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    Alabama Moon
    Alabama Moon
    Alabama Moon
    Audiobook8 hours

    Alabama Moon

    Written by Watt Key

    Narrated by Nick Landrum

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Ten-year-old Moon has lived in an Alabama forest with his Pap ever since he can remember. Pap, a Vietnam vet, taught Moon how to survive-and how to keep away from the government. On his deathbed, Pap tells Moon that he must flee to Alaska to find others like them and continue to live free, without government restrictions. Soon though, a well-meaning acquaintance turns Moon over to the local boys' home. Moon is determined to keep the promise he made to his father, so with Hal and Kit, the first friends he's ever had, he sets off for Alaska. But Moon learns the hard way that you need to trust sometimes-and maybe Pap wasn't right to distrust everyone and everything. Watt Key, a native Alabaman, makes a stunning debut with this novel. "A winningly fresh look at life and culture almost never seen in children's books."-The Horn Book Magazine "Key writes honestly about hunting, trapping and the hardships of survival in this rather unusual coming-of-age story."-Kirkus Reviews "Well written with a flowing style, plenty of dialogue, and lots of action. The characters are well-drawn and three-dimensional ..."-School Library Journal
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJan 14, 2008
    ISBN9781449803759
    Author

    Watt Key

    Albert Watkins Key, Jr., publishing under the name Watt Key, is an award-winning southern fiction author. He grew up and currently lives in southern Alabama with his wife and family. Watt spent much of his childhood hunting and fishing the forests of Alabama, which inspired his debut novel, Alabama Moon, published to national acclaim in 2006. Alabama Moon won the 2007 E.B. White Read-Aloud Award, was included on Time Magazine's list of the Best One Hundred YA Books of All Time, and has been translated in seven languages.

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    Reviews for Alabama Moon

