Back of the Book...When Jenna Rosen abandons her comfortable Seattle life to visit Wrangell, Alaska, it's a wrenching return to her past. Long ago the home of her Native American grandmother, Wrangell is located near the Thunder Bay resort, where Jenna's young son, Bobby, disappeared two years before. His body was never recovered, and Jenna is determined to lay to rest the aching mystery of his death.
But the spectacular town provides little comfort beyond the steady and tender affections of Eddie, a local fisherman. And then whispers of ancient legends begin to suggest a frightening new possibility about Bobby's fate. Soon, Jenna must sift through the beliefs of her ancestors, the Tlingit--who still tell of powerful, menacing forces at work in the Alaskan wilderness.
The beliefs are shared by Dr. David Livingstone, a Tlingit shaman, who warns Jenna about the danger of disturbing the legendary kushtaka--soul stealing predators that stalk a netherworld between land and sea, the living and the dead. But Jenna is desperate for answers, and she appeals to both Livingstone and Eddie to help her sort fact from myth, and face the unthinkable possibilities head-on.
Armed with nothing but a mother's ferocious protective instincts, Jenna's quest for the truth about her son--and the strength of her beliefs--is about to pull her into a terrifying and life-changing abyss....
Garth Stein is an amazing writer. Each sentence is like a piece of poetry. The images his writing creates are powerful, but it's his ability to get to the raw underlying emotions of his characters that what will hook you. Garth knows people. His characters are authentic and believable. And he is able to easily transfer the emotions of his characters to the page. You can feel the pain of a mother who has lost her child, the frustration of a man who doesn't believe in anything but the mighty dollar, and he makes you believe in the connection of your soul to something other than what is explainable. Raven Stole The Moon is such a wonderful mix of fiction with rich Native American folklore of the Tlingit Indians. Garth slowly guides us from life in Seattle to the beautiful Alaskan wilderness. He weaves the story of Jenna Rosen seeking answers to her sons death and attaining some peace with it all, with the legends of her ancestors the Tlingit effortlessly. (The Tlingit are also the ancestors of Garth, as his mother is a native of Alaska and she descends from Tlingit Indians) There are plenty of interesting characters to flush out the story including Jenna's distraught husband, the shaman hired to deal with evil spirits, and a detective hired to bring Jenna back home. Raven Stole The Moon is a heart-wrenching, sad, yet wonderful read. If you loved Garth's book The Art of Racing in the Rain, you will enjoy this book too! (If you haven't read The Art of Racing in the Rain YOU SHOULD!)
Would you like to read an excerpt? Here's a link to Raven Stole The Moon at Harper Collins. And you can read all about Garth and his books at Garth Stein's website! I want to thank Sarah from Terra Communications for sending me a copy of Raven Stole The Moon! It was wonderful! Raven Stole The Moon is available now from your favorite bookstore! Raven Stole The Moon is actually Garth's debut novel originally published in 1998! We're all very lucky that it's been re-released by Harper Collins!
