A lovely, thought provoking novel in verse about growing up and standing up. Frankie had to face many challenges but was able to come out stronger due to support from friends and family. A good reminder that girls/women need to stick together and support each other in our society.

I don't know why the author chose the novel-in-verse format, but the book's plot is fantastic. One of the best depictions about bullying I have read. There are a couple of things I found hard to believe, but they did not prevent me from enjoying the book. The ending was empowering, but a bit too Hollywood for my taste.

I had no idea what to expect when I opened this book. Instead of the murder mystery I was expecting I got a YA book written in verse. It tells the story of how public shaming has reached a new level with social media. It is also the story of friendship. Frankie, who is in high school, has her first period and her first sexual experience at the same time. At the same time, she is working through a breakup with her best friend. Then add in what is being said about her on social media. Cuthew places emphasis on the importance of friendship and how it helps us get through tough times. Well-written stories in verse can convey a lot of emotion in few words and Cuthew has accomplished that. I thought the ending was a little sunshiny, but then is not that the way we want our lives to be in our teenage years, even with all the cyberbullying.

Frankie likes Benjamin, Harriet likes&nbsp;Jackson, only after as situation involving a photo between Harriet and Jackson spreads around the school, the two friends become enemies.<br />
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As Frankie falls for Benjamin, she gets her period when they're alone but soon the school is talking about it after a photo get leaked about the situation and soon the exfriends situation is escalated<br />
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As the meme about their night is made viral, things for Frankie get so bad she can't bear to even go in to school, can the girls ever be friends again like before it will things just get worse?<br />
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All about feminism, sex and womanhood while growing up this book depicts how cruel people can be about natural women's bodies and the functions accompanying it too. It shows how billing can have a severe impact and it's unacceptable but also how much fighting back against it can cause a positive change for the future, a bold and vibrant read.<br />

It was my reading of the last few days and I was transported by this terribly human story, but also very realistic about teenagers, this moment a little too difficult for some young people. I would like to thank Candlewick Press and Netgalley for this great reading.

Blood Moon, because astronomy is Frankie’s passion and daily life. A bit geeky, Frankie is a discreet and uneventful teenager. She has always lived her passion to the full. With time doing things, Frankie meets Benjamin. The two teenagers complement each other. They are both adorable. So inevitably, when things gets a little more serious between them, then happens… what must happen when there is consent. The two teenagers have their first sexual experience. Except ... it's not going exactly the way the two of them expected. Frankie is having her period at this time. Okay, don't panic. The two being very comfortable with each other's bodies, they tell each other that this is all going to stay between them. After all, it's only blood, isn't it? But what they don't expect is that a few days later, news of a boy who slept with a period girl spreads throughout the school. Even worse: people KNOW who the two teenagers are.

"It's only blood !"

Frankie told herself, however, that no one would ever know it was her. Because she is too "unpopular", too low-key. But this is the start of the nightmare. Because she's going to have to deal with bullying in high school, but also cyber shaming. For nothing. For a natural thing that happens every month to almost every woman in this world, she becomes a meme. She goes around the world. For periods. And the worst part about it is that she has hardly any support. She finds herself alone in the midst of all this insults, all this verbal violence. This is the start of a long descent into hell. But Frankie is going to have to hold on really hard to not sink ...

Blood Moon is a feminist novel and necessary for a whole bunch of teenagers. Besides talking about periods (a subject still taboo for a lot of people), the author has a certain way of writing her story. A bit like Sarah Crossan, the text is written like poetry. The further you go, the harder it gets. What Frankie goes through is most definitely 1/10th of what some girls/women experience on this Earth. Lucy Cuthew shows us that being a woman, even today, is one of the most difficult things and that you always have to hang on to prove who we are. Blood Moon is a strong and important first novel about what it is to be a woman in 2020!

Can you imagine anything worse for a teen girl than getting her period the first time she decides to do something intimate with someone she likes? What if it was the first time she was intimate with someone, ever?
Well it gets worse than that for Frankie, the main character in Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew. She is already on the outs with her best friend when the entire school finds out about it too. Surely it couldn't get worse than that. But it does. It becomes so much worse.

Lucy Cuthew did a fantastic job of making me feel everything Frankie was going through. From the sting of fighting with her best friend to the giddy thrill of having someone she likes tell her they like her too, I was there with Frankie. And when Frankie's nightmare began I was right there with her for all those feels too.

Whether you are a teenage girl or you were one, you will be able to sympathise with Frankie when she finds herself in a situation that you can imagine having to go through yourself.

This is a quick read. I both started and finished it today. This novel contain topics that include, but are not limited to, sex, menstruation and bullying.

