The Destiny of Minou Moonshine

The Destiny of Minou Moonshine is a stunning story that steps back in history and time and whisks the reader into the richly exotic landscape of an alternate Indian colonial city. Moonlally is a city divided into Whitetowners and Blacktowners and for the past 13 long, grim years, has been controlled and worn down by a tyrant General. The city's splendid and proud history of ruling queens, worship of the goddess Dark Lady and all the traditions of the queendom's past are slowly being disallowed and dismantled.

The deliciously named Minou Moonshine is the heroine of this fantastic, fresh adventure. A foundling orphan, just about to turn 13, she is inquisitive, independent and headstrong. Found alone in the floods as a newborn, home has been a ramshackle houseboat in Blacktown with her feisty, wise, General-cursing adopted grandmother, Dima. The atmosphere in Moonlally is shifting; rumours and tales are being told of a rebel gang, The Green Orchids, who seek to overthrow the General. Stories of his heinous rule - throwing his enemies to crocodiles - are all around. Minou is curious and intrigued but when tragedy strikes her life and she loses the only person she could call family, Minou's future is changed forever. She is determined to play her part in joining the rebels, restoring Moonlally's glorious past and in bringing down the hated, feared General for good. In doing so, Minou begins to unravel the secrets of her own hidden past and realizes her destiny is something far greater than she ever imagined.

I was completely captivated by this story. The setting is so lush and evocative, and written to encompass all of the senses with layer upon layer of sights, sounds and scents of this colonial landscape and its people. From the sounds of parakeets and monkeys chattering in trees by Minou's hammock bed to the General's enormous fortress, built mockingly over the Temple of the Dark Lady, there is so much intricate and wonderful detail created.

Minou is an exciting main character that the reader absolutely roots for from the start. Her boldness and sense of daring make her exciting to follow and her sense of justness makes us so empathetic to the struggles she has already faced in her life. She is lively and ingenious and just a delight to join on her escapades across the land.  The secrets of the palace reveal themselves to her when her uncanny resemblance to the General's own daughter means that this burgeoning rebel is able to infiltrate "enemy lines" from within where she discovers invaluable sources that suggest the Queendom of Moonlally could be restored.

With fierce bravery and complete commitment, Minou and others, equipped with a map, mechanical elephant and belief in their people's stories, songs and past, embark on a journey to save Moonlally and return the Dark Lady's blessings to their city. Exciting, empowering and enthralling. I feel Moonlally has many more stories it could go on to tell. Perfect for fans of Nizrana Farook.

272 pages / Reviewed by Jennifer Caddick, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+