Pre-pub review: MOON CHOSEN, by P.C. Cast

The story: Mari is the daughter of a Moon Woman, shaman to the Earth Walkers clan. Nik is the son of High priest Sol, a son of the Tree Tribes, whose leaders bond with huge canines called Companions. When a pup entrusted to his care runs off, Nik attempts to find it--but he finds Mari instead. His people have enslaved her people for generations, thinking they're childlike and only good for farming; but when Nik first sees her, Mari is channeling the SUN - just like his people. How is this possible? Although brought up as enemies, the two will have to work together to unite their tribes before they fall victim to the coming onslaught of the Skin Stealers...but no one's ever done this before, and there's no guarantee Nik and Mari will be able to do it either. And falling in love is just bound to complicate things...

Available October, 2016June Cleaver's ratings: Language R; Violence R; Sexual content PG-13 (near-rape scene might earn an R rating from some); Nudity PG-13; substance abuse PG-13; Magic & the occult PG-13; GLBT content PG-13; adult themes (too many to name) PG-13; overall rating R.

Liz's comments: Cast does a great job setting up a post-apocalyptic world set (my guess) in the future area of Portland OR. However, the things that make this is a great read for more mature audiences (think very deliberate pace, careful world-building, and a tendency to require readers to have to think about things) will make it unsuitable for MS audiences. There are probably two or three readers at my middle school (population 1100) that would be able to tackle this one and keep with it to the end. I really liked it, but it's totally for grades 9-up.