There is romance in the book, but it complements the main story instead of overshadowing it or seeming to be included for the sake of it. Even after their mother informs the family that Ed has been charged with murder, Joe still believes that Ed is coming home. What he does not yet know is that Ed has been charged with murdering a white police officer in Texas and that their family is too poor to hire a lawyer for Ed. What he does not yet know is that this set of intersecting facts means Ed will be put on death row. Moonrise is brilliant. Apparently I can’t just write that, but really that’s all you need to know. And that it’s available to buy now. Moonrise tells the story of Joe, a 17-year-old boy whose brother, Ed, is facing the death penalty for a crime he claims he did not commit. Joe has not seen his brother in the 10 years since his arrest and imprisonment, but Ed’s execution date is approaching, so Joe heads to Texas to be there for him. Sarah Crossan has done it again. Moonrise is a heartbreaking YA novel written in verse dealing with a very serious issue - the death penalty. Focusing on the family of the guy on death row, we're enlightened to the impact of capital punishment on those who weren't sentenced. The issues of poverty, parental neglect, a flawed criminal justice system, and police coerced confessions are all present in the story as well.

Mistrust, forgiveness and the premeditated stripping away of a future, distorting many other lives in unfathomable ways, are communicated through Crossan's spare, expressive free verse, with understated, heart-breaking clarity' - Guardian while the subject matter is mentally and emotionally evocative, i think the brevity and wistfulness of the writing doesnt do the heaviness and seriousness of the content enough justice. i feel like a different writing style would have suited the tone better. Writing adult and YA fiction, Sarah Crossan is the author of The Weight of Waterand Apple and Rain, both of which were shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal. In 2016, Sarah won the CILIP Carnegie Medal as well as the YA Book Prize, the CBI Book of the Year award and the CLiPPA Poetry Award for her novel, One.The novel moves skilfully between present events and Joe’s memories of being a young boy, spending time with his brother. It is an affecting story about the power of sibling love and how Joe finds the strength to deal with the myriad emotions he feels at this point in his life. I have loved every book I have read by Sarah Crossan, and with this the 100 per cent record remains intact. In my view, she is one of the most important writers of YA fiction around. And I know what I’m talking about, because I once wrote a poem.

Ed’s fate is foreshadowed from the opening chapter, so Moonrise does not play out like a thriller (where justice is served at the last minute) but instead as the story of a family eroded by an unjust justice system. Sarah Crossan makes the unusual choice of writing the novel, which is narrated by Joe, in free verse, thus lending the text a raw, minimalistic power. Unweighted by the clutter of prose, Joe’s voice conveys the implacable facts of his story as they are. I thought that Moonrise was an amazing book, which left me in a very emotional state of mind. The build-up to the end was incredible. I loved the way Sarah Crossan told the story. This is because it was from Joe’s point of view, and parts were Joe’s memories when he and Ed were younger. I think this gave it more depth and emotion. I found the ending very frustrating, yet it left me wanting more. This is because of the suspense it leaves. I don't know how she does it, because I am agressively opposed to free verse poetry (in fact, if I'm honest, I hate all poetry) but her words are just so beautiful and readable and her characters are so real and complex and vulnerable, I literally can't get enough of this author's writing.Into the Wild • Fire and Ice • Forest of Secrets • Rising Storm • A Dangerous Path • The Darkest Hour