The Hunter's Moon

The Hunter’s Moon
By O.R. Melling
Amulet Books, 2005. 289 pgs. Young Adult

Gwen always believed in magic and has been saving her money to visit her cousin Findabhair in Ireland. She wanted to travel the backwoods to discover if the land of Faerie does exist. When she arrives they end up getting more then she expected. One night while sleeping in the Grave Mound of the Hostages (a source of great Faerie magic) Findabhair is kidnapped by the Faerie King himself. Gwen is on her own to battle the Faeries to rescue her cousin. She finds that there are others like her that believe in the Faeries and they give her aid.

The short chapters make it a fast read and it is interesting to learn a bit of Gaelic and the Irish Faerie customs, but I didn’t get totally pulled into the story. Gwen's timid character transformed within a few days to be a warrior leader and the boy, Dara, on seeing her instantly falls in love. Yes, I know it is fantasy and you need to suspend reality, but I think those elements of the story could have been handled better. Then again it could just be me because both School Library Journal and Booklist gave it a starred review.

KK