Synopsis: 1969. London. No. 6 Chelsea Walk isn’t the kind of house Andie is used to. Even if their new home is just a flat, it’s still a sudden step up in the world. Her sister, Prune, is thrilled to be living so close to the heart of swinging London, but for Andie excitement lies elsewhere. Long held under the mystical sway of the moon, Andie has painted its surface over and over again, but soon the whole world will see the real thing and Andie is afraid that the magic will end when Apollo 11 touches down.

Review: Andie’s Moon is one book in The Historical House series; a collaboration between Adèle Geras, Linda Newbery and Ann Turnbull, charting the history of a London house and its residents over three centuries. Andie’s Moon makes passing reference to Newbery’s previous entry in the series, Polly’s March, but its strength is in the evocation of its own time frame.

The book is set in the late Sixties, and Newbery presents London at its very coolest, but the really notable things for the modern reader are the smallness of London (as far as Prune is concerned, it’s all about the King’s Road) and the sense of safety. Andie’s mother is angry when she goes off to a free concert in Hyde Park without telling her, but she is happy sending a twelve year old across the city to a museum. There is no fear for children such as we see today.

The story itself is slight, but both appealing and involving. Andie’s main function is as an observer of events and her own narrative mostly concerns her personal growth through adversity in her brief time at No. 6, but that growth is convincing and Andie herself is an utterly likeable and sympathetic character. Andie’s Moon is a simple and moving story, and would provide an effective accompaniment to a study of the period.

2007-05-03