This historical fiction story follows Annie Fisk, from childhood through her post NASA career in 1978. She was smart, a mathematician and ambitious.
After living not from Johnson Space Center for many years I found it interesting as she finds an unexpected scientific discovery that could change the future.
A story of discovering one's self during the 1950's and 1960's.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group, Putnam for the opportunity to read this book.

I'm so sorry. I tried very hard to like this novel, but I'm afraid I just can't finish it. I'm probably not the intended audience and I hope the author finds her readers. I found the book dull. I thought it was going to be about a woman whose dream was to work at NASA, perhaps become an astronaut or an astrophysicist someday. Maybe it is. I couldn't get that far. I found the author’s descriptions of things long and tedious. I kept wanting to find out what was going to happen. Except for going to college and becoming a typist at NASA, nothing did. I didn't really care who the character kissed, male or female. For me the cardinal rule for a book is that you have to make me care about the character(a). This one didn't. Again, I am sorry.

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I have nothing but praise for Shoot the Moon. It’s engaging historical fiction spiced with a little bit of science fiction (that comes into play in the back half of the novel) driven by Annie Fisk, a NASA secretary turned computer turned single mother. Following her from childhood to adulthood, though a little out of order, Shoot the Moon is a brilliant debut from Isa Arsén.

While there are a few minor twists throughout Shoot the Stars, it’s a very grounded story, which I particularly enjoyed. After a series of larger than life space romps, it was a nice experience to be settled into a story, something I think is aided by the relatively short length of the novel (the copy I received from NetGalley totaled just under 300 pages). Even with the time skips, it’s easy to follow the plot and there’s little to no heavy physics discussions, something I find can happen frequently in historical fiction focused in this particular era. Though that might be a deterrent for some (it’s not, as far as I can tell, inaccurate, just certainly not the focus) it made reading this novel all the more accessible and enjoyable to me.

Ultimately, I really, really loved Shoot the Moon. It’s a subtle, quiet romance that doubles as a fascinating character study of grief and loss, complimented wonderfully by slight science fiction elements. I’d highly recommend to anyone that enjoyed Sylvain Neuvel’s A History of What Comes Next or anyone looking for historical fiction featuring bisexual protagonists.

I really like books featuring strong women and this one is that. The main character Annie has her sights set on working with NASA in space exploration. I found a lot of similarities to the book Hidden Figures in this with mixed relationships all through it. I found them to be distracting and that it took away from what could have been a really good story. Annie went from the secretarial pool into serious explorations of Space events. I cheered her on as she was able to achieve her goals and explore her own relationships along the way. I had trouble sdealing with her sexuality.
I wish to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group, P G Putnam Sons Publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I didn't realize this was a romance until I was into it, and was very confused. It was fine for what it was, but not my favorite.

So admittedly, Shoot the Moon both was and wasn't what I was expecting. I kind of feel like it's kind of a mash-up of elements of Contact and Interstellar - and while the Contact part didn't surprise the Interstellar part did. Without giving too much away, Annie, the protagonist, is a physicist that ends up working as a programmer for NASA during the Apollo mission race to the moon. But her time at NASA and what she does becomes more than just being a part of getting a man to the moon. This element of the story will explain why the story is being told back and forth across different periods of her life, which is confusing in the beginning of the book, but makes so much more sense at the end. The story is also about the deep connections we form with each other. Annie loses her father at a relatively young age. Her time with him even before that is limited, as he's a physicist that is part of the nuclear testing going on in New Mexico, but she loves him more than anything else in the world. When he dies, she becomes terrified of loving anyone else that much, which strains her relationship with her mother and makes it difficult to tell the woman she has a relationship with in college that she loves her. Against her better judgment she falls for one of her coworkers at NASA - a man that in a time where women didn't receive a lot of respect for their skills in STEM fields loves her as a person and respects her as a colleague. And that leads me to an element of this book that I think was well done, if slightly unusual in that it's done in a historical fiction novel. This is one of the first books I've seen where an author explored a character that's bisexual, and didn't just touch on one element of it to focus on a relationship with one person. In exploring Annie's romances with both Evelyn and Norman, Arsen shows a character that falls in love with people for who they are and how they make her feel, not based on their gender. I felt like this element of the book, in particular, finally portrayed a bisexual character and what drives their attraction to other people. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was not what i expected. I was kind of looking for a time travel romance. I liked Annie. She was really smart and ambitious. I kind of got a Hidden Figures vibe. This was hard for me with all the time jumps and it was not until the end that there was the "aha" moment. I am not sure what i can say that will not spoil the book. I was not what i expected but by the end, i was glad i read it. I will look forward to other books by this author.

