I've been a big fan of Jeannette Walls since I read her memoir years ago (like, more than half my life ago...). This one wasn't my favourite of hers, I got stuck about a third in. I ended up finishing it on audio and much preferred it that way; I think the narrator added a lot to the story and the writing was more vivid to me when read aloud.

"Hang the Moon" by Jeannette Walls is a riveting drama-filled page-turner centered around a fraught battle over a family business, capturing a vivid sense of place and time during the prohibition era. Walls delves into themes of family dynamics, racial tension, secrets, and power struggles, creating a tapestry of drama that propels the story forward.

The story's strength lies in Walls' excellent construction of the female characters, each grappling with their own conflicts while navigating a male-dominated world. Walls breathes life into these characters, making them leap off the pages and allowing readers to enter their shoes. One such character is Salli, who is perpetually underestimated and overlooked. She fights for her independence, refusing to be constrained by the societal expectation of having a man by her side. Salli makes her own way and redefines the rules on her own terms.

The pace is fast and there is never a dull moment for Salli as she fights for her place in her family and world with strength, grace, and love.

Thank you NetGalley for an earc of this book in exchange for my honest review

Honestly mixed feelings about this book. It started out strong and then suddenly there was a million things going on. it was hard to keep track of everything and that kinda ruined the book for me. I did really like the writing in this book and will check out other books by this author

Hang The Moon is now the second book I've read by Jeannette Walls and sadly I found it to be a real disappointment (even to the point that I even considered not finishing it multiple times).

While Walls's stunning writing remains the same as in her memoir The Glass Castle, this story felt far-fetched and overdone. This book took me a long time to get into and it felt as though I was reading through a glass of water, detached from both the plot and the characters. Speaking of, there were just too many people to keep track of, nor did I care enough to try. Additionally, at every turn there was yet another death, which felt consistently repetitive.

On top of that, I wanted more from the prohibition plot line which I initially enjoyed reading about but it was such a slim part of the overall story that it got lost along the way. This was much more of a family drama than anything related to bootlegging.

As I read both The Glass Castle and Hang The Moon so close together (within the same month), I noticed odd similarities, making it seem as though Walls projected aspects of her real life into this novel with some tweaks. It made me think back on her memoir and wonder if any of that was exaggerated or expanded upon more than what actually happened throughout her life.

If you’re looking for captivating and beautiful writing, I’d suggest choosing The Glass Castle over Hang The Moon.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and Scribner for the complimentary copy to read and review.

I absolutely loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down.
I just loved all the characters. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Wow - just. WOW. The author has done another incredible job with this book. Her characters are so wonderfully portrayed they come to life immediately in your mind. I cannot recommend this enough. If you want a story that will suck you in and show you just a glimpse into the life of what a strong willed woman was like during the Prohibition Era- this is it.

The Glass Castle and its two sequels are perhaps my favourite modern day books (I typically read classics). I devoured each one, re-read it multiple times, bought numerous copies to give to every woman in my life, and still smile when I see them at book sales. So to say that I was excited for Hang the Moon is a severe understatement - and to say that I was disappointed by it causes me physical pain. It should have ticked all the boxes for me confoundedly, maddeningly it just fell completely flat for me. The world building and vivid imagery was excellent as expected from Jeannette Walls; however, none of the characters every really came to life. I wanted this to work SO badly, but unfortunately it just remained like a one-dimensional caricature instead of a fully fleshed out. living, breathing world. I'm so, so sad about this.

I am unable to read this book on the NetGalley shelf app due to the font size. I would like to thank you for the copy but I could not read it.

This is my favourite book of the year so far. Just a really rich story with a kick-ass female lead. I loved every page and my only complaint would be that there wasn't more. I can't imagine anyone not liking this book. This will be a go to book for hand selling.

"I was provided an ARC in exchange for a review. Having previously enjoyed reading The Glass Castle, I was eager to delve into another book by the same author.

This work of fiction proved to be both interesting and captivating. From the very beginning, it held my attention until the very end. The story revolves around Sally Kincaid, a young woman who faces the loss of her mother in unsettling circumstances that gradually unfold. Sally emerges as a courageous and independent individual, navigating a time of high oppression and discrimination against women. Although her father offers her opportunities to be self-reliant and teaches her skills traditionally reserved for men, he also discourages her from pursuing such paths.

Set during the Prohibition era in the United States, this historical fiction provided a fascinating backdrop. The author skillfully weaves together various narratives, seamlessly incorporating them into a cohesive and compelling story. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those who appreciate strong, resilient female characters."

Hang The Moon by Jeannette Walls is a beautifully-crafted novel that showcases the power of storytelling. With an outstanding narrative technique, Walls takes the readers on a journey through the life of Sallie Kincaid, a determined young girl who refuses to believe that her life is predetermined by her birthright.

