Review: The Cursed Moon by Angela Cervantes
Quick Info:
Book type: Chapter book
Target age: 8-12
Recommended age: None
Plot: Rafael is a middle school boy who loves scary stories but even though he was warned by his neighbor not to, decided to tell one on the blood moon. Now he must deal with the consequences and try to break the curse.
Review
When you read a good book it becomes more than just words on a page. This book stayed words on a page. The writing was clunky and repetitive and the dialogue was stiff. All the characters were 2-dimensional and unlikable. I’m also just not a big fan for scary books for kids and there were a few “jumpscares”.
Other than the spirits and shirk my biggest grievance was how the main character has a poor relationship with his mother and decides to call her by her name. Their relationship is better at the end and he begins to call her mom but throughout the book he calls her Nikki and is constantly bashes her when she is brought up. She is in prison and is alluded that she used drugs but it still felt weird to read mainly because it felt out of place. Granted a lot of his anger towards her seems justified; she was a single, teen mom who abused alcohol and drugs in addition to getting them kicked out of shelters. Throughout majority of the book she is in prison.
Opinion
Due to specific content and themes in this book I would not recommend this book.
Content
Mother is an ex-drug addict and teen mother
The words “heck” and “dang” are used once each
Scary stories are a big theme in the book
Rafael has a very Catholic friend who wants to be a canonized Catholic saint
Ghosts and evil spirits
Shirk and evil eye amulets being used to protect from evil (and they work)
Oujia boards are mentioned and referred to as harmless fun
Excerpts:
Excerpts from books are a glimpse of the content that is found and are not every instance of un-Islamic and/or “iffy” content.
Context:
The main character speaks about his mother and their relationship. It begins to get better at the end of the book, however a big part of the book is like this.
Context:
The main character has a poor relationship with his mother and is constantly bashing her, however, he does have valid reasons to be upset with her. His sister and grandparents encourage him to try to forgive her and rebuild a relationship.
Context:
The main character’s mom was a teen mother and they have an absent father.
Context:
The main character is referring to his mother in this text. Granted she has lied in the past about changing and being better and hasn’t followed through. .
Context:
The main character’s mother has had a rough past with drugs, alcohol and is now currently in prison. However, she has changed even though the main character refuses to believe so.
Context:
The main character’s general attitude to his mother is tense and it just feels weird for a 12-year-old making these demands. This falls under “iffy” more than unIslamic.
Context:
Some context on the relationship between the main character and his mother which he refers to by her first name, Nikki.
Context:
Anytime the main character’s mother is brought up she is slandered which just feels excessive.
Context:
The whole premise of the book is how these scary stories come true and how there is spirits haunting the town. However it takes a religious turn.
Context:
The main character’s best friend is very Catholic and wants to be a canonized saint. The kids joke about his faith throughout the book.
Context:
Ouija boards are wooden board games to “communicate with spirits, ghosts, djinn” and everything else in between.
Context:
The kids refer to one of the elders as a witch, she does end up dabbling in black magic though. The second half of the excerpt isn’t really that “bad” in the sense of it being like the silly rumors that kids make up.
Context:
The story’s premise is about evil spirits and mystical situations.
Context:
The younger sister, Brianna, is possessed by the Caretaker, the villain of the story who is referred to as “an evil spirit”. They also speak of the “protective amulet”.
Context:
The main character gets a “protective amulet” shaped with an evil eye to protect them from evil spirits. It works until one of the character’s moms throws it away, which is villainized.