Thank you NetGalley, Candlewick Press and Walker Books US for a free copy of this much enjoyed novel in exchange for an honest review.

An easy 5/5 🌟 from me.

Blood Moon follows the story of Frankie, a sixteen-year-old girl who has a close-knit set of friends, supportive parents, and an appreciation with space and physics. Her best friend, Harriet, is outgoing and loves flirting with boys; Frankie, however, doesn't find many of them that interesting, until she starts hanging out with Benjamin more often. After getting to know one another a little, Frankie and Benjamin hook up and Frankie ends up getting her period. Although a little awkward at first, Frankie and Benjamin both agree it's just blood, and there's no need to be embarrassed. Then, a rumor about their experience turns into a viral meme of Frankie, and her life begins to spiral. Frankie wonders if she's as dirty and disgusting as the online comments say she is, and if she can truly trust anyone she cares about.

Cuthew's first novel is told in verse and it is a harrowing tale of bullying (both online and real-life), friendship, feminism, and sexuality. One thing I truly appreciated was that all of the characters were flawed: Harriet is mean and makes mistakes, but she also makes valid points; Frankie is right to call Harriet out on certain behaviors, but she also contributes to some slut-shaming, etc. Their friendship, with all its ups and downs, is a very central part of this story, and it struck me as a bond between two teenagers who are adjusting to looming adulthood and all that entails.

I felt that the ending was a little too tidy and optimistic to strike me as completely real, but that's okay: we need stories of positivity concerning these subjects.

The writing is absolutely beautiful and the characters were very compelling. There were heavy themes brought up, but Lucy Cuthew did it all very gracious and respectfully. It left an impact. I will definitely recommend this to my friends.

Thank you to Candlewick Press for providing me with an E-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I was super excited to pick up "Blood Moon" by Lucy Cuthew! A feminist YA book told in verse about teenage girls fighting back against period and sex shame? Yes please! Unfortunately, it was a bit of a let-down and I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.

I did like and appreciate a few things about it though! For one, I loved the format that the author chose to tell this story. I'm a sucker for fiction told in verse, because I love quick reads and I can usually fly right through them. I thought it worked well with the main character's inner dialogue as well. There were some lines that really made me stop and think, and I'd have to reread them just to fully appreciate the clever structure. I also appreciated the parental relationships in this - although at times I found some interactions unrealistic. I really loved how cyber-bullying/online harassment was dealt with. That felt like one of the most true-to-life parts about this book. And lastly, I appreciated the overall message of sexual and menstrual empowerment, as well as the (sometimes) messiness of friendships between young girls.

One thing that this book got wrong, however, was the incredibly trans-exclusive and binary gender ideas. There's absolutely no excuse for a book about periods and sexuality being published in 2020 to not include the existence of trans people and to still be pushing the idea of periods = ONLY GIRLS. Basically this story stunk of white feminism and it was exhausting. I also wasn't a fan of the ending, and a lot of the dialogue throughout the story as it seemed out of place and unbelievable, especially nearing the end.

Overall, I think this story had good intentions, but the author really needed to do more research and come at it from a different perspective. It would have been just as powerful, if not more so if it were inclusive of trans people. This is definitely a sex-positive story though, and a good representation of the seriousness of online harassment, so I applaud the author for that. I just don't know if I would recommend it as a truly feminist book when there are so many out there that are more inclusive. 3/5 stars!

3.5 Stars: This was a very unique story. I enjoyed that it was written in verse because it kept the plot moving without being bogged down with superfluous information. I thought there was a better ending if the author had just stopped about 10 pages from the end, otherwise it would’ve been a true 4 star read. I really enjoyed the message of period acceptance. I honestly didn’t know what to expect for this novel but I was pleasantly surprised!

This story about Frankie, a girl only just discovering her sexuality and experiencing an objectively-seen minor embarassment while experimenting with her crush - then ending up as the victim of a crude period meme online - could have been told in novella form just as well. Still, the horror of the premise gripped me as if I wasn't a woman well into her twenties, but a girl-nerd who just hit puberty. God knows the trauma of period shaming lives on inside me. Nevertheless, I wish the ending didn't sound so much like one of those tumblr storytime posts where every passenger on the bus gives the protag standing ovations in the end - and that the characters didn't have such archetype teenage drama personalities (don't we have enough of the "preppy bff I don't actually like anymore" trope by 2020?). Above all, I wish this was a full-length novel, and not a short story in texting format.

