Crow Moon

Crow Moon by Anna McKerrow

Published by Quercus Children's Books

Paperback Edition

15th March 2015

 

Danny is a fun-loving 16-year-old looking for a father figure and falling in love with a different girl every day. He certainly doesn't want to follow in his mum's witchy footsteps.

Just as his community is being threatened by gangs intent on finding a lucrative power source to sell to the world, Danny discovers he is stunningly powerful. And when he falls for Saba, a gorgeous but capricious girl sorceress, he thinks maybe the witch thing might not be such a bad idea...

But what cost will Danny pay as, with his community on the brink of war, he finds that love and sorcery are more dangerous than he ever imagined?

Wickedness and passion combine in this coming-of-age adventure.

I've been waiting to get my hands on a copy of Crow Moon since my trip to Birmingham for the UKYA day back in February.  Unfortunately I couldn't get my hands on a copy then, but I have now!  This is a witch based story with a difference, as the main character, and witch, is male which actually not only makes a refreshing change but works well too. 

Crow Moon is set in a future where the country is divided into two parts - the Redworld and the Greenworld, which is principally along the coast of Devon and Cornwall.  The world in which Anna McKerrow creates is all part of the story, and she incorporates the real magical elements of places such as Tintagel into the novel.  Whilst life in the Greenworld is a struggle, the elements of ritual and paganism are drawn out and I think were captured very well throughout the story.

Danny doesn't know he is a witch, but his mother is.  She rules one of the villages of the Greenworld, a world removed from the capitalist Redworld by boundaries put in place by the witches who oversee the daily lives of the rest of the community.  There is no electricity in Greenworld, but a much more harmonious lifestyle based on self-sufficiency and group support, and being environmentally friendly, unlike those who live in the Redworld who are insistent on polluting and making money.  There are those on the outside who want the power of those on the inside, and they won't play fair in order to get what they want.  Danny is the key to all of this, especially as Roach (gang leader in the Redworld) aims to make him part of his group.

There is a great mix of characters in the book, and they are a equal combination of young and old, male and female so I think the book balances itself out in this way. There are also the paganists and those who aren't so sure about this way of life, so the book would equally work for those who maybe aren't so much believers themselves, and there is also an element of both white and dark magic involved.  Of course there has to be some romance here too; Danny is 16 after all, and he does get around a bit in the book, if you get my meaning.  Shallow at times, well yes maybe, but then some teenagers are this way, and whilst he does appear to have true feelings for Saba throughout the book, he isn't going to sit around and wait for her to feel the same way.  There are lots of twists and turns within the story, of choosing which path is the right one to follow, and of consequences as a result of not always doing what is necessarily right. 

Crow Moon is the first part of a trilogy in the Greenworld series, and I'm definitely planning on reading the rest of the books once Anna has written them!  Hopefully I'll also be in conversation with Anna McKerrow on the blog soon too which I'm looking forward to.

 

Happy Reading

Miss Chapter x