Alabama Moon is a good book by Watt Key. It is about a ten year old boy named Moon. It starts out with Moon and his Father in the forest they live in illegally. To survive they live off the land and go into town just to buy and trade things with a small store. Things go as usual until Moon's father breaks his leg. His father fades fast and dies shortly after. After sadness, thought, and preparation, Moon decides to go to Alaska but he is interrupted by the owner of the forest, Mr. Wellington, who betrays him by calling the boys home. He runs away and but runs into constable Sanders. Sanders gets beat up by Moon, then after he barely wins he takes Moon to the boys home. Moon makes two new friends, Hal and Kit. The three boys escape the boys home and go to a national forest. Then Hal leaves to go with his father and Kit becomes very sick. Moon carries Kit all the way to a road, where a random car picks him up and brings him to a hospital. Next, Hal and his father find Moon and take him to their house. He stays there a while until the crazy constable Sanders finds Moon and makes him take himself to where Moon hid his gun. They run into Mr. Wellington again and he takes him in with him. Mr. Wellington turns out to be a really great lawyer who defends Moon on his trial for free. After the trial Mr. Wellington locates Moon's uncle who adopts him at the end of the book.
One theme in Alabama Moon is death, but life as well. First of all, two characters die in this book: Moon's father and his friend Kit. His mother had died before the book as well. Even though death happens in this book quite often, life is reoccurring as well. Moon's whole life was spent in the forest until his father died. After he ventured out it was like another life. He also experienced different types of life. He was put into jail and into a boys home. He experienced life in the woods, in Hal's house next to the water, and in an everyday household with his uncle and family. Death and life are reoccurring themes in Alabama Moon.
The main character in this book is Moon. Moon has lived in the forest for his whole life so of corse he is uncivilized and a little impolite. He knows how to read and write because of his father. His father also taught him how to shoot a riffle, "whip up" on somebody three times his size, live off the land, and how to escape out of almost anywhere. When Moon gets to civilization it seems he likes to brag about the things he knows how to do. Moon's rare condition he's in also gets lots of people to notice him. The press follows him if they know where he is. By the end of the book, Moon is a little more civilized but still makes a great main character.
Alabama Moon is good book. It's well written and it keeps you reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would recommend it to other people, but I have to warn you that it is extremely boyish. If you are a boy you will most likely love this book. It has lots of surviving, guns, beating up, death, and fun. I'm sure you will enjoy Alabama Moon.
MLA Citations
Key, Watt. Alabama Moon. Harrisonburg, Virginia: Square Fish, Inc. 2006. Print.
I got my picture at: http://www.alfrc.org/landcon.php
