Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Gwynevieve

Imagine a modern-day 'The Outsiders' in which Socs and Greasers are replaced with Preps and Goths. Throw in a kinder, gentler 'Chocolate War.' Add a gay main character struggling with himself, much like in 'Entries From a Hot-Pink Notebook,' only make it darker and more psychological. Make all the characters as multifaceted as those in Victor Hugo's 'Les Miséerables' and throw in some brilliant nature-oriented descriptions reminiscent of those in 'Tuck Everlasting.' Have it written by John Steinbeck, and there you have the first book in the sure-to-be-epic trilogy WORDS LIKE WEEDS.

One of the most extraordinary aspects of 'Ring Around the Moon' is that its author is only 16 years old - and wrote much of it when she was 14. S.E. Hinton and Anne Frank have taught us to expect a few teens to publish novels (or diaries) preaching tolerance, but neither reached Anya Weinstein's level of quality. This is a girl that must spend almost all her time reading, writing, and philosophizing; I don't know how else she could have written such brilliant material at such a young age.

'Ring Around the Moon' revolves around 13-year-old Asher Denmont, who has just moved to the fictional town of Green Haven, Illinois from Abilene, Texas. He is an endearing main character (though sometimes too naive to be realistic) who is highly religious in a Christian fundamentalist way. He unexpectedly falls in love with his next-door neighbor, Tucker, prompting a slew of painful questions about his sexuality. As the back of the book suggests, yes, he also attempts suicide.

While Asher grapples with his own prejudices against homosexuality, he finds himself in the midst of a greater issue - the prejudices at his middle school. The fierce rivalry between cliques there is coming to a head as a near-friendless loner named Lucas Farlot decides to resort to murder. (Okay, maybe it isn't a kinder, gentler 'Chocolate Wars.' But at least it doesn't revolve around a chocolate sale!) Weinstein seamlessly weaves together these two plots into an omnipresent theme about the importance of tolerance. Meanwhile, she throws in a wonderful parable about a girl named Magnolia, that offers a lot of insight into one of the deepest and most intriguing characters. I hope the next two books have a lot of Magnolia in them!!

The only complaint I have is the ending. RATM ends suddenly, at a cliffhanger. It's supposed to make you want to buy the next book - and believe me, it does!! - but it also makes you want to kill the author. Or it would, if killing her didn't mean that she'd never finish the series.