Author: Maggi Andersen
Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Waving-At-Moon-Maggi-Andersen/dp/1615721967/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1324504726&sr=1-1
Genre: Teen, Sci-Fi / Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic
Reviewed by: ReaderGirl - Night Owl Reviews
Evie French and her cousin Marcus Peters, live together at her parents' bed-and breakfast in Australia after most of the country has been destroyed. No one knows for sure what has really happened. Joel and his dog find their way to the bed and breakfast the three of them head towards a spot of green in a sea of gray. It’s a long way down the coast. They find their way to Paradise, a city made up of survivors, led by Abe. Evie, Marcus, and Joel don't agree with all of his rules, but they must abide by them for the moment. But as time goes on, the three start to feel worse about what is going on in Paradise. Escape plans are made, but after Marcus falls for Evie's roommate Jasmine, who becomes pregnant, the plans must be moved up. Will they be able to escape Paradise and make it back home?
I couldn't stop reading "Waving at the Moon" by Maggi Andersen until I had finished it all. I enjoyed reading about their journey, their struggles in Paradise, and their dilemma about what to do. This would easily be the first book in a great series. I will be anxiously awaiting Maggi Andersen's book. Those who enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction, and those who just enjoy a good action book will want to pick up "Waving at the Moon."
Book Blurb In a post-apocalyptic world, Evie French has just turned seventeen. She and her cousin, Marcus Peters, sixteen, struggle to survive after being left alone in their parent’s bed and breakfast hotel in outback Australia. An endless drought has killed Evie’s father’s avocado trees and all the surrounding habitation. Nothing grows in the fetid soil. Hope comes in the form of a nineteen year old boy, Joel Pitt. He arrives on his motorbike with his dog, Rasputin, bringing supplies. He climbs the tallest tree on the crest of the hill, and locates an area of green down along the coast, hundreds of miles away. The three pile onto the bike, with Marcus and Rasputin in the sidecar, and embark on a trip that will take them over mountainous terrain with a limited supply of food and water. What might they find if they reach the coast? Will other people have survived the devastation? And who bombed their country? No one seems to know.
When Evie and the boys crawled sleepily out from their blanket, the sky was a hazy duck-egg blue and the sun a glowing egg yolk, rising over the horizon. Seagulls swooped to gather, in noisy conversation, around the bones of last night’s meal.
She yawned and thought about the day ahead. The end of their journey was in sight.
“Let’s have a swim,” she called to the boys. “It will freshen us up.”
“No sense in arriving at our new home all smelly.” Marcus pulled off his shirt as he ran down the beach. He dived into the ocean with a whoop.
Evie waded in, wearing her T-shirt and shorts. The water was cold and soupy with seaweed. It caught up in her hair as she floated about.
“You look just like a mermaid,” Joel said, swimming around her.
She splashed out at him as he dived down, coming up close.
Grabbing her by her waist, he pulled her under. She emerged spluttering.
“Beast!” she cried as he laughingly swam out of reach. The briny water had gone up her nose and she was mad as a hornet. She swam after him, not quite sure what she would do if she reached him. But he avoided her easily with a few strokes of his long arms, and trod water, grinning. It made her even madder.
They didn’t see the wave that hit them from behind and tossed them both into shallower water. When he stood up to wipe his eyes, she waded up behind him and shoved him hard, pushing him over. He came up spitting out water. “Oh, I’ll get you,” he said, moving towards her.
“No, you won’t,” she said, thrilled and a little afraid at the prospect.
Losing her nerve, she raced out of the water before he could reach her.
He shook his head at her and swam away.
Evie watched the boys while picking bits of leathery weed out of her hair. Marcus caught a wave and it deposited him in a heap of legs and arms on the sand at her feet.
“Damn it,” he said, standing up and peering into his shorts.
“Now I’ve got sand in embarrassing places.”
“That could be nasty if it chafes.” Joel ran from the water, sweeping his dark hair out of his eyes with a careless hand.
Evie thought how graceful and deft he was. He never seemed to make an awkward movement.
Marcus ran back and dived under a wave.
They ate their last can of beans for breakfast, then stripped the bike down to essentials.
“Darn beans. Almost glad we’ve finished them.” Marcus grabbed the toilet roll and disappeared over a sand dune.
They had pared the bike down to essentials. Evie knelt to examine the pile of discarded stuff they planned to leave behind.
She glanced at Joel. “What do you think we’ll find over there?”
His lips thinned. “People.”
“Isn’t that good? Don’t you like people?”
He shrugged. “I like you, and Marcus…when he isn’t being a pest.”
“I’ve always found them to be good.”
“You’re lucky.” He looked in the direction of the white buildings.
“I’ll get you and Marcus to that place, but I don’t know if I’ll stay there, Evie.”
Evie swallowed, feeling stricken. “Maybe you’ll like it there.”
“Maybe.” Joel began fiddling with the bike engine, which seemed a waste of time seeing as there wasn’t any gas. The tense set of his shoulders warned her not to ask any more questions. He was not going to tell her what happened before they met. But one day she hoped he would.
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