The astounding and expansive coming-of-age novel about a young woman whose quest to become the first Cherokee astronaut irrevocably alters the fates of the people she loves most.
This book instantly caught my eye because of the comparable to Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. And sometimes, such a comparable can be off-kilter! However it was a stunning book, and Eliana has her own voice and writing style which I adored. This is her debut novel and perhaps stunned me even more for that reason too, Eliana has the ease, voice and seasoned nature of a writer who is perhaps on their 5th or 6th book.
A book that provokes a wide range of emotions can only be a good one, and this had moments of heart, sorrow and hilarity. It was bittersweet at times, and life-affirming at others. Insightful prose coupled with themes of identity, belonging, childhood and generational trauma, added to a good dose of science (and some artistic license) made this book a five star read. And when you discover that the Author spent a decade writing this book, starting when she was only 23, you realise that it is as much a journey of development for the main character, as it is for her too.
Books about women in space are extremely rare and let’s hope that changes for the better because we need more.
About the Book
Steph Harper is on the run.
When she was five, her mother ran – with Steph and her younger sister in tow – from an abusive husband into the arms of a small Cherokee community, where she hoped they might finally belong.
But Steph soon sets her sights as far away as she can get, vowing that she will let nothing interfere with her dream to become an astronaut, and ultimately, to go to the moon.
In Steph’s certainty that only her ambition can save her, she will stretch her bonds with the three women who know and love her most dearly: her younger sister Kayla, an artist whose determination to appear good takes her life to unexpected places; her college girlfriend Della, who strives to reclaim her identity as an adult after being removed from her family as a young girl through a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act; and her mother Hannah, who has held up her family’s history as a beacon of inspiration to her kids, all the while keeping the truth about her own past a secret.
Told through these women’s interwoven lives, and spanning three decades and several continents, To the Moon and Back is an astounding and expansive coming-of-age novel of mothers and daughters, love and sacrifice, alienation and heartbreak, terror and wonder. At its core, it is the story of the extraordinary lengths one woman will go to find a little space for herself.
About The Author
Eliana Ramage spent more than a decade writing her stellar debut novel, To the Moon and Back, a book about a Cherokee woman who decides at an early age to become an astronaut—no matter the cost. Ramage, 34, penned the first words at age 23, before transforming the manuscript a multitude of times. Every once in a while during that long process, she would venture outside, gaze up at the heavens and watch the International Space Station fly overhead, a ritual that no doubt helped sharpen her focus.
Purchase the Book
This book can be purchased in our store either on its own or in a cosy Book Box.
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