girl, Liz, has come to town. Heather is an accomplished ballerina and has looked forward to dancing the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy in this year's recital of the Nutcracker. However, Liz is an even better dancer than Heather, and Heather assumes Liz will get the part.

Heather and Liz become friends. As Heather learns more about Wicca, she feels more in control of her own destiny. With the help of some love potions, she is able to catch the eye of Hunter, a boy she has always dreamed about. The meditation and focus she develops through her practice improves her dance. Everything seems to be going perfectly for once in Heather's life. But then Hunter and Liz start dating, Heather's dancing falls apart, and Liz takes Heather's place in her old group of friends. Heather starts to loathe Liz as an enemy. A fellow Wiccan tells her about a spell she can cast to put harm on Liz. Should Heather continue down what may be a dangerous spiritual path?

Critical Evaluation
Unlike another Christian novel reviewed in this blog, Hollywood Nobody, Moon White would have little appeal to a non-Christian reader. In fact, non-Christian readers would probably find it downright offensive. Heather's veganism is equated with her decision to follow Wicca; only once she has accepted Christ in her heart can she enjoy a juicy cheeseburger. The entire point of the book is to proselytize; there are no measured discussions about religion, and Christianity is painted as the only right path. While Heather does struggle with spirituality throughout the book, it's clear that Christianity is the only correct answer.

Apart from its role as a cautionary tale, there's little to recommend about this book. The characters are stock, and the writing is flat. Many interesting characteristics about Heather, such as her dance, are not explored in any detail. While Liz's decision to date Hunter is supposed to be a big dramatic moment in their friendship, we can't really blame Liz because, as she points out, Hunter and Heather had not really started dating yet. Similarly, it seems strange that instead of working harder on her dancing, Heather decides to seek revenge on Liz by casting several dark spells against her. For a general reader, there's no appeal here.

Other Books in the Series
There are 10 other books in Carlson's True Colors series, including titles like Bright Purple (in which a Christian girl struggles to accept her friend who has just come out of the closet) and Torch Red (in which a girl decides whether or not to remain a virgin).

About the Author
Melody Carlson has written over 200 Christian-themed books, including many for young adults. In addition to the popular True Colors series, she has written the Diary of  a Teenage Girl series. These books, written in diary format, follow the spiritual struggles of a rotating group of teenage girls. She has also written the Carter House Girls series, about a group of unlikely girls who are being turned into debutantes. An Amazon review calls this series a Christian alternative to Gossip Girl.

Curriculum Ties
This book would not be appropriate for use in a public school curriculum because of its clear religious agenda. However, the publisher's website suggests that this book and others in the series be used at church youth group retreats or lock ins, which would probably be a very appropriate use for them.

Booktalking Ideas
1. Talk about why Heather decides to turn to Wicca.
2. Talk about Heather's frenemy, Liz, and her strained relationship with her old friend, Lucy.
3. Talk about Heather's home life: the changes her stepmother has introduced, and her feeling like she is slipping away from her mother.

Reading Interest/Level
These books are appropriate for high schoolers. While junior high readers would definitely be able to read the books, some of the themes at the end of the book may be too mature for younger readers.

Challenge Issues
Because these books have a clear religious agenda, they could definitely be challenged, especially in a school library setting. While there is certainly an audience for this type of book, I personally found it a bit off-putting that the book doesn't make its genre clear. Moon White is part of the True Colors series of books; at least 11 have been published so far. There were two huge displays of these books at a local library's young adult section; I flipped through the back covers of all of them and haphazardly decided on this one. Nothing in the blurbs made it clear that they were Christian books. A teen reader of a different religious background who picked up one of these books would probably be quite offended.

A librarian defending the inclusion of this book in the collection should ideally read the book, or, if unavailable, read reviews of the book. Reviews of the book were not published in the main professional journals; however, reviews of the book can be found on blogs like Teen Reads. The librarian should be able to explain and defend the library's selection policy and explain how the book fits those criteria.  For this book, the librarian might be able to point to its popularity, especially if it circulated well, and point to other contemporary titles that appeal to readers of different faiths.

Selection Criteria
I picked up this book because a local library had two large displays of this series. I had never heard of it, but I figured it must be popular. I had no idea that they were Christian books, but I decided to pick one up. I noticed the author's name in a blurb review of another Christian-themed book I reviewed for this blog, Hollywood Nobody, so I decided to read it as an example of a book in the Christian genre.