I received an advance copy for an unbiased review.

Shoot the Moon is a story about a woman wanting to work at NASA. I found the story confusing as the chapters went back and forth in time and was hard to follow.
The book follows Annie Fisk as she finds her way to finally being able to get a job at NASA after attending college and then secretarial school. It also delves into her relationships with both men and women. But it is what she discovers at NASA that is really the gist of the book. That finding is what brings the book together and gives Annie the answers that she has been seeking.
If the back and forth chapters weren't so confusing I would have given this a 5 star rating.

Thank you to @netgalley and PenguinBooks for this ARC. Annie Fisk has grown up in the shadow of her father's Rocket scientist genius. When she finds out she has the same knack for math as her father does, she sets her sites on NASA. While working her way up from a Secretary position to Programming she comes across something very unexpected and it is her mission to get to the bottom of it. It was a quick read! #ShootTheMoon #IsaArsen #Oct2023

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. Gah, I loved the bi representation combined with a historical setting. Fell in love with Annie’s journey and experienced.

If you loved LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY or THE CALCULATING STARS but wanted them to be queerer, or you like historical fiction with a speculative edge, or just want a well-written historical-fiction with an engaging narrative voice, turn your attention here, to Isa Arsén's forthcoming SHOOT THE MOON!

This book follows Annie, its protagonist, through her childhood into college and then to her job at NASA, in alternating chapters. It was in general a very engaging read; I loved the bi rep and the writing, but I felt the timeline-jumping was sometimes a little disorienting.

Definitely recommended, all in all, and thanks so much to Putnam and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

(This review is based off of an uncorrected proof from NetGalley)

This novel was not at all what I was expecting based on the description and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Overall, it was a quick and engaging read, but I was expecting more historical fiction (like Hidden Figures) than historical time travel romance based on the summary, so that dropped by rating from a 4.5 to a 4. This story occurs at the same time as the Apollo mission to the moon, but the plot doesn't necessarily directly involve the Apollo mission.

Shoot the Moon is incredibly achronological which was confusing at times. The novel alternates between Annie's adult years at NASA, her college years, and her childhood and I really had to pay attention to the chapter headings that said the date and the place of this chapter. It got easier to follow as the plot progressed and readers got a better understanding of what was happening. However, I never got over the choice to make Annie's childhood POV third person where everything else was in first person. I understood why the author made that choice by the end, but it was frustrating for the first half of the novel.

Overall, I enjoyed this read. Thanks to Netgalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and the author for an e-ARC of this novel. All opinions are my own. Review will be published on Instagram by EOB on 08/11/23

I feel like I’m going to contradict myself here but I’m going for it. I enjoyed the author’s writing and it was a quick read. HOWEVER the jumping back and forth on various timeline’s was confusing- and I usually like a story with more than one timeline.
This story had some very unexpected storylines that really through me off. I liked Alice’s relationship with her father, her time in school and her work at NASA but this book just didn’t do it for me. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review

Beautiful writing, engaging plot, and a worth it all ending.

I loved the lead character, Annie Fisk. She was smart, ambitious, bi-sexual, and learned to love along the way. Evelyn and Norm were great characters and really added to the story in a good way.

