FULL MOON LAGOON
(2015)
Best for ages 8-12 years
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Best friends, Maddy and Cat spend their summers looking for action on magical Cortes Island, but they get more than they bargained for when they go lagoon-diving at midnight with Cat’s twin brother, “Draggin.” The three twelve-year-olds emerge from the current to find themselves in a whole new world: familiar, yet unknown, and increasingly dangerous. Their simple quest to return home turns into the adventure of a lifetime.
In her wonderful debut novel, Full Moon Lagoon, Monica Nawrocki weaves together the historical and the fantastical to create a suspenseful and moving tale of young people coming to terms with the injustices of the past. --Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being and The Book of Form and Emptiness Find the e-book here:
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Praise for Full Moon Lagoon
Nawrocki has created a magical story that still feels grounded in reality thanks to her three realistic main characters, their snarky, often hilarious banter, and some heartbreaking historical details. A short, sweet story that will educate readers about a dark time in history while also providing a healthy dose of sci-fi fun." –Kirkus Reviews
In Full Moon Lagoon, a smart-mouthed twelve-year-old named Maddy narrates an unusual adventure set on Cortes Island, B.C. The premise is supernatural – diving into a lagoon opens a time window that takes Maddy and her two friends back to 1941. Everything else feels real – the characters, the historical situation, and the outcomes.
Most of the characters have a “difference” blended in to their fulsome personalities. The point is shown rather than told: we are all different but certain differences make other people so uncomfortable that they can lead to avoidance, dislike, fear, hatred and even violence. Canada’s internment of its citizens of Japanese heritage illustrates this pertinent theme on the historic scale, while Maddy’s relationship to her wheelchair-bound stepfather illustrates it at the personal level.
As this beautifully written, fast-paced adventure develops, the characters – and the reader – come to a deeper understanding of discrimination." —Carrie Saxifrage, author of The Big Swim, Coming Ashore in a World Adrift
"12-year-old best friends Cat and Maddy have spent every summer together on British Columbia’s Cortes Island since they were 6. Together with Cat’s twin brother Draggin’ – nicknamed by the pair because they’re frequently 'dragging' him along – Cat and Maddy can usually be found planning some new big summer adventure on the island. After sneaking out to go lagoon diving one summer night, the trio emerges from the water to find their plans gone awry: their stuff is missing, the weather has turned cold, and things about the island look slightly different. Meeting Malila, a kind First Nations woman who gives them clothes and a place to stay, they quickly learn that their midnight dive has carried them through the mouth of the lagoon and back in time to December 1941, just after the attacks on Pearl Harbour and before the Japanese internment. Malila tells the three young travellers a story she heard as a child about a messenger who came from the lagoon and shared important knowledge with the people on Cortes Island. Considering themselves to be messengers from the future, Cat, Maddy and Draggin’ draw on their teamwork and problem-solving skills, as well as their knowledge of history, to determine what message they need to share before they can safely transport themselves back to present day.
Monica Nawrocki’s Full Moon Lagoon effortlessly shifts between history and hijinks, tempering passages that discuss the historical import of the Japanese internment with kidnappings, high-speed chases and a gun-toting villain. Despite a seeming disconnect between Cat, Maddy and Draggin’s present-day life on Cortes Island, and the past in which they find themselves, Nawrocki draws the two time periods together by highlighting themes of diversity and discrimination. Draggin’ has hearing loss, but his parents have taught him to see it as a difference, not a disability, and his ability to lip-read is frequently referred to as a super power throughout the novel. Additionally, Maddy’s new stepfather is in a wheelchair, a challenge that she often laments and uses to marginalise him and exclude him from her life. Only after experiencing the discrimination by the Canadian government during the Japanese internment first-hand does she come to recognize the importance of respecting everyone’s differences – including her stepfather’s. In Full Moon Lagoon, Nawrocki depicts inquiry in action, as Cat, Maddy and Draggin’ use material learned in their social studies class and apply it to their real-life situation. The novel could serve as a useful text to demonstrate to many students that what they learn in history class really does matter – and could even be used to change the future." —reviewed by Natalie Colaiacovo, Resource Links Review (Dec. 2016, p. 36)
Thematic Links: Disability; Discrimination; Diversity; First Nations; Empathy; Teamwork; Perseverance; World War II - Pearl Harbour; Japanese Internment Camps
Monica Nawrocki’s Full Moon Lagoon effortlessly shifts between history and hijinks, tempering passages that discuss the historical import of the Japanese internment with kidnappings, high-speed chases and a gun-toting villain. Despite a seeming disconnect between Cat, Maddy and Draggin’s present-day life on Cortes Island, and the past in which they find themselves, Nawrocki draws the two time periods together by highlighting themes of diversity and discrimination. Draggin’ has hearing loss, but his parents have taught him to see it as a difference, not a disability, and his ability to lip-read is frequently referred to as a super power throughout the novel. Additionally, Maddy’s new stepfather is in a wheelchair, a challenge that she often laments and uses to marginalise him and exclude him from her life. Only after experiencing the discrimination by the Canadian government during the Japanese internment first-hand does she come to recognize the importance of respecting everyone’s differences – including her stepfather’s. In Full Moon Lagoon, Nawrocki depicts inquiry in action, as Cat, Maddy and Draggin’ use material learned in their social studies class and apply it to their real-life situation. The novel could serve as a useful text to demonstrate to many students that what they learn in history class really does matter – and could even be used to change the future." —reviewed by Natalie Colaiacovo, Resource Links Review (Dec. 2016, p. 36)
Thematic Links: Disability; Discrimination; Diversity; First Nations; Empathy; Teamwork; Perseverance; World War II - Pearl Harbour; Japanese Internment Camps
5 Reasons You Don’t Have to Be a Kid to Love Full Moon Lagoon
Full review by editor Coreen Boucher
Full review by editor Coreen Boucher
From the Kids: What Young Readers are Saying
Dear Monica, Thank you for writing Full Moon Lagoon, I think it’s a really good book and plan to share it with my friends. I like the way it’s written. It’s playful, and even after my Mom told me it was time to go to bed, I wanted to keep reading it. I’d like to go to the lagoon to dive off the rock, and feel the rush of the water. From the way you described it, I could do that all day. I remember learning sign language in grade three and loving it. Now I think about it all the time, and have been looking up YouTube videos to remind myself how to do it." –Graeme.