I enjoyed the plot of this novel (it's so important!) and the cover is so eye catching. However I didn't connect to the characters as much as I'd hoped. I think it is because novels in verse are hit or miss with me. I would recommend this to particular readers though, especially those that like novels in verse and could handle the subject. Would be a good fit for the reader who enjoyed Blood Water Paint by Joy McCaullough

All the love.

Lucy Cuthew is a British author who, up till now, has written primarily children’s books. I hope this is only the beginning of her foray into YA.
Her novel in verse tackles period taboos and online shaming in a completely authentic way, and captures female high school friendships beautifully.
It’s a must-read.

Thank you, Candlewick Press and NetGalley, for the electronic ARC.

I enjoyed this book very much. I thought it was very well done, and it being written in verse was a great idea. It was simple, but still very impactful. I didn’t want to put it down once I started reading it. The way the author handled the friendships, family dynamics (although I personally found the father to be a little bit annoying and cringey), and romantic relationships was incredible. I loved the conversation about periods. It’s just blood!! Normalize it! There’s still stigma around such a simple bodily function that young women are ashamed to talk about it.

To put it in simple terms this books is about first loves, sex, friendships, shaming, and periods. It’s definitely something all teens should read. It’s such an easy read, but it leaves you thinking.

Raw, gritty and honest. Blood Moon shows the pettiness and level of trauma teenagers can have on and towards each other. It shows toxic friendships and how far people will go to make themselves feel like they matter. But most importantly, it is normalizing menstruation.

For years, I have been team normalize menstruation. I have nevet hidden the fact I've been having my period or that I need sanitary items. And I too copped flack for that. Not to the extent Frankie suffers. But it was still horrible. Teenagers can be cruel monsters. So for me, this book is so important. Benjamin and Frankie are right after all, 'its just blood'.

Written in free flowing prose, Blood Moon is so easy to read. The pages turn themselves and draw you in to this teenage horror story. Our protagonist Frankie is amazing. She is smart and motivated and brave. She knows what is right and she knows herself. But she is dealt such a bad hand.

Blood Moon ends perfectly, on a high note. With people being educated about womens bodys, about human rights and about how what we say and post online effects people in so many different ways.

This book is current and moving and one of my favourite reads in 2020.

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy. All thoughts are my own.

First day of holidays and finished two books. #BloodMoon by Lucy Cuthew and #TheLostSoulAtlas by Zana Fraillon. Two YA novels. The first needed to be read to determine if it can be in our College Library Collection. The second for RA. Blood Moon deals with teen relationships, social media, online bullying and how vulnerable one can be. Definitely a senior fiction as it does touch on teen sex but not overly explicit. This is a book I believe both teens and their parents should read to understand the implications and how quickly an action can spiral out of control in the online space and effect their real life. Thanks to #netgalley for a fantastic read that will be added to our library.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author Lucy Cuthew for providing me with an ARC of the title Blood Moon!

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I cannot scream that loud enough! This is so amazing to see in mainstream writing; periods are nothing to be ashamed of! Period blood is just blood – like when you scrape your knee or get a paper cut. Why does it suddenly become different when it’s coming out of a vagina?

This was a super quick read for me (sad), but it was the perfect length. The writing style is exquisite and I found myself reminiscing on my high school days (and boy did they suck!) I think a title like this is super important, not only for those going through the formative years of high school, but for those that find talking about periods tacky.

What a wonderful and original title!

Thank you again to those named above for the chance to read and review this ARC!

This was a great book that explored bullying, friendships and relationships. The harsh reality is that the bullying that occurs in this book is not hard to believe at all. It's a raw, realistic story that I think is a great read, especially for teens.

When I saw the description of this book my initial thoughts ranged somewhere between interesting and weird. I’m not typically one for verse novels, even if their subject is important. But this one was so good. Anyone who has ever felt shame for anything natural, please read this. And if you haven’t felt shame, read this so you can truly understand that experience.

5 Stars (I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

TW: Bullying, slut shaming, abuse from social media, anxiety and panic attacks

I read 90% of this book in one sitting, holy mother this was an emotional roller coaster and a book that should be put onto high school reading lists. We start off the story with Frankie who loves astronomy and her best friend Harriet who loves photography. At a birthday gathering at an ice rink Frankie starts becoming close with Benjamin; a fellow classmate; and the chemistry ignites when the two start talking. Frankie and Harriet have always looked at the stars and moon phases, and now there is going to be a blood moon soon (don’t remember what exactly it means) and the two recently have been focusing on different things. But then there is a scandal that kicks off a whole freaking mess and comments on a lot of social media issues. And also how horrible being a teenager is in today’s modern world and some of the fucked up people on social media. I don’t want to say too much since this book is so important and emotional that you just need to read this book.