Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer (4.5/5 Stars)

Blurb from Goodreads:
What happens after space dust decimates the adult population.

For months, astronomers have been predicting that Earth will pass through the tail of a comet. They say that people will see colorful sunsets and, best of all, a purple moon.

But nobody has predicted the lightning-fast epidemic that sweeps across the planet on the night of the purple moon. The comet brings space dust with it that contains germs that attack human hormones. Older teens and adults die within hours of exposure.

On a small island off the coast of Maine, a group of teens and children struggle to survive in this new world, but all the while they have inside them a ticking time bomb — adolescence.

My Review:
Night of the Purple Moon was quite the surprise for me. Don’t get me wrong, just from reading the premise, I figured I would enjoy this book. But, I had absolutely no idea that it would produce the emotional response that it did.

The book starts out normal enough, with 13-year-old, Abby, her 12-year-old brother, Jordan, and her two-year old sister, Toucan. They have just moved to Castine Island with their father while their mother holds a job back in their old hometown of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Abby isn’t too happy about being on this island, as she severely misses her old life back home (friends, mom, school, etc…).

Meanwhile, there’s excitement, worldwide, over the arrival of the comet, Rudenko-Kasparov, that is going to enter the Earth’s atmosphere, and turn the moon a pretty purple color from the space dust (hence, “PURPLE MOON”). As would realistically happen, people are capitalizing by selling purple soft drinks, food, you name it.

And here is where the story takes a turn. As you can read from the premise, all older teens and adults die from the dust that everyone is now breathing. Thus leaving only younger teens and…babies. Yes, THIS is where I had a hard time. I blame it on the “mommy” in me, but just the thought of little ones being left to take care of themselves… I was drawn all the more into the story and couldn’t read fast enough to find out what happens to these defenseless children.

Now, as with any other dystopian novel, you not only have to worry about whatever “natural” disaster that caused chaos, but you have to worry about others who pick on the weaker ones in a disaster, such as this one. Sadly, I think that Mr. Cramer really hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, this book probably very accurately illustrates the depravity of even our younger children. I won’t give anything away, since I don’t do spoilers, but there were a few parts where I had goosebumps, just imagining this happening. Mr. Cramer made it THAT believable and real.

I definitely suggest you read this book. The writing is fantastic, the story is fantastic, and it has, most assuredly, left an impression on me.

My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Purchase Night of the Purple Moon on Amazon.