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May 30, 2020: Don't worry, this is going to be a spoiler-free article but I wanted to explain my title choice for the second book in The Quinton's Curious Mind series. If you read the first book, My Summer (with Robots), you'll remember that the titular "robots" were largely symbolic for the main character of Quinton Wyatt. As a fourteen-year-old nervous about starting high school, dealing with the treachery of a false friend, and reexamining his own guilt for how he treated someone he liked, the robots were his friends at a time when he felt friendless. The title of the second book also contains symbolism — this time in the form of the crescent moon. |
My Summer (Under A Crescent Moon): The Title Explained | Manuscript Melancholy | Telling Stories Through Chapter Art | Lessons from My Covid Year Novel | Is T.J. a Victim or a Villain? | Looking Back From the End |
Crescent moons are special because they represent transition. There are twice as many crescent moons as there are full moons or new moons, and the crescent phases can mean the moon's moving toward its most luminous state — or toward its darkest when it vanishes from sight altogether. Thematically, this fits well with the plot of My Summer (Under A Crescent Moon) because Quinton, T.J., and many of the other characters are all dealing with transitions. Some of these transitions are intentional, others have been thrust upon the characters by outside forces. The repercussions of these changes will have lasting impacts on the characters' relationships with each other and will set up the drama for Book 3 in the series.
Moon imagery is contained throughout the book as much of the action takes place at night. This is also a thematic change from Book 1, where most of the action took place during the day, and in particular, the heat of the day. In Robots, Quinton's world was permeated by sunshine, heat, dust and cactus. It was a vivid, colorful but often uncomfortable world. To escape the worst of a Sonoran summer, he and his best friend, Eddie "Monkey" DeGuzman, dig a fort in a desert wash. This hollow in the ground becomes Quint's refuge, a hiding place from the realities he hopes to avoid. However, this is flipped in Crescent Moon. Now sixteen years old, Quint's world is largely dark, cool, quiet and comfortable — until it isn't. More of the action happens in the shadows, because Quinton has secrets to keep and the darkness protects him. But he forgets you can still see plenty by moonshine.
Once Crescent Moon is published, I hope you will enjoy searching out its lunar symbolism. If you'd like to follow along on the book's progress, I've created the hashtags #MYSUMMERSEQUEL and #UNDERACRESCENTMOON to help you on Twitter and Instagram.
If you haven't started the story yet, click here for buying information on My Summer (with Robots).
Moon imagery is contained throughout the book as much of the action takes place at night. This is also a thematic change from Book 1, where most of the action took place during the day, and in particular, the heat of the day. In Robots, Quinton's world was permeated by sunshine, heat, dust and cactus. It was a vivid, colorful but often uncomfortable world. To escape the worst of a Sonoran summer, he and his best friend, Eddie "Monkey" DeGuzman, dig a fort in a desert wash. This hollow in the ground becomes Quint's refuge, a hiding place from the realities he hopes to avoid. However, this is flipped in Crescent Moon. Now sixteen years old, Quint's world is largely dark, cool, quiet and comfortable — until it isn't. More of the action happens in the shadows, because Quinton has secrets to keep and the darkness protects him. But he forgets you can still see plenty by moonshine.
Once Crescent Moon is published, I hope you will enjoy searching out its lunar symbolism. If you'd like to follow along on the book's progress, I've created the hashtags #MYSUMMERSEQUEL and #UNDERACRESCENTMOON to help you on Twitter and Instagram.
If you haven't started the story yet, click here for buying information on My Summer (with Robots).