It was probably pretty obvious that I found Circus Mirandus to be gush-worthy, and while Full Cicada Moon is very different, it’s every bit as easy to love on and to sing it songs of praise. It also felt to me in some inexplicable way an appropriate spotlight for November. A time of change, a time of gratitude, a time for looking back and looking forward. A good time to read about Mimi!

Full Cicada Moon, by Marilyn Hilton, is set in 1969, and has lots of historic markers to cement it in that time, and yet felt very modern despite that. It’s certainly true that many of the challenges Mimi faces we’re still dealing with. As a half black, half Japanese girl new to a predominantly-white small town in Vermont, Mimi has to figure out how to fit in (and if that’s possible) and how and when to take a stand. To further complicate things, she’s got big dreams–she desperately wants to be an astronaut when she grows up, and is obsessed with all things connected to space flight and the moon.

None of these things go over terribly well and despite making concessions and being steadily polite, Mimi has her work cut out for her. Over the course of the novel, though, she persuades the other kids to try sushi (and even learn to make it in home ec), makes a best friend and then enlarges her circle of friends, brings a very grouchy neighbor around, and finally survives a bit of a stand-off over whether girls can take shop class. I especially enjoyed that last, since it showed both the way that Mimi’s work toward small changes was influencing the people around her, and the ways that concessions can be made and ground won even when a battle is lost.

One of the things the book does a great job of showing is the casual, even well-meaning racism exhibited by many people in the town. For example, two girls who ‘befriend’ Mimi early on for just long enough to pepper her with questions about her race and ask to touch her hair, or later the principal who tells Mimi she’s ‘a credit to her race.’ Sometimes people think that if a person isn’t trying to be mean, their ignorance doesn’t ‘count,’ but of course that’s not at all true. I also really loved the way that Mimi’s family is shown, and their approach to the challenges they face as a mixed-race family. Great care is taken to always be neighborly and, as Mimi’s dad says, ‘be kind, be respectful, and persist’ but they also never allow who they are to become flattened or redefined by those around them. Mimi’s parents never tell her that she might make more friends if she enters a sub-par exhibit in the science fair, or puts her dream of being an astronaut on the shelf. They don’t tell her maybe she should sit out the dance because she won’t have fun–they send her off with bright happy smiles, and make sure she can easily call them if she wants an early ride home. It’s a really beautiful showing for all of us in how to stand out and make a difference without becoming a part of the problem.

If all of the above weren’t enough to recommend it, I also love this book because my daughter was/is willing to read it. She’s a busy high school student taking a couple college classes. She has fairly severe chronic health challenges, which I think I’ve mentioned before. And she loves math and art…but has been very picky when it came to voluntarily reading fiction, especially as she’s gotten older. However, Full Cicada Moon is written in verse, and of course features a girl who loves science and stem and doesn’t have to be urged to take challenging math classes. It also reads very mature, despite being perfectly placed content-wise for middle schoolers. In other words, this is the perfect book to reach some of the fringe readers that we tend to lose in the busy days of late middle school and high school. In fact, I’d say that’s true of college, as well!

Now, let’s see what Apricot-kitty has to say:

“You seriously expect me to weigh on on how sensible I found people who pardon turkeys? Pardon turkeys? I am offended all the way to my carnivorous core.”

Perhaps that’s the other reason I associated this book with November! It spans several seasons but several memorable events in the book take place around Thanksgiving…and yes, there may be turkeys who get pardoned. Whatever Apricot-kitty might say about it, I found it a sweet gesture. 😉

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween, and are enjoying fall weather wherever you are! You’ll find the full Marvelous Middle Grade Monday roundup of reviews, giveaways, interviews and spotlights on Greg Pattridge’s blog, and happy reading!

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