‘The Confessions of Stella Moon’ by Shelley Day: review by Vic Watson
Here’s a good taste of one of our Festival authors’ work – Shelley Day’s ‘Stella Moon’ – from Vic Watson (aka Elementary Watson). Vic’s a Newcastle-based writer, blogger, creative writing tutor, copyeditor and proofreader. Her blog is crammed with insightful and thoughtful reviews. She’s very kindly given me permission to reproduce today’s offering below. This really makes me want to hear Shelley Day being interviewed by former ITV Tyne Tees and Border News Political Editor, Gerry Foley, on Saturday 22nd October at 4pm here in Berwick.
Don’t forget, tickets are available for all events at the Festival from The Maltings, Berwick.
Here’s Vic’s review:
Shelley Day’s debut novel, The Confession of Stella Moon, pulls you in from the first page and doesn’t let you go, even after the final page has been turned.
Stella Moon confessed to killing her mother on her eighteenth birthday. Now she’s served her time and is determined to start over but some things need to be put to rest before Stella can begin to think about her future.
A sense of claustrophobia pervades this novel, cloying and at times unbearable. I rushed through this story, partly because I couldn’t bear the tension! Day conjures up a strong sense of Stella’s rattled state of mind. The juxtaposition between the beautiful scenery of Northumberland and the hideous acts that occur is very well developed.
I was completely immersed in the story which is no mean feat. No wonder ‘The Confessions of Stella Moon’ was on the longlist for Not the Man Booker prize. I can’t wait to read what Shelley Day produces next.
Vic x
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