“FULL CICADA MOON,” by Marilyn Hilton, Dial Books, Sept. 8, 2015, Hardcover $17.99 (ages 8-12)
I’ve never been a fan of books written in verse. It’s not a particular writing style I can relate to, so it was with some trepidation I started “Full Cicada Moon,” by Marilyn Hilton. Turns out I had nothing to worry about.
At the center of “Full Cicada Moon” is Mimi who is half-black, half-Japanese. Mimi has lived her whole life in Berkley, Calif., but when her father gets a job at a university in Vermont, their little family of three moves across country. Where she once blended in, now Mimi stands out. Her appearance is all anyone seems to notice, and Mimi struggles to fit in.
But Mimi wants to stand out, too. Just for different reasons. It’s 1969, and the Apollo 11 mission is getting ready to go to the moon. Mimi dreams of becoming an astronaut, but it seems people in Vermont have different ideas about gender roles than those in California. Mimi doesn’t want to take home economics; she wants to build things in shop class. She wants to enter science competitions. She wants to travel to the moon, and she won’t take no for an answer.
As a white girl who grew up in Utah in the 1980s and ’90s, my life experiences have been vastly different than those living in different eras and those of other races. “Full Cicada Moon” gave me a glimpse into the life of someone half-black, half-Japanese. Going into the book, I expected potential issues with her black half, and yet it’s the Japanese half that plays a larger role. And yet, the biggest conflict comes with gender inequalities. Again, not what I was expecting, but totally worth reading.
I truly enjoyed “Full Cicada Moon.” As stated before, verse usually trips me up, but in this case, it actually enhanced my reading experience. Reading about Mimi’s experiences through poetry enhances them. The sparse text gives weight to Mimi’s feelings while making them accessible to the intended audience.
