Description
Humans are about to leave footprints on the moon, but what sort of mark can one girl make here on earth?
It's 1969 and life is changing fast. Sharnie Burley is starting high school and finding it tough to make new friends. As the world waits to see if humans will land on the moon, the Vietnam War rages overseas. While her little cousin, Lewis, makes pretend moon boots, young men are being called up to fight, sometimes without having any choice in the matter. Sometimes without ever coming home.
Dad thinks serving your country in a war is honourable, but when Sharnie's older sister, Cas, meets a returned soldier and starts getting involved in anti-war protests, a rift in their family begins to show. Sharnie would usually turn to her grandma for support, but lately Gran's been forgetting things.
Can she find her own way in this brave new world?
Review
Footprints on the Moon is set in an important time in world history. It’s 1969 and the race to the moon is nearing a climax, but with the war in Vietnam raging, young people are asking many questions.
Sharnie is just beginning high school and faces the usual friendship issues. This is not helped by her sixteen-year-old sister Cas basically ignoring her, and her wonderful Grandma’s forgetfulness.
Dad is away for a month at a time as a travelling salesman, and when he is home, his ideas regarding conscription and the honour of war clash with Cas’s.
But what is Sharnie supposed to make of all this? She is a young girl growing up and forming her own opinions. A girl who knows right from wrong.
Written in easy to read verse format, this book is filled with an array of important themes and makes a great book for classroom discussion in the upper primary and lower secondary year levels.
Reviewed by Rob
