Book Review: Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew * AD - Gifted

Walker Books sent me a free electronic review copy of Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew via NetGalley.

A timely feminist YA novel in verse about periods, sex, shame and going viral for all the wrong reasons.

BLOOD MOON is a YA novel about the viral shaming of a teenage girl. During her seminal sexual experience with the quiet and lovely Benjamin, physics-lover and astronomy fan Frankie gets her period – but the next day a gruesome meme goes viral, turning an innocent, intimate afternoon into something sordid, mortifying and damaging.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

Source: NetGalley, Review Copy

5 Word Review: Friendship, first-love, shame, hope, periods.

Content Warnings: Slut shaming, bullying.

I very rarely read novels in verse. They're not something I commonly stumble across, and when I do find one I tend to be a little apprehensive about picking it up. I couldn't tell you why - every one I've read has been good. I think perhaps it's because it is very much different in style.

I can't say that I enjoyed Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew. It's not that I disliked it, it was excellent in fact, it's just that it's a bit of a tough read and if I'm honest with myself, I wasn't in the right head-space when I picked it up. It is funny, so funny, but it also made me despair with the world and the cruelty levelled at teenage girls. And that's not what I needed at the time.

I loved Frankie. I loved her intelligence and passion and drive and resilience. She felt so real, she came off the page. I could almost see her gazing at the stars.

The exploration of relationships in Blood Moon is truly magnificent. I never knew that inter-character relationships could be so well developed in this medium, but here we are. Things are messy and complicated and deep.

I found that I read Blood Moon quickly. The verse flows easily, it was difficult to put it down even when I was a little over-whelmed. The humour in the story helps to lift it a lot. And I loved that it's about periods - for something so many experience it's something I rarely find in books.

This is definitely an empowering read, it has so much hope in the pages, and the end is pretty uplifting. It's one I will absolutely read again when I'm in the right place, as I know I will appreciate it a lot more.