"Nature doesn't seek right. It seeks balance." Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. A beautifully written and poignant coming of age story. Although this is a historical fiction novel, it has a little bit of everything, mystery, whimsy, humor, mysticism and adventure. The characters were very well developed and the descriptions transport you in time, I was invested in this story immediately and had a hard time putting it down. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Moon Water by Pam Webber is a book that I found slow to take to but once the tension got revved up, it hit with the full impact of a heavy storm. There were several different storylines going on all at once that brewed up altogether and were laced within each other. Once it finally got going, it just didn't stop.

The story takes place in central Virginia along the Appalachian mountains in 1969. It's loosely based on the real life historic hurricane that hit the area on August 19, 1969 which devastated the entire area and took many lives. All through the book, we see the main characters come upon several omens warning of this, but ones they don't quite initially understand. Several of the characters are Monacan Indians who have a high respect for nature and it's messages.

Meanwhile, Nettie, the protagonist of the story, is preparing for her Christian baptism. She's quite the spunky one who is full of fire and integrity which often gets her into trouble that isn't rightfully hers to begin with. Her best friend Win is a Monacan Indian whom, at the same time, is being prepared to take over for her grandmother, Nibi, as the local tribe's Medicine Woman. At the same time, Nettie receives much of this same training. We often see various similarities and lessons crossing both cultures as the girls go through their rites of passage during their undertakings.

Part of Nettie's and Win's initiations into the Monacan tradition is to each create their own dreamcatcher. This itself is a venture that very few Boy Scouts could ever begin to tackle. A trip to your local crafts dealer doesn't cut it. The girls must take some very serious trips up to the mountain tops, through caves and along rivers just to find very specific items to be incorporated into their dreamcatchers. This part of the story alone is interesting just for the pursuits through nature and its descriptions.

There are several interesting characters within the story who also add extra levels of intrigue, peril or just part of a plain old good love story. From the beginning of the book, Andy is in love with Nettie but Nettie doesn't know if she can offer him the same level of commitment. Then there are the two boys from California who come and stay with their grandmother and become friends with the two girls. We also meet several other town folk who have their own charm and are part of other interwoven stories. Like many small Mayberry-like towns, once there, you get to know almost everyone and their place within the community, and this story is a bit like that. They all interact and add their own dynamics to the whole story, very much like the different parts of the dreamcatchers.

When the storm hits, we too are stuck right in the center of the storm and feel its impact. There's much sadness afterwards, especially since we've gotten to know some of the people and the town itself that we've grown fond of. But it's not all bad. Webber then treats us with several positive outcomes and another little story works itself out towards the end.

This is an interesting book that will hook you if you are patient enough to allow yourself to keep reading early on. Personally, I found the first couple chapters a bit lightweight, but once the tension started; well before the storm, I might add; everything started to put itself together in ways that sucked you in for the rest of the ride. The entire task and adventure alone of creating the dreamcatchers was cause enough to read on but there were other parts of the story that too will grab your interest. Well worth the time it takes you to read a novel and learn a few things along the way. Ideal for young adults but of interest to all adults, especially women.


Thanks to Netgalley for an advance eBook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was at once entertaining and thought-provoking. The engaging story about the summer journey of the main characters, Nettie and Win kept my interest all the way through. But the interplay between good/evil, light/dark, and truth/lies made me pause every so often to think. Especially interesting were the differences and similarities between the Baptist teachings and the Monacan tribal traditions. We should all strive to have the faith, wisdom, courage, hope, strength and commitment Nettie discovers she has by the end of the book.

I will leave a review on Amazon on Aug. 2o, 2019

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.

This was my first book by this author, and although this is more of a young adult book I fill any age group can enjoy this read. The book was very well written and integrated both Christian beliefs and those of the Native Americans. Nettie and Win face many different trials over this journey, only time will tell whether good will win over evil. I would recommend this book to overs.

I thought this was a really good book, I read it in one day! It was very descriptive, I liked the characters and found the making of the dream catchers interesting. I loved it! Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy

This genre is not my choice of reading. I think I chose it by mistake. My apologies. I do not wish to give a review for it as I was not able to finish it.

I enjoyed the first part of this book, but sadly the second part lost me. This one went up on my did not finish list. The writing just didn't work for me.

'Darkness thrives on deception. It will bait and mislead until it is primed and ready to do its worse.'

It is the summer of 1969 in the Blue Ridge Mountains, 16 year old Nettie is struggling with her heartbreak and jealousy after longtime boyfriend Andy asked for more than she was ready to give. Now there is the threat of Anne, like a snake that has been lurking, waiting to take her man! Nettie has her best friend Win to help her see reason, and together they visit Win’s grandmother Nibi, a Monocan Medicine Woman teaching Win the skills of their people. The girls have a project, making their own dream catchers, which takes skill and patience, guided by Nibi. Together, they must find all the supplies needed, and that requires looking near and far within nature, no easy feat. “Nature supplies what you need, not necessarily what you want.” Nettie is restless, agitated with all the problems circling her head. Bad enough Anne wants what is hers, now she must face Pastor Williams, the man just can’t seem to forgive her for her past shenanigans. All she wants is to be baptized like all the other girls but her questioning nature seems to exhaust the Pastor’s good nature, and her belief seems is as shaky as her confusion about her feelings for Andy. Pastor William’s feels she needs more lessons in humility, and practice a lot less profanity. It seems fate is more than willing to test Nettie.

A new love interest enters the scene, that could test the strength of Nettie’s love for Andy. Sex has become a burning desire between the two, but once you take that step, there is no going back. Their love was born in grade school, but they are becoming adults now and shedding the skin of their youth, the wrong step can change everything. Maybe it is Andy’s turn to be jealous, if he even loves her anymore. Is it better to start over with another? Should she concede and just let Anne keep Andy, though she certainly isn’t good enough for him?

It isn’t just dream catchers the wise old woman has planned for the girls, Nibi teaches them survival skills like hunting and how to show reverence for what nature offers. Hiking, camping, the girls need to become one with the land. Something is coming on the waxing moon of August ( the Blood Moon) some human darkness, there is a knowing Nibi has always had, attuned to her surroundings and it will require strength and knowledge for the girls make it through. Deception and evil can hide behind the face of holiness, and no one is more vulnerable than Nibi’s young grandchild Win and her friend Nettie. There are more dangerous and trying times coming that are far bigger than Nettie’s enemy Anne’s antics and manipulations or even her feelings for two young men. Will the friends have the strength to fight it? Can Nibi help save them, despite her aging bones? Nature too can be friend or foe and sometimes those who are meant to lead the young can abuse their power. As they enter the mountains we readers hitch a ride and join the fight against nature, animal and otherwise.

I always love reading mountain fiction and with Nibi’s knowledge of herbs and creatures big and small I felt like I have had my ear pressed to the earth. Most of us are living cut off from the elements and no longer attuned to our surroundings, wouldn’t know nature’s offerings as poisonous or nurturing. Medicine Women have always fascinated me, and Nibi is by far my favorite character. Her grandchild Win is wise and being readied to stand in Nibi’s place, Nettie is just on the cusp of womanhood but still has just the right amount of recklessness and naivete. Dangers for young women are wildly different than the threat of the elements in the wild, and those in power know all too well how to manipulate and confuse a girl with their own doubt. I like the turn the story took. While the relationship between Nettie and Andy are important, the meat of the story is the relationship the girls have with Nibi and of course, the power of their own strength.

Publication Date: August 20, 2019

She Writes Press