    4/5

    200 ratings21 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Fantastic story the narrator had the perfect voice for the content and it resonated with me on a personal level. Not to mention my little daughter loves going to bed listening to a book with or reading one too her. Now, Where’s the sequel?! Lol
    • 3/5
      Entertaining young adult read. Interesting story and satisfying ending.
    • 4/5
      Alabama Moon is the story of a 10 year old boy who has been raised in the forest by his survivalist father. Moon, as he is called, can gather food, build shelter, find his way in the woods but he has no experience with other people or civilization. When his father dies, and he is left on his own, he has no idea of who to trust and gets on the wrong side of the law. Unfortunately the lawman he comes in contact with is a small-minded bully. Moon is taken to a boy’s juvenile home from which he shortly escapes from.Moon does not escape alone but takes along a couple of the boys, as he has learned that loneliness is the one thing he can’t cope with. He and his two friends encounter all kinds of difficulties and heartbreak before Moon discovers that there are adults that are willing to help him and guide him to a place of safety and belonging.Set in the 1980’s I thought this was an interesting and entertaining look at what happens to the children of these survivalists that leave civilization to escape from any kind of government control. A easy YA read, with a fairly predictable storyline, but with a strong, scrappy main character that you grow to care about.
    • 5/5
      Great adventure book for kids. Everyone of my students has enjoyed this book each year we read it.
    • 2/5
      This book was very slow and it left me feeling bored through most of the story. I felt that it was too down to earth, a little to down to earth. 2/5 JM (10th grade) I thought the book would be more interesting then it really was. AG
    • 4/5
      Good story
    • 5/5
      Fantastic! read it cover to cover in one sitting.
    • 4/5
      I normally do not seek the adventure survival-in-the-wild story, but I really liked this one. Lots of well-developed characters, humor, bullying, accurate portrayal of the area and times.
    • 5/5
      a brilliant book that allowed me as a reader to experience so many emotions. While There were various storylines interwoven, the story did not get lost and i found it enjoyable from start to end. At times I was crying, laughing, questioning, angry, aas well as feeling maternal towards Moon and the various characters. A great read.
    • 5/5
      Moon Blake has always lived in the wilderness alone with his pap. Able to survive completely on their own, Moon and his father build shelters, hunt and trap animals, and make their own clothing. Then suddenly, Moon’s father is injured and becomes critically ill. Though Moon knows a lot about folk and herbal medicine, he is soon left alone to fend for himself. Even worse, a big city lawyer has begun building on the property that Moon and his father called their own, and Moon knows it’s only a matter of time before he will have to leave.Sure enough, authorities soon come to take him away to a boys’ home, authorities that include the sadistic Constable Sanders. Moon’s inability to understand the ways of the outside world soon put him on Sanders’s bad side. Luckily, at Pinson, the boys’ home, Moon quickly makes friends who help him break out. He and his band of “lost boys” head into the Talladega forest, where Moon promises to teach them all how to survive in the wilderness. Frightened by exposure and the sheer vastness of the forest however, most of the boys end up staying behind, leaving Moon with only two friends: Hal, the stubborn leader and Kit, the faithful follower. For a while, the three live very happily in the woods, and Moon thinks he’s finally settled. But soon, Kit’s health takes a turn for the worse, and then Sanders shows up, looking for the boys. It’s then that Moon realizes that his life has truly changed, and he is going to have to make a life-and-death decision.Filled with tidbits about survivalist information, this novel is sure to appeal to middle school kids of all stripes, especially boys. Moon is a tough kid, but with a heart of gold. He’s not out to hurt anyone, but he also has no idea why the world works the way it does. He has been brought up with the idea that the government is out to get him, and the only thing he can do is hide out far away from civilization. But the kind people he meets slowly show him otherwise. Reading about his slow realization that maybe his dad wasn’t as sane as he seemed is both a relief and a heartbreak. Teens will cheer on Moon as he rebels against all types of authority, but will also understand why he eventually needs to submit and find a new life in the city. And Sanders is a frightening and disturbing villain who gets his comeuppance in the end.The book is filled with lush descriptions of the wilderness that Moon cherishes, but is a quick-paced read. Key is particularly good at capturing Moon’s loneliness. Students will gobble the book up to find out if Moon survives, first when he is by himself, and later when he is saddled with two friends who mean well but have no clue what they are doing. There is some mild cussing, but it lends authenticity to already strong character voices. Overall, a fast-paced adventure story that middle schoolers will really enjoy, even if they have never set foot in a campsite.Grades 7-10
    • 4/5
      Survival adventure! Moon Blake has lived in the Alabama forest with his anti-government father for as long as he can remember, hunting and gathering food and making rare trips to a small general store to trade for supplies they can't make themselves. Moon's father breaks his leg and before he dies he tells Moon that he must get to Alaska, where there are "more people like us." Moon buries his father, packs up the wheelbarrow and walks out into the world -- a place he is definitely not prepared for. He runs into a sadistic constable, and is placed in the Pinson Boys Home (more like prison for juveniles) where he is officially listed as property of the state. Moon finds two true friends there, engineers a wild nighttime escape, and ends up back in the forest, hunted by the vicious constable who's now accused him of attempted murder (and eating his dogs). For a kid who knows absolutely nothing about how the world actually works, Moon figures out how to apply the skills of wilderness living to the outside world, and the good and bad people who live in it. Lots of humor, action, wonderful detail about life in the woods, and unforgettable characters! A movie version's been filmed, but not released yet. 7th grade and up.
