Winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize and a finalist for The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a starred review *Kirkus Review* praised *Unhooking the Moon *as a "rousing adventure on the not-so-mean streets, with heart aplenty."
When an adventurous sister-and-brother duo become orphans, a funny and heartbreaking roadtrip to New York ensues, as the pair searches for their long-lost uncle.
Meet the Rat: A dancing, soccer-loving, fearless ten-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Meet her older brother, Bob: Protector of the Rat, though more often than not her faithful follower, Bob is determined to build a new and better life for him and his sister in America. Of particular concern for him are his sister's mysterious fits, which keep getting more and more severe.
On their adventures traveling alone from the flatlands of Winnipeg, southward across the border into America, Bob and the Rat make friends with a host of unlikely characters, including a hilarious con man and a famous rap star. As they struggle to survive in the big city, they realize that finding your uncle in New York is incredibly difficult if you have almost no information about him--even if he is rumored to be one of the city's biggest drug dealers.
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### Amazon.com Review
**An Amazon Best Children’s Book of the Month, October 2013:** In this utterly charming adventure, orphaned siblings Bob and his younger sister Marie Claire, a.k.a. the Rat, leave their Winnipeg home for the streets of New York City in search of their long-lost uncle. From homeless men and hustlers to a big-time rapper, the characters we meet in *Unhooking the Moon* all have one thing in common--adoration of the fearless Rat. And after only a few chapters it becomes obvious why--the Rat has unwavering trust in her instincts about people, and her faith in their goodness brings it to bear, even in the most unlikely circumstances. Brother Bob is her hapless follower and protector and the unbreakable bond between them is one of the greatest pleasures of the book. Even the most improbable events seem plausible in this story and the reader can’t help but root for these kids to find their uncle and rebuild their family.*--Seira Wilson*
### From School Library Journal
Gr 5-8-Determined not to be placed in foster care after their widowed father dies suddenly, 12-year-old Bob DeBillier and 10-year-old Marie Claire (aka "the Rat," her Indian name) hop a freight train in Winnipeg and head to New York in hopes of finding their long-lost Uncle Jerome, reputed to be a drug dealer. The colorful characters and exciting, often dangerous adventures along the way comprise the plot, but it is Rat's persona that drives the story. Clairvoyant, precocious, rambunctious, and the victim of mysterious seizures, she convinces Bob, who narrates from a years-later vantage point, that biking from Brooklyn to the Bronx, sleeping behind bushes in Central Park, scamming in Times Square with an aging con man, and intruding into the life of a famous rap star are all necessary to find Uncle Jerome. But when Rat disappears in midtown, things turn dark, and Bob must find the courage and help he needs to find her, plunging into a situation with violent consequences. While a good deal of the action and over-the-top characterizaion strain credibility, readers will be engrossed in the story right up to the unsettling conclusion. A strong dose of swearing, some foul language, and Rat's habit of bleeping out the ubiquitous f-word pepper the dialogue, and vivid descriptions of Winnipeg and New York City provide a strong, authentic sense of place. This title is fast-paced and entertaining.-Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NYα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journal. LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Description:
Winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize and a finalist for The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a starred review *Kirkus Review* praised *Unhooking the Moon *as a "rousing adventure on the not-so-mean streets, with heart aplenty." When an adventurous sister-and-brother duo become orphans, a funny and heartbreaking roadtrip to New York ensues, as the pair searches for their long-lost uncle. Meet the Rat: A dancing, soccer-loving, fearless ten-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Meet her older brother, Bob: Protector of the Rat, though more often than not her faithful follower, Bob is determined to build a new and better life for him and his sister in America. Of particular concern for him are his sister's mysterious fits, which keep getting more and more severe. On their adventures traveling alone from the flatlands of Winnipeg, southward across the border into America, Bob and the Rat make friends with a host of unlikely characters, including a hilarious con man and a famous rap star. As they struggle to survive in the big city, they realize that finding your uncle in New York is incredibly difficult if you have almost no information about him--even if he is rumored to be one of the city's biggest drug dealers. ** ### Amazon.com Review **An Amazon Best Children’s Book of the Month, October 2013:** In this utterly charming adventure, orphaned siblings Bob and his younger sister Marie Claire, a.k.a. the Rat, leave their Winnipeg home for the streets of New York City in search of their long-lost uncle. From homeless men and hustlers to a big-time rapper, the characters we meet in *Unhooking the Moon* all have one thing in common--adoration of the fearless Rat. And after only a few chapters it becomes obvious why--the Rat has unwavering trust in her instincts about people, and her faith in their goodness brings it to bear, even in the most unlikely circumstances. Brother Bob is her hapless follower and protector and the unbreakable bond between them is one of the greatest pleasures of the book. Even the most improbable events seem plausible in this story and the reader can’t help but root for these kids to find their uncle and rebuild their family.*--Seira Wilson* ### From School Library Journal Gr 5-8-Determined not to be placed in foster care after their widowed father dies suddenly, 12-year-old Bob DeBillier and 10-year-old Marie Claire (aka "the Rat," her Indian name) hop a freight train in Winnipeg and head to New York in hopes of finding their long-lost Uncle Jerome, reputed to be a drug dealer. The colorful characters and exciting, often dangerous adventures along the way comprise the plot, but it is Rat's persona that drives the story. Clairvoyant, precocious, rambunctious, and the victim of mysterious seizures, she convinces Bob, who narrates from a years-later vantage point, that biking from Brooklyn to the Bronx, sleeping behind bushes in Central Park, scamming in Times Square with an aging con man, and intruding into the life of a famous rap star are all necessary to find Uncle Jerome. But when Rat disappears in midtown, things turn dark, and Bob must find the courage and help he needs to find her, plunging into a situation with violent consequences. While a good deal of the action and over-the-top characterizaion strain credibility, readers will be engrossed in the story right up to the unsettling conclusion. A strong dose of swearing, some foul language, and Rat's habit of bleeping out the ubiquitous f-word pepper the dialogue, and vivid descriptions of Winnipeg and New York City provide a strong, authentic sense of place. This title is fast-paced and entertaining.-Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NYα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journal. LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.