Review: Maggot Moon

Title: Maggot Moon
Author: Sally Gardner
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year Published: 2013
Source: Library book
Rating: 4/5 stars

I wasn't sure what to expect from Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner. I picked it up because it is a Printz Honor book this year, and I'm making my way through the YALSA Hub Challenge. I was intrigued by the cover and the description, but really had no idea what I was getting into.

Standish, the main character, is an odd duck, and he describes his dystopian world in a way that is strange yet heartbreaking. The reader spends much of the book thinking about Soviet Russia, but is that really the world this is taking place in? The Motherland is about to land on the moon for the first time, but Standish and his Gramps are among the few who know what's really going on.

While I found the story compelling and Standish to be a great narrator, what won me over about Maggot Moon was the simplistic sentences that still managed to knock me over. Case in point: "Gramps was the only person that still pulled at the gravity in me." That one sentence speaks volumes about their relationship, and I found myself rereading that one line over and over. It was the tiny gems like that that made me really appreciate this book.

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 11

Yay! I finished my first book of the read-a-thon!

This hour
Book read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Pages read: 79
Time spent reading: 25 minutes
Food and drink consumed: pad thai and beef satay

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: 279 (plus 1 disc)
Time spent reading: 2 hours 55 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 9

So I just got home from work, which means the real reading can start now!

This hour
Book read: Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: 1/2 disc
Time spent reading: 40 minutes
Food and drink consumed: venti caramel macchiato 

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: 200 (plus 1 a disc)
Time spent reading: 2 hour 30 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 7

So obviously I missed a few hours here, but no worries! There's plenty of time left to read. And clearly everyone else has had that same idea, because it's been a busy morning at the circulation desk!

This hour
Book read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Pages read: 82
Time spent reading: 30 minutes
Food and drink consumed: hummus and crackers, vanilla protein shake

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: 200 (plus ~ 1/2 a disc)
Time spent reading: 1 hour 50 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 3

Just drove to work this hour, so it was audiobook instead of regular book.

This hour
Book read: Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: ~1/2 a disc
Time spent reading: 35 minutes
Food and drink consumed: coffee, toast, green juice

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Pages read: 118 (plus ~ 1/2 a disc)
Time spent reading: 1 hour 20 minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon - Hour 2

This hour's mini challenge is to pick a quote or paragraph from the current book you're reading. I went with "Gramps was the only person that still pulled at the gravity in me." because that sentence stopped me in my tracks as I was reading.

This hour
Book read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Pages read: 118
Time spent reading: 45 minutes
Food and drink consumed: 

Total
Books read: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Pages read: 118
Time spent reading: 45 minutes

Let the 24 Hour Readathon Begin!

It's that time of year again - that time when I (and many others across the internet) ignore everything for 24 hours and just READ! I sadly can't just drop everything, since I have to work today, but I will be doing as much reading as possible.

This is my third time participating in Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. I have far, far too many books stacked up, waiting to be read. So many, in fact, that I'm sure I could read for a WEEK straight and still have plenty left.

I'll be trying to update here hourly (not really until after 5pm eastern, though, since work), and I'll be on Twitter as well.

And to get me started, here is the kick-off meme:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I'm just outside Boston, MA.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Probably The Winner's Curse. I've been hearing so much good buzz about it!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Thai food for dinner!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I'm a Young Adult librarian (which is why the majority of the books I'll read tonight are YA).
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? This is my third readathon. The biggest thing, I think, is to remember to get up and walk around frequently.