Song of the Orange Moons by Lori Ann Stephens

Synopsis from Goodreads:  A mosaic of stories that follow the intertwined lives of three girls coming of age. Two young girls from Jewish and Christian families and their elderly widow next door try to find happiness in a seemingly cruel world. In spite of their different cultural and economic backgrounds, Rebecka, Helen, and Adelle all share the delicate and self-conscious journey to womanhood. All three search for love and meaning in a variety of places a charismatic church, a Depression-era orphanage, a moonlit Savannah park, an orthodox Jewish boarding school and end up finding lasting strength in the power of their friendships. 

My thoughts:  This debut novel from Lori Ann Stephens is beautifully written.  It took me a little while to get into it, but once I did I couldn't wait to see what happened to each of these women.  Each of the girls has a vastly different experience yet they are able to come together to form a bond that stands the test of time.   We meet Rebecka and Helen as young girls, but Adelle shares her growth through her memories.  

One of the things that I found interesting was the passage of time.  Stephens didn't feel like she had to tell us every little detail to make the transition from young girls to women.  I think that the story reinforces the importance of those people that you choose to keep in your life for whatever reason.  It demonstrates how those people help to mold you into the person that you are.


There were times where I wondered where she was headed.  There wasn't a clear path that allowed you to guess where they were all going to end up.  I am interested to see what Stephens writes next.

This one is just releasing, I encourage you to check it out.

My copy of Song of the Orange Moons was provided to me by the author and her publicist to participate in her blog tour.  In no way did this affect my opinion of the book.