In this book, Walls showcases her talent for creating compelling characters that reveal their layers as the plot progresses. Sallie Kincaid is no exception. From a precocious young girl to a strong-willed woman, Sallie's character development is gradual yet powerful. You'll root for her from the very beginning, and you'll find yourself invested in her journey throughout the story.

One of the best things about Hang The Moon is its ability to transport readers to a different time and place. Walls has a gift for vividly describing the setting in a way that makes you feel like you're right there with the characters. You'll be transported to small town America during the early 1900s, and you'll feel like you've lived there yourself.

But the most impressive aspect of this book is the big heart that it possesses. Walls tackles tough themes such as loss, family, and redemption in a way that feels authentic and relatable. The story is ultimately about the importance of forgiveness and the power of love, and I guarantee that it will make you feel all the emotions.

Overall, Hang The Moon by Jeannette Walls is a must-read for anyone who loves a good story with well-crafted characters and a big heart. Walls' storytelling is outstanding, and you'll be transported to another time and place. This book is a true gem, and I cannot recommend it enough!

I received this copy as an advanced reader's copy, thank you to NetGalley and to Simon & Schuster Canada.

Read if you like: 1920s/Prohibition history
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Heavily inspired by the Tudors, the book follows Sallie Kincaid who is the daughter of the biggest man in town." Throughout the book, she has to navigate her father's changing moods and the Prohibition era being a whiskey business.
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While the author says she found inspiration with the Tudors, I would argue this is basically a retelling of the life of Elizabeth the First. I don't want to post spoilers and I might post a spoiler review comparing her life with Elizabeth's, but for now, it was an overall interesting story!

I really enjoyed this story of a family with generations of family looking after their county and bootlegging moonshine.

I can’t imagine being Sally and everything she had gone thru even from an early age.

I love the way Jeannette tells a story and this is another one that didn’t disappoint! I can’t wait to see what she has next.

I didn’t want this book to end. I’ll always wonder did Sally find love in the end?

Let me preface this review by saying that Jeanette Wall’s memoir l, The Glass Castle, is one of my favourite memoirs. So my expectations for her historical fiction novel were very high.

I felt like this book started off really strong by introducing us to a teenage girl named Sallie and her father nicknamed The Duke. The story takes place in post WWI, Prohibition era rural North Carolina. I thought I knew where the plot was going but I was wrong. The book is told in parts and each one gets progressively tragic and depressing. There are so many characters and so many deaths. Women and Black people are treated very poorly. To say there is misogyny and sexism in this story is an understatement.

I found it very depressing yet not very emotional - it was just too many losses and terrible twists for me.

Having said that, I did like Sallie’s character.

TW: misogyny, murder, death of children and parents, racism, lynching, gun violence, domestic violence, death by suicide, child abandonment

Thank you to Scribner, Simon & Schuster for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've seen mixed reviews about Hang the Moon, but more recent ones have been positive, based on what I've come across on social media. The synopsis of the story did little to excite me as I generally do not read much historical fiction, and so I regained hope after reading more positive reviews. Jeannette Walls is also the author of one of my favourite non-fiction books and memoirs, The Glass Castle. Therefore, I knew I had to give this book a try.

I was quite disappointed, in all honesty, and felt that the story was a bit dull overall. Although there was action in the storyline and moments where I should've had been quickly flipping pages to see what would happen, the story still felt slow-paced. This book seemed to me a neverending cycle of convenient, staged accidental deaths, relationship drama, extramarital affairs, and endless marriages and pregnancies.

However, I can appreciate what avid historical fiction readers may take away from this book: a strong, rare feminist female MC from the 1920s, who takes her community's interests at heart, and takes hold of her family business to better her town.

Hang the Moon released on March 28, 2023 and is now available for purchase online and in bookstores!

Read if you like:
📰 Historical Fiction
💪 Feminist MC
🎭 Family drama
💥 Revenge stories

⚠️ Potential trigger warnings: sexism, domestic abuse, grief, loss of a loved one, murder (may not be an exhaustive list)

🙏 Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for the gifted electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read this one, anticipating a gritty Prohibition-era tale full of drama, tension, and intrigue. Unfortunately, this book just didn't deliver that for me. I wanted to feel immersed in 1920s Virginia, but that just didn't happen and the whole story fell rather flat for me.

Sallie had great potential as the MC, and her father was quite interesting, but the cast of characters grew too unwieldy as the story progressed and diluted my interest in all of them, never mind the confusion of keeping track of them all. The chemistry between the characters didn't feel very authentic, either.

I found the pacing was off, with a time jump that pulled me out of the story near the beginning, and a lack of tension throughout. The action never felt particularly high-stakes, and the events leading to exposed secrets and family drama required too much of a suspension of disbelief for me to remain invested in Sallie's story.