    • 5/5
      VERY GOOD!! I love the 2nd one also!!It has a very good story!
    • 5/5
      This book is about a boy named Alabama Moon. He is very intelligent but is concidered an outlaw because his father and himself was living in protected area in southern Alabama. He is sent to a state home, where the "bad boys" go. He runs away from the state home with two friends and 1 dog. He makes it to California and stays with a family.I like this book because it contains adventure and it is very breath-taking. I would share this book to any number of people, who are able to accept a book that is not only sad but uplifting when you are sad. I recommed this book to those who are very suspiable to reading adventurous book and accept people for who they really are.
    • 4/5
      I found this book very engaging and enjoyable. Young Moon's experience living in the wilds, living as a survivalist, losing his father and on his own and under state care shows both the positive and negatives of trying to go solo without being preachy.
    • 5/5
      Moon Blake is 10 years old and since the age of two has been living with his father in the woods. Moon's father has taught him how to take care of himself. He can build shelters, hunt and forage for food, make his own clothes, and stay hidden. His father doesn't believe in government. When Moon asks his dad why they live out in the woods alone his dad says, "Because we never asked for anything and nobody ever gave us anything. Because of that, we don't owe anything to anybody." The only contact they have with the world is with a local store owner to whom they sell vegetables they've grown.But all that changes when first, the land they are living on is sold, and Moon's father dies. Now he's truly on his own and this is the story of Alabama Moon.There is great detail in the descriptions of the day to day skills needed to survive. The choices that Moon has to make, and the obstacles he encounters along with the unlikely friendships make this an exciting read. Moon is a strong and resourceful boy with a lot of character. As he narrates the story I felt right there with him as he met his challenges. I'd recommend this to 5th and up.
    • 5/5
      I was completely enthralled with this fast moving adventure story about a young boy, orphaned at ten years, who learns to fend for himself and deal with an adult world that doesn't always have his best interests in mind. His courage and friendship touches and improves the lives of two other boys who have very difficult fates. His outdoor survival skills are fascinating and plausible. Fortunately Moon is finally befriended by one unlikely adult, who initially had betrayed him, and succeeds in defeating the sadistic sheriff who is pursuing him.
    • 5/5
      Okay, this book made me almost cry many times (and I was at work so I couldn't cry, otherwise I would've). It's about a boy who is living in the forest with his dad, apart from civilization. His dad dies and tells him he should head to Alaska to avoid being caught by the government. However, Moon ends up in a boys' school for a while until he decides to break out. He starts to learn that the world isn't really the way his pa saw it. Overall, it was a moving story that really went straight to your heart.
    • 3/5
      Moon is a ten-year-old who has been raised in a shelter in the middle of the forest by his survivalist, anti-government father. When his dad breaks his legs, refuses to leave the forest for medical attention, and then dies, Moon is left alone with his father's dying words that he should go to Alaska. He is taken to a boys home and has his first of many run-ins with the increasingly sadistic, vengeful Constable Sanders. He somehow manages an escape with all the boys in the boys home - this kid not only knows everything about surviving in the wilderness, he may be a long lost relative of McGyver (please excuse the 1980s TV reference). Ultimately, Moon connects with some other boys, Hal and Kit, and finds an unlikely ally in a wealthy lawyer. This was a strangely compelling book, but at times it also struck me as a bit out there. There was something really unsettling about Moon, like an absolutely wild child out of place in the modern world. I did learn somethings about natural living, and ultimately I wished Moon a life where he could find a family to care for him.
    • 4/5
      Great boy read--especially for those Paulsen lovers. I am not a huge Paulsen fan, and I read the book in almost one sitting. Great characters and your heart goes out to Moon. Very realstic setting and conflict.
    • 3/5
      10-year-old Moon Blake has been raised to live off the land by his father who hates and fears the government. When Moon's father dies, he must survive on his own. He decides to go to Alaska where his father has told him there are more people like them - people who hate the government. Moon is caught and sent to a boys' home, but he escapes and sets off for Alaska, this time with two boys accompanying him. As Moon gets used to being around other people, he starts to question his father's vehement hatred of the government and he has to make up his mind about whether he still wants to live outside of society. A survival-adventure story that will appeal to fans of Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain, this historical fiction book takes a look at the moments when children start to question the truths by which they were raised. I was frustrated with some of the characters and I wish there had been an author's note to explain what inspired Key to write the story and why it was set in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
    • 5/5
      A 10 year old boy raised by his survivalist father plans to go to Alaska to live with other "government haters" after his father dies. He starts to questions some of his father's teachings along the way, and is stalked by a scary policeman. Fun book, my 64 year old father called it one of the best books he's read all year.