Two Moons in August

Joan Buchanan is a writer, storyteller and instructor and author of
Taking Care of My Cold.

Brooks won a great deal of acclaim for her short-story collection
Paradise Cafe and Other Stories. Both Two Moons in August and Paradise
Cafe were shortlisted in the children’s literature text category for
the 1991 Governor General’s Awards.

Sidonie is about to turn 16 in the hot Prairie summer of 1959. Her
mother died on Sidonie’s fifteenth birthday, and Sidonie struggles to
come to terms with her grieving and sense of isolation. Her father, a
doctor, immerses himself in work at the neighboring TB sanatorium, and
her 19-year-old sister grows increasingly resentful and overwhelmed at
having been left in charge. Although Sidonie is independent and capable,
she still desperately needs the love and attention of her father and the
companionship of her sister. When the-next door neighbors’ lanky
16-year-old son, Kieran, arrives, Sidonie begins a relationship that
serves as the catalyst for sorting out her warring emotions.

One needn’t be grieving a parent’s death to be able to enjoy this
book or to become involved with the characters. The writing is sensitive
and believable, the characterizations absorbing, the voice strong, and
the flashbacks convincing. Young-adult readers will identify with
Sidonie.