“Almost Moon” by Alice Sebold caught my attention at the library because I so enjoyed her novel “The Lovely Bones” and appreciated her no-nonsense non-fiction account of being raped titled “Lucky”. At the risk of offending many Sebold fans, “Almost Moon” does not live up to her earlier works. It uses a stream of consciousness narration that flits back and forth between the present and past of the main character. Helen, the main character, grew up with a mentally ill mother and much of the book is obsessed with the mother-daughter relationship in the past and now that the mother is elderly and feable. I found myself disliking the protagonist more and more the further along I got until I no longer cared what happened in the end, I just wanted the book to be over. It reminded me of “She’s Come Undone” by Wally Lamb, another book that I didn’t like at all. I want to read about female characters who are interesting; not someone who whines about how tough their life is all book long.

Admittedly, my mother was not mentally ill. Perhaps if she had been, this book would’ve held more allure for me. However, I’ve enjoyed plently of other books about dysfunctional mother-daughter relationships like “The Mermaid Chair” by Sue Monk Kidd.

I can’t recommend this book but I do suggest “The Lovely Bones” for ages 14 and up (warning: there is a fairly graphic rape/murder scene in the first chapter or two).  ”The Mermaid Chair” or “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd are also good reads in a similar genre.

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