About Daughters of the Moon

Daughters of the Moon is a young adult fantasy book series written by American author Lynne Ewing. This fantasy series focuses on the lives of five teenage girls with mysterious secret powers living in Los Angeles. The series has been published in the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Sweden.

History

The first Daughters of the Moon book, Goddess of the Night, was published in 2000 by Hyperion Books. Each book was released in hardcover. Lynne Ewing went on to pen twelve more books in the Daughters of the Moon series (in order of publication): Into the Cold Fire, Nightshade, The Haunting, The Secret Scroll, The Sacrifice, The Lost One, Moon Demon, Possession, The Choice, The Talisman, The Prophecy, The Becoming and The Final Eclipse. The last of the series hit bookstore shelves in late 2007. In addition to the Daughters of the Moon series, Lynne Ewing has written many other books for young adults, including the Sisters of Isis and Sons of the Dark series.

Size

The Daughters of the Moon series is thirteen books long. Each book in the series is around (or just under) 300 pages.

Features

Daughters of the Moon revolves around a group of teenage girls who discover that they have secret powers and must fight the evil Atrox, who is able to steal souls. Characters Vanessa and Catty are best friends with the powers of invisibility and time travel, respectively. When Catty goes missing, Vanessa meets Serena, a mind reader, who tells her that she is in fact a Daughter of the Moon. The first book blends romantic elements with suspense and fantasy. The second book focuses on Serena, and the third introduces former gang member Jimena, whose boyfriend Veto has seemingly risen from the dead. In The Secret Scroll, Catty goes back in time to find her birth mother. The next installation of the series, The Sacrifice, chronicles the relationship between Serena and Stanton, a follower of the Daughters arch-nemesis, Atrox. A new character is also revealed in the series' sixth book, in which Tianna discovers her power of telekinesis and also becomes embroiled in the fight against Atrox.

The seventh book brings the focus back to Vanessa, and the eighth tackles a mysterious ailment that comes over Serena. The Choice, the ninth book, has Catty allowing Jimena to travel back in time. The tenth book marks a bit of a turning point, as the character of Maggie is introduced. Maggie began her life in ancient Greece and her story explains some aspects of the origins of the Daughters of the Moon. Book 11 is Catty's and details her role in the ongoing battle against Atrox. Tianna fights her own dark side in the twelfth book, and the final Daughters of the Moon book brings all five girls together for a final showdown against Atrox.

Expert Insight

At time of its release, Publishers Weekly said the first book in this series "sexy, but lackluster," calling it "Buffy the Vampire Slayer without the camp." The respected book reviewer did acknowledge, however, that some readers would appreciate that the book was "multicultural and cutting edge," with a "California-hip backdrop." These books are written at a fifth-grade reading level.

Potential

Readers may also be interested in Lynne Ewing's other work. After penning the Daughters of the Moon books, Ewing began work on the Sisters of Isis series, which combines elements of Egyptian mythology with a modern-day urban setting. The Sons of Dark book cover similar territory with a male cast. Party Girl, another of Ewing's novels, is a more realistic tome, detailing the struggles of a girl trying to avoid gang life.