Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

Summary of Moonrise They think I hurt someone. But I didn't. You hear? Cos people are gonna be telling you all kinds of lies. I need you to know the truth. Joe hasn't seen his brother for ten years, and it's for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row. But now Ed's execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think ... From one-time winner and two-time Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this poignant, stirring, huge-hearted novel asks big questions. What value do you place on life? What can you forgive? And just how do you say goodbye?

Parent-Teacher Conference Ed showed up for my parent-teacher conference in ripped jeans. I sat opposite my first-grade teacher, watched her features as she yammered, noted Ed listening, wondered how much he understood, ‘cause I couldn’t follow any of it: “tardiness, achievement, literacy.” Afterward Ed conjured up a candy bar from his denim jacket. “I swiped that, so please enjoy,” he said, not a hint of shame, maybe even a slice of pride. He never usually admitted to stealing stuff even though I knew he couldn’t afford the sneakers he wore or the phone he used. At home, Mom was in bed. “It was parent-teacher night,” Ed explained from her bedroom doorway. She groaned. “God, I forgot. Do they think you’ll graduate?” “It was mine,” I corrected her. Ed walked away.

Mom pulled back her blanket, gestured for me to join her. “I have homework,” I lied. Mom didn’t protest. “Close the door.” My hands were coated in candy bar chocolate and Ed stood behind me while I washed them in the sink, one hand on my shoulder. “Mom cares more than she shows,” he said. “Does she?” I asked. I was six. Six years old, still wetting the bed, no parent to walk me to school or make my bagged lunch. And even then I knew better than to believe him. (Page 81-83)

Everyone Walked I never had a dad but I had a big brother and then I didn’t and then I didn’t have a mother and I spent a lot of time wondering when I would lose my sister my aunt, until everyone I loved walked out the front door leaving me alone. (Page 111)

Extension 1. How would you characterize Ed, the narrator’s older brother? What evidence from the text supports your character traits? 2. What is the connotation of the word “yammered” in line 5? How does this affect how you feel about the parent-teacher conference? 3. What can you infer about the narrator’s relationship with his mother? What makes you say that? 4. Why do you think the author formatted the poem “Everyone Walked” the way she did? How does the shape contribute to the poem’s meaning?