How High the Moon: A Novel

It's small town America in the 1950's and Isabella, nicknamed Teaspoon, is in danger of failing fifth grade. She is imaginative and endearing, naive and plainly outspoken, outrageously talkative and fiercely loving. Living with Teddy, her mother's ex-boyfriend, the man her mother left her with five years ago when she went off to Hollywood to follow her dreams without regard to her daughter's welfare, Teaspoon may be a figure that should be pitied, but she's got charm and spunk to spare. Teddy turns out to be a good man and wonderful father to Teaspoon, even if he struggles to find the money to keep going, and Teaspoon wants to honor his goodness to her by becoming a better person herself, becoming a lady. Her only frame of reference for show more doing so though, is her elderly next door neighbor who has recently been landed with the care of her great-grandson, a seemingly insipid child just younger than Teaspoon, and the Taxi Cab Ladies, prostitutes whom Teaspoon has befriended (without quite knowing what they are, only understanding that they have a soft spot for her chatterbug self).

Rather grudgingly, Teaspoon allows her teacher to sign her up for a mentoring program called the Sunshine Sisters, which pairs young girls with older role models in the town. Teaspoon is claimed by town sweetheart Brenda Bloom after an unconventional meeting in the town's movie theater, a place beloved by Teaspoon and owned by Brenda's mother. The summer and their mentoring meetings are taken up by preparations for a revue to re-open the renovated and expanded theater. Teaspoon and Brenda are central to these plans and the events that happen in the lead up. Through it all Teaspoon doesn't stop wishing for her mom to come home and take up with Teddy again, she befriends Charlie, the neighbor's great-grandson whom she earlier disdained, and she dreams of her own big singing break.

Teaspoon narrates the entire novel so the reader is treated to her misunderstanding of people and events and charmed by her naivete even when certain things are perfectly clear to the adult reader. Certainly there are times that Teaspoon can be irritating and persistent and the other characters acknowledge this but it just makes her voice as a 10 year old girl that much more authentic. Sometimes she is world weary as only young who have seen more than their far share can be. And it is these variations in her character that make her such a delight to read. The storyline isn't precisely filled with surprises but that's easy to forgive in such a hopeful and endearing novel. I enjoyed every page of this adventure with Teaspoon and found myself smiling at the smallest of things as I read: her fierce crush on the older neighbor, learning to consider and honor Charlie's feelings about her mother's piano, her proprietary air toward Brenda when sparring with Brenda's mother, and her solution to the scuffed up new shoes she's supposed to wear for the revue. I could go on and on mentioning these little instances that create her character out of lovely whole cloth but I'll refrain. Instead, I will say that this is a wonderful book and I'm infinitely happy to have had the chance to read it. show less

How High the Moon is about a little girl so lovable, so endearing right from the word go, that you think there has to be some fault to the book given that a large part of why 'Teaspoon' is how she is, is because she's been abandoned by her mother. But, of course, little girls aren't left by their mothers through any fault of their own and that's why How High the Moon is so brilliant--and why Teaspoon is so brilliant.

Ten-year-old Isabella 'Teaspoon' Marlene has been raised by her mother's boyfriend for the last five years ever since her mother ran off to chase her dream of becoming a star. Now, Teaspoon (from whose point of view the story is told)is in danger of not passing fifth grade and full of afflictions like saying ain't, singing show more all of the time-she wants to be a star, too-and getting in fist fights. Her teacher, sure her troubles are the result of a 'lack of feminine influence' in her life sign her up for the Sunshine Sisters program that pairs upstanding teen girls with more troubled younger girls.

And that's how the second character, Mill Town's Sweetheart, Brenda Bloom is brought in--as Teaspoon's Big Sister. Then, of course, there's the question of whether her mother's going to stay gone.

I haven't read any of Sandra Kring's books before, though I have seen them, loved the covers and thought about it, so I'm pretty much overjoyed to have gotten this book from Goodreads First Reads. Set in 1955 and told by a ten-year-old, I was a little worried about this to be honest (it sounded cute but then I wasn't completely sure)--but then I loved it.

There was an amazing assortment of characters (Teaspoon, Teddy, Brenda, Charlie, The Jacksons, and quite a few more) that all had their own purpose within the story and progressed things. I'll admit to having some trouble keeping some of the Jackson kids straight because there were quite a few with same letter names, but that's about all. And all of the characters seemed to fit within the period but were also entertaining and fun to read about in a modern book.

And I thought the story being told from Teaspoon's view was done really well. It didn't feel juvenile even though it was being told by a child, or too young for teens or adults to enjoy but it also didn't feel too grown up to fit with her. There was that childhood innocence and naivete that kept her lovable and cute and endearing but also brought back memories of when you were ten and didn't quite know what all the adults were talking about. It also worked well to have the kids overhearing conversations because elements of the plot were brought in that there was no other reason for her to know about, but that the reader could then know about.

