THE LEGEND OF ZOEY
by Candie Moonshower
Yearling
Hardcover: 0385732805
Paperback: 9780440239246
Ages 8-12
224 pages

Even though her family tries to celebrate her thirteenth birthday the same way they always have, Zoey knows things will never be the same --- her mom and dad are splitting up. At least her Grandmother Cope never changes. She is the stable part of Zoey's life and always there when Zoey needs her. For that Zoey loves her, despite the fact that her grandmother is always spouting off strange sayings, wearing her hair in long braids and doing beaded crafts. Zoey blames her grandmother's weirdness on her Native American heritage. Of course, that makes Zoey part Native American as well, but she doesn't want to admit that; she doesn't like being different from everyone else.

Zoey immediately starts journaling her life in a diary that her grandmother gave her. She describes her parents fighting, the uncomfortable Thanksgiving holiday, the strange two-tailed comet flying through the night sky, and having to suffer through her mom's new career as a midwife. She also writes about the upcoming class field trip to Reelfoot Lake, the mysterious lake that formed in 1812 when a series of earthquakes hit the town of New Madrid, in what is later to become the state of Missouri.

But as Zoey sits on the bus with her classmates en route to Reelfoot Lake, a huge storm blows in, causing the bus to pull over to the side of the road. In the mass confusion of rain, lightning and chaos, Zoey somehow gets teleported back to the year 1811, just as the massive earthquakes are starting to shake! She hooks up with a girl named Prudence and Pru's pregnant mother as they travel to escape the tremors destroying New Madrid. Zoey quickly learns the skills needed to survive, like collecting firewood and finding food. And when she meets up with her own ancestors, she also learns more about her Native American heritage, discovering that it is okay to be proud of who she is.

THE LEGEND OF ZOEY is Candie Moonshower's first novel, and she has woven a wonderful story. Written in the unique fashion of alternating chapters between Zoey and Prudence's journal entries, readers will quickly become riveted by the girls' adventures and may have trouble putting the book aside. THE LEGEND OF ZOEY focuses on actual events that took place in New Madrid in 1811-1812, sharing a bit of history in an exciting way.

    --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND.

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