I just wanted to comment on the book. Personally, I thought the book was amazing. The cover matched well with the book, there was a lot of drama which I enjoyed and I learned so much about the things that happened back then. Continue to write, you're great at it." —J
Comments from the Grade 7 Class at Whitemouth School
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT YOUR BOOK WAS . . .
. . . all the twists and turns and surprises. –J
. . . every chapter was breathtaking, always exciting and keeping our interest. –C
. . . the idea! And how things happened unsuspected. It is a really good book. –A
. . . that it had great characters, great story, just great in general. –M
. . . the whole main idea about book (time travelling to the past). –M
. . . some words were different than any other book I read. –C
(a few people commented on a plot twist that we don't want to give away!)
. . . all the twists and turns and surprises. –J
. . . every chapter was breathtaking, always exciting and keeping our interest. –C
. . . the idea! And how things happened unsuspected. It is a really good book. –A
. . . that it had great characters, great story, just great in general. –M
. . . the whole main idea about book (time travelling to the past). –M
. . . some words were different than any other book I read. –C
(a few people commented on a plot twist that we don't want to give away!)
From the Parents
We finished the book and Graeme had lots of questions, especially about Draggin, perhaps because he was a boy, but also because of his hearing. He also had questions about the internment, and it led us into a whole other conversation about Syrian refugees and France’s response to the recent terrorist attacks. It’s a fantastic book, beautifully written (so smooth and easy to read aloud) and raises lots of questions for kids about difference and inclusion, on individual and political levels. As a parent, I was so pleased to see how the story opened up new and different areas of interest for Graeme. . . . Yesterday when there was the supermoon, he said, 'Imagine what it would be like in the lagoon tonight. Do you think it would make the current even stronger? Can we try next summer?' And on our way out the door, hopping on our bikes yesterday morning, he asked, 'Do you think people can sign faster than we can speak out loud?' I thought you’d like to know your images, characters, and story are mingling in a little boy’s head and creating new thoughts and ideas. That’s art!" –Keva Glynn
Hi Monica, While camping on Cortes Island this summer we picked up your book, Full moon Lagoon. I read it to my two sons who really enjoyed it even though they claim not to like fantasy literature. They learned something new about Canada's history too.
I enjoyed how well written the book was. The characters were well thought out and the descriptions were often poetic and easy to visualize. We had just visited the lagoon for the first time on our last trip as well! This made your book all the more meaningful. Will you be writing another one soon?
Thank you again." —Mikiala, Soren and Kahlil
From the Teachers
I ordered a class set of Full Moon Lagoon and read it with my Grade 7 students. They loved it! It also tied in well with our study in Social Studies of the World Wars. Monica was kind enough to arrange a video chat with my class where she was willing to answer questions about the book and the process of publishing. Thank you so much, Monica! We look forward to more books from you!" –Leanne Van Bergen, Whitemouth, Manitoba
My students (Grade 5, mainly boys, many very bright or gifted) really enjoyed Full Moon Lagoon. They are an opinionated lot and quick to complain if a book doesn't cut it.
They were engaged throughout with Maddy, Cat and Draggin, who came across as authentic children who had real kid goals, lives, conversations, and resentments. My students enjoyed speculating, predicting and expressing envy that the three characters had the freedom to roam unsupervised around the island at all hours and leap off cliffs!
They were fascinated with the plot and very interested in the treatment of the Japanese on the west coast during wartime. Not something they knew much about prior to the story. They found the scene where they are captured by Crazy Bill and where the Tagawa family almost don’t get away in time very suspenseful and there was a lot of groaning when I had to put the book away for the day.
Our daily read aloud is our fun reading (no follow-up comprehension questions or specific study unit!). I avoid prepared lesson plans/units so we can organize our own study around the themes. We did a science inquiry as to whether time travel was possible. We began with a non-fiction article for this on the What in The World website called, 'Wrinkles in Space Time.' From there they wrote their own Time Travel stories.
By the way I also enjoyed your book, Thanks for Chucking That at the Wall Instead of Me. I've since purchased more as gifts for departing student teachers. Let us know when your next book comes out! Best wishes." —Kirsty
I just wanted to let you know that I love your book. I don't usually read a book cover to cover. I started and finished your book in one exciting afternoon. There are so many layers within it ... The relationships; time travel; history; the themes of racism, loyalty, being positive; the value of knowing history. It's a real winner. I'm going to read it to my class." —Aaron
I read your book like my dogs eat treats. I have shared your book old school by passing it on to two lovely young readers in my life. As I read, I kept wishing I'd had this book when I taught grade 6 - in fact I kept imagining the reactions of those in my last class. Thank you." —Wendy Chase