The Moon Over High Street

The Moon Over High Street by Natalie Babbitt 148 pages

Please don’t hate me when I tell you I have never read “Tuck Everlasting.” When it was originally published in 1975, I was already a grown woman and never felt the need to read it.

I’m not sure how I wound up with a copy of Babbitt’s “The Moon Over the High Street.” This short novel is aimed at what I call middle-schoolers, grades 4-9. Its themes of family, friendship, rich versus poor and the working class still resonate with readers all these years later.

Twelve-year-old Joe Casimir has only known his grandmother as his family. His parents died in an accident when he was a baby, and the only other family is a cousin of Gran’s, Aunt Myra.

When Gran breaks her hip, she sends Joe to live with Aunt Myra in Midville, across the state. I didn’t envy his long bus trip. Anyone who has taken a long bus trip knows how awful it can be. Midville is a tiny town with clearly delineated lines of where its citizens reside based on class. Class is an important theme in this story.

Joe meets and becomes friends with the girl, Beatrice Sope, who lives across the street. Through Beatrice, Joe meets the town’s millionaire, Mr. Boulderwall. Boulderwall takes a shine to Joe and offers to adopt him. He wants Joe to be his protégé. Joe is forced to decide whether to live a life of wealth and abandon Gran and Aunt Myra or stay with his family and chase his dreams.

There aren’t a lot of characters in this book, but the supporting characters provide Joe with the skills necessary to make this crucial decision.

I thought the book was a quick read with surprising depth. However, it does tend to meander a bit. That’s why “The Moon Over High Street” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.