Northward to the Moon
Jane and her family have moved to Canada . . . but not for long.
When her stepfather, Ned, is fired from his job as a high school French teacher (seems he doesn't speak French), the family packs up and Jane embarks on a series of new adventures.
At first, she imagines her family as a gang of outlaws, riding on horseback in masks, robbing trains, and traveling all the way to Mexico.
But the reality is different: Setting off by car, they visit the tribe of Native Americans with whom Ned once lived, head to Las Vegas in search of Ned's magician brother, and wind up spending the summer with his eccentric mother on her ranch out west.
As Jane lives through it all—developing a crush on a ranch hand, reevaluating her relationship with Ned, watching her sister Maya's painful growing up—she sees her world, which used to be so safe and secure, shift in strange and inconvenient ways.
Awards
- Selected for Oprah's 2010 reading list.
- Named a Parent's Choice Gold Award recipient for 2010.
Reviews
"[A] poignant sequel to Horvath's My One Hundred Adventures continues to trace the physical and emotional journeys of Jane's unconventional family . . . A dynamic montage of dark and light moments, this novel shows rather than tells Jane's changing moods, her ambivalent feelings about being uprooted, and her quiet observations of her unpredictable yet endearing family members." —Publisher's Weekly Starred Review
" . . . characters here are distinct, wonderfully idiosyncratic individuals, and Horvath's fine-tuned observations are conveyed with subtlety and precision. " —Booklist.
"Horvath's inimitable voice, sense of fun and quiet belief in the power of tolerance—here applied to the odyssey of a plucky young heroine and her family—showcase the writer at the height of her powers." —The Smithsonian Magazine.
"Horvath once again writes with the humor, compassion, and sensitivity that keep readers turning pages. Underlying all the adventures is the longing for elusive true family life." —School Library Journal.
"A detour-rich road trip well worth the ride." —Kirkus Reviews.
"'There is nothing like finding out things you have never known about members of your own family," muses Jane—a statement that underlies author Polly Horvath's entire extraordinary oeuvre." —The Washington Post.
"In her rakish, tart and joyous way, B.C.'s Horvath blends the comic and the lyrical" . . . —The Toronto Star
"Horvath's novel is thoroughly engaging, once again combining sympathy, humor, rich characterization, and quirky plot twists." —Parents' Choice