The plot was a bit scientific at times but by the time you get to just a bit more than halfway, it all starts coming together. It really catches it’s groove the final quarter of the book. The story follows Annie at different times in her life and jumps back and fourth. It’s easy to follow the story even with all the jumping. The ending was stunning and yet so right.

I loved the writing style of the author. It was beautiful. The words just flowed off the page. I also enjoyed the fact she added some romance to all the NASA and scientific plots throughout the book.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions are my own.

Shoot the Moon isn't what I expected it to be, but it is a beautiful story in its own right. I approached this book thinking it would be a science fiction time-travel romance. It's not entirely NOT that, but it's more accurately historical fiction as a character study with speculative elements. More like the movie Contact than This Is How You Lose the Time War.

The first half of the book follows Annie Fisk's life as a child and as a college student in great detail, and includes a lot of specific information about atomic testing and orbital mechanics. If I hadn't been waiting for something to happen I think I would have enjoyed that section a lot, so again, I had the wrong expectations. I was often confused about the timeline, as the past and the present sections don't move in a linear fashion even within their own paths. Annie's life is quiet and warm until it isn't. She is close with her father, who can't seem to shake the shadow of his work, but tragedy propels her away from New Mexico. She finds two kinds of first love at college: a beautiful classmate and rocket science.

When Annie joins NASA as a secretary, the book takes a turn in pacing, and I'm pretty sure I read the second half at twice the speed of the first half. Romance sparks up again, sending Annie into internal conflict about the nature of love and loss and safety and bisexuality in the 1960s, along with a scientific mystery involving wormholes and fate and the fabric of the universe. Plus, of course, the Apollo missions!

Recommended for fans of Contact (1997), Interstellar (2014), and the history of crewed spaceflight.

I received an advance e-copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review

“Shot to the Moon” is a very pretty story of a young woman who wants to work at NASA. I haven’t seen many books portray a woman in STEM, and that makes this book fantastic. The voice the story is narrated on is beautiful and clever. I wish I could write like Isa Arsén, she is the next Jane Austen. 4 out of 5.

First things first, I really like the unique use of language in this book. The writing is peppered with all sorts of interesting metaphors and similes that bring a curious new perspective to the mundane. It adds such playfulness and lyricism, which I think elevates the story's overall tone.

I loved following Annie's journey as she considers her role in the universe. A moment that stuck out to me is when she realizes why she is so passionate about space exploration. To paraphrase, we are all given a set of talents and capabilities by some greater power who takes care of us, and our part of the bargain is to use these talents to the best of our abilities. At first, this seemed like a beautiful way of thinking about it. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much this ideology constrains us. In believing you must use your best talents to contribute to society, you can let other sides of yourself fade into the background. This idea is why passionate, creative people stop making art in favor of doing something more "productive" for society. It is why people claim it's a "waste" when intelligent people go to trade school instead of a four-year college. In this novel, we see how a happy life comes from focusing your energy on all aspects of your life, not just work, and that you aren't a failure if you aren't using all of your talents to their fullest extent.

I also loved getting to know all of the characters and discovering their relationships with each other. The main character's bisexuality was superb! Not only do we see her in romantic relationships with men and women, but we also see how her attraction differs between these two genders. Her attraction between them feels different in a way that is difficult to elucidate, and it shows that bisexuality is so much more nuanced than a simple blanket attraction to all genders.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I'm a sucker for science and space, and the queer representation is what really sealed the deal. This book is for people who love sci-fi, space, and time, as well as those who like to feel butterflies in their stomach as they watch two characters fall in love.

A debut historical novel about the ambitious, intelligent, 1960s era Annie Fisk and her passion for the NASA moon mission. The book tells of the story of Annie’s unexpected scientific discovery and and its impact on love and life. A unique, good read.

A surprisingly compelling blend of historical fiction and speculative fiction, featuring truly admirable characters.