The relationships between Teddy and Teaspoon, Charlie and Teaspoon, and Brenda and Teaspoon were all strong in their own right and developed well and allowed you to care about all of the characters. And her relationship with her mother (or what she's keeping in her head, too) was also...I want to say bittersweet.

And a good bit of it's set in this fantastic movie theatre with stars on the ceiling...and now I want to have a movie theatre like that.

It wasn't the least predictable book ever (but it didn't need to be) but there were also some parts that were really, really not predictable and it really has a whallop of an ending. One part of the ending of this book made me cry, actually.

I think How High the Moon is a book the sort of book that a lot of other books are trying to be, one with characters you can really love, a story you won't forget, and a great conclusion. I know I'm recommending this to a lot of people (and not just on here).
Though this is not a YA book, I see very little if not nothing at all stopping YA readers from reading it.

(This book was received as from Goodreads First Reads) show less

enjoyed this book. It was a quick, fun read. I really liked the characters: Teaspoon, a spunky 10 year old, Charlie, Teaspoon's 8 year old sidekick, Brenda, Teaspoon's "big sister," and Teddy, Teaspoon's mother's live-in boyfriend. All of the characters, especially Teaspoon, are colorful and interesting, and really jump off the pages. The plot itself is good - not many huge twists or big surprises, but still not entirely predictable. The book is written from Teaspoon's perspective, which is definitely interesting, although I was a bit annoyed by her at points (the interrupting! the impulsiveness! is that what all 10 year olds are like?), but I think that is just the nature of writing from that point of view.

I'm not sure who would be show more the best audience for this book. It is certainly not for elementary or even middle school aged readers. With a 10 year old protagonist, I initially assumed that it would be appropriate for readers of about the same age. I was a bit surprised at the content - the description of prostitutes, the "juicy jitterbug," etc. This book is decidedly not for younger readers! It would probably be better suited for teens. However, I'm not sure if teens would really enjoy reading about a 10 year old and her adventures.

Overall, a fun read, and recommended for teens and adults who enjoy YA literature. show less

I was really excited when I won this book on Firstreads because it looked absolutely adorable.

Living in a small town in 1955, 10-yr-old Teaspoon sometimes seems larger than life. She fights, fibs, talks too much, and has a passion for singing. But Teaspoon wants to change in order to be "respectable" for Teddy, the boyfriend that her mom abandoned her with 5 years ago. So Teaspoon joins the Sunshine Sisters, a mentoring program, and her Big Sister is none other than Brenda Bloom, the daughter to the richest and most respectable family in town.

I greatly enjoyed this books cast. All the characters are well-drawn with big personalities, the biggest belonging to the narrator. Teaspoon is delightfully naive and very funny, even when she show more doesn't intend to be. However her voice did waver on the thin line bewteen charming and irritating, as all ten year olds sometimes do. The plot was good, if somewhat predictable.

I did enjoy this book. I feel it would make a really good movie one day. I'll be smiling about Teaspoon's summer for a while, but if I never hear the words "affliction" or "respectable" again, it will be too soon. show less

This was a cute story. A bit different being from a 10-year-old's perspective. At first I was skeptical it was going to be worth the read but the more I read, the more I enjoyed it. At the end I was completely enthralled.

I won this book in Goodreads first reads. It was a really cute book about a little girl named Teaspoon. She’s so funny, she just rambles on and on about whatever happens to cross her mind, doesn’t seem to even take a breath, but then she always gets back to the point, and sometimes helps people see things without even knowing. She’s energetic and blunt, always telling people exactly what she thinks. She’s like a jack in the box, wound up, all that pent up energy strung inside her, and then she burst out, usually startling people. I found myself smiling sometimes at things she said, and even laughed a couple times.

The story is told in Teaspoon’s pov, different from most novels I read. Kring captures the voice of Teaspoon show more perfectly. She explores the emotions and problems Teaspoon has, and how she deals with them. While having the story told in a little girl’s point of view was a nice change, it’s definitely not my favorite, and I don’t think I could take too much more. I would have liked the book better told in Brenda's pov, telling her side of the story and having Teaspoon on the side. But the way Kring did it was different and nice.

Overall, it was an okay book. I wouldn’t buy it, but several years down the road, I might read it again. And it could make a cute movie. show less

Obectively, probably only worth 2.5 stars. Pretty heavy-handed, and unrealistic. But I am a sucker for Kring's adorable characters and the melodramatic plots and the happily-ever-after everyone-learned-their-lessons endings. All that being said, don't start with this one if you've never read Kring. Try [b:Carry Me Home: A Novel|214241|Carry Me Home A Novel|Sandra Kring|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172766308s/214241.jpg|966777].