The Next Full Moon, by Carolyn Turgeon follows Ava, a twelve-year-old who is looking forward to her upcoming summer spent by the lake with her best friend, Morgan, and–hopefully–her crush, Jeff. But her summer might be in jeopardy when she starts to grow feathers. Horrified and embarrassed, she covers herself in long sleeves and hides in her bedroom, until she receives a visitor on the night of a full moon and a new world is opened to her.
This is a fun book! Carolyn Turgeon is known for her fairytale retellings, but this is her first middle grade novel. I actually didn’t realize that this was middle grade until I started reading it. But I love swan stories and this was a great retelling. I thought the voice in this novel was spot on! It had a fairytale quality to it, but Ava’s thoughts and experiences felt like a real twelve-year-old. When she started to grow feathers, it took me back to the awkwardness of those preteen years and her embarrassment felt so real. This was definitely a fun read and I’m looking forward to reading some of her other novels. Also, if you haven’t, you should check out her blog, I am a Mermaid.
