Review: Between Us and the Moon by Rebecca Maizel

By Jen On May 25, 2015 · 3 Comments · In Book Review

Between Us and the Moon by Rebecca Maizel
Published by HarperTeen on June 30, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Format: Advance Reader Copy
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher
Goodreads • Amazon •

Ever since Sarah was born, she’s lived in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Scarlett. But this summer on Cape Cod, she’s determined to finally grow up. Then she meets gorgeous college boy Andrew. He sees her as the girl she wants to be. A girl who’s older than she is. A girl like Scarlett.

Before she knows what’s happened, one little lie has transformed into something real. And by the end of August, she might have to choose between falling in love, and finding herself.

Between Us and the Moon is about a nerdy science girl, Sarah, that breaks out of her comfort zone and opens herself up to new experiences and people. Sarah spends summer vacation with her family on Cape Cod, like every summer, but this year she wants things to be different. She wants to break out of the mold she created for herself, and where her family continues to keep her locked. To do this in true Sarah style, she decides to conduct an experiment by observing and acting like her older sister Scarlet.

On the first day of her “experiment” she meets a college boy named Andrew. She decides to lie and tells him she’s 18 years old, when really she’s 15. For a reason I was never able to grasp, she felt this was a harmless lie because she didn’t believe anything would come from it. However, she’d seen him hanging out with her sister’s friends, and he’s a local – not a vacationer. Of course what starts as a little lie creates a web of lies… I found this behavior off-putting, and had a hard time liking Sarah. That said, I absolutely loved Andrew! He was completely swoon-worthy and made up for my frustration with Sarah.

I felt Rebecca Maizel’s writing and characterizations were fantastic, and I really enjoyed that the story took place on Cape Cod. I especially loved that Sarah was a science girl that had a deep love for the stars, comets, and the deep fathoms of the ocean. I loved how the relationship between Sarah and Andrew developed, and how sweet they were together. I really wanted to LOVE this story, but I hated that Sarah lied, and continued to lie to Andrew about their age difference. It really gnawed at me, and I couldn’t let it go.

I definitely recommend Between Us and the Moon to anyone looking for a great summer read, that loves contemporary romance. I look forward to reading more from Rebecca Maizel!

JenH Signature