I think the premise of this book had fantastic potential, but the execution just didn't work for me. I prefer this author's narrative nonfiction. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster for an eArc copy of this book!

I had no idea what to expect going into this book but I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised! The story follows Sallie Kincaid, daughter and middle child of the local “king” of the town, Duke Kincaid, who returns to the family after 9 years away and tries to cement her legacy within the Kincaid family in 1920s prohibition era south. We have rum runners, gang fights and lots of southern family drama in this one!

While I was reading I kept getting this niggling feeling of familiarity about the story. And then i realized that though this book was in 1920s America, it was drawing inspiration from (and essentially retelling) the story of the Tudors with Sallie as Elizabeth I and I ADORED THAT. I love Tudor history (the tudors is one of my favourite shows of all time) and this was such a unique way to plot the story. Even knowing Tudor history quite well, I still enjoyed the story because it was so interesting to see how Walls adapted history and the historical figures to fit into the world she created.

My biggest issue with this book was the pacing - Tudor history has A LOT of drama so the story was extremely fast paced and I found that at times Walls had to do more telling than showing just to skim through the history to get to the part of the story where its Sallie’s turn to “rule” her fathers business empire (of rum running). The fast paced nature of the story, in order to cover the whole Tudor history, meant that a lot of the side characters weren’t very well fleshed out and that I wasn’t particularly affected by any character deaths.

Overall enjoyed this one, I found it a compelling read and I loved the setting and the connection to Tudor history. I think historical fiction buffs and history fans will definitely enjoy!

I’m in my small-town book era and this one painted the setting incredibly well! The lawlessness of this Virginia town was really something else and the townspeople who did whatever they wanted added so much to the setting.

I loved getting to know the Kincaid family and couldn’t believe how many layers and overlaps there were. I loved that this wasn’t any sort of “pure” bloodline and that Sally ended up with more family than she ever imagined she could have.

I wish there was more character development in this story. I felt like I was a little disconnected from it because I didn’t know the characters well enough to actually care about their outcomes. I did enjoy seeing Sally grow up and into her family legacy with guidance from some unexpected places.

Pick this one up if you’re looking for a small town story with the thrill of rumrunners during Prohibition!

Read this is you:
- Enjoy a stiff drink
- Love the thrill of making your own rules
- Know you’d be a better heir to your family’s enterprise than your siblings

Sally Kincaid is the daughter of the Duke, the head of a small county in Virginia. She doesn’t remember much about her mother, only that she died after and altercation with her father. When the Duke remarries and has a son, Eddie, Sally takes things into her own hands to try to toughen him up. Eddie’s mother is not impressed and Sally is sent to live with her aunt for the next 9 years. When she returns, she tries to find her place in a family riddled with secrets and traditions that she’ll need to break to become her true self.

If you've not read Jeannette Walls before, you really should. She’s penned a memoir with that is gut-wrenchingly good. But she’s also turned her hand to fiction novels and they're great reads as well.

Her latest is Hang the Moon. This new book takes place in the 1920s during the prohibition years in Appalachia Virginia. Walls has woven lots of intriguing fact into her fiction. Some of the characters are also based on historical people.

Our protagonist is young Sallie Kincaid who was born into an influential family. But money can’t keep misfortune from knocking on the door. And in Hang the Moon, it’s pounding the door down.

Walls takes inspiration from her own sense of self and imbues Sallie with an indomitable optimism and drive in the face of hurdle after hurdle. Those trials were probably the hardest thing for me listen to. Women and children are treated as chattel, and they have to accept their place in society. Happily, Sallie just doesn't fit that mold. The male characters are for the most part, full of themselves and their 'rights'. The Duke is especially unlikable.

Hang the Moon is action packed with one calamity running into the next. A wee bit of me thought there were perhaps one too many, edging into over the top territory. But overall, I quite enjoyed the book.

I was really looking forward to reading Hang the Moon. I read The Glass Castle years ago and loved Jeanette Wall’s writing so much.

Sallie Kincaid’s life is anything but simple. Her father, Duke Kincaid, is the unofficial king of Clairborne County, VA. He’s respected in the community, he’s a rum runner, a bootlegger, and Sallie just thinks the world of him. It all changes when Sallie’s mother is killed in an argument with the Duke and he quickly replaces her with another wife.

Sallie knows much heartache & loss in her young life. The story follows her trials and tribulations as she takes on the bootlegging business in the roaring 20s. I did enjoy the book, but felt the chapters jumped around a bit too quickly and I wasn’t as invested in Sallie as I wanted to be.

I did find the history of bootlegging during prohibition interesting, This was not an easy time to be a woman, and many were ill-treated. It’s hard to think about how little control women held over their own lives and the struggles they endured.