Where do you start with reviewing a book that has taken over so much of your heart that you don't want to part with a single piece of it? Part with it I must for just a short while, if I am to tell you how heart-achingly beautiful this story is. Louise Beech manages to write characters that are deeper than the (rather aptly named) Mariana Trench to the point where I felt every emotion that they felt. I had to put down the book near the end because of the depth of emotion that I was feeling. So I feel rather inept at trying to describe Maria in the Moon when all I really want to say is: 'You really must read this wonderful book.'

Catherine-Maria is quite a quirky character; she has very few friends and doesn't let people get close to her. It's just how she is, or is there a deeper reason? Why can't she remember her ninth year? She knows that she broke her Nanny Eve's precious Virgin Mary and the 'Maria' was promptly dropped from her name, leaving her known as just Catherine. She never really got on with her 'mother' and Catherine admits she was a difficult child after her Dad died when she was 8 years old.

Following the floods in Hull in 2007, Catherine moves in with a friend while her home is being repaired. Having worked in a crisis centre before, she is a natural choice to help with the phones in the flood crisis centre. Helpline volunteers are warned about getting too close to the people who call in but Catherine soon has some favourites who call especially to speak to her. Through this talking to others, certain memories start to reappear out of the mist and Catherine's ninth year may not be a mystery for much longer...but will she wish she had left it buried?

Catherine-Maria is such an exceptional character that I found myself laughing and crying with her. I too remember sitting on the floor at my Nanna's feet while she taught me to knit - although I called the needles 'sticks' as opposed to what Catherine-Maria called them! All too often we have seen the devastation on the news following floods in the UK and people must have really plunged to the depths of despair after losing everything. The book doesn't dwell too much on the negative side of things, but rather shows us that the sun can always appear behind every grey cloud. As Catherine's house was repaired, I felt her soul being repaired at the same time, helped immensely by her budding relationship with the thoughtful, caring Christopher.

Filled with emotion and exquisite prose in Louise Beech's inimitable style, Maria in the Moon left me speechless and completely thunderstruck. Louise Beech hasn't just aimed for the stars, she's shot past them and given us the moon on a stick: Maria in the Moon is the very pinnacle of perfection.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. ( )

I enjoyed this but not as much as the authors previous books
I can’t remember what I did when I was 9 years old, I just remember by childhood, apart from age 10 because man landed on the moon and I was upset when top of the pops was cancelled to televise it.
Other than that the years are blurred so I am not sure if influenced how I felt about the book.
I did a straw pole amongst friends and non of them particularly remember their 9th year.
The book is well written, sad, funny and poignant. It, for me lacked umphh ( )

"It's not love unless it hurts".
This was all set to be a 3 star read for me, until about the last third, when it rewarded my perseverance with an excellent ending. Until that, I had enjoyed the relationships between the volunteers in the crisis line office, but was not really inspired by the characters ringing in for help nor the interactions between Catherine's family members.

The book is set immediately after the floods that inundated Hull in 2007, and Catherine is staying with her friend Fern while her house dries and the necessary repairs are made. She has helped on Crisis lines before and volunteers to provide support on Flood Crisis, a phone line set up to help those devastated by the floods. Between answering the phone to flood victims, she battles with her own demons and her inability to form any lasting relationships. For some reason she can't recall any of her ninth year and this weighs on her mind between phone calls and Sunday lunches with her 'mother' (her deceased father's wife).

I'd never thought much about crisis lines and this book was a bit of an eye-opener on the subject - rules prevent the volunteers from getting too close to callers and they are not permitted to give advice, just to listen and encourage. it is Flood Crisis that draws this novel together into a cohesive whole, and prompts the inevitable ending that we can feel the book drawing towards. Although it is fairly evident why Catherine is struggling, the reveal was well handled and had me turning the pages with increased speed. ( )