[Book Review] MOON By Tere Liye

But being pessimistic was not going to help us much, it was better to think positively. (page 139)

Author	Tere Liye
Publisher	Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Published	First published in Indonesia, in 2019. Second print: July 2019
Page	344 pages; 20 cm
ISBN	9786020636238
Translation by	Gill Westaway

Synopsis:

Her nama is Seli, she’s fifteen years old, she’s in class 10, and she’s my best friend.she’s just other teenagers. She likes the same things, she listens to the same song, goes to fast food joints, watches telenovela, films and other things that teenagers like.

But Seli and I have a little secret that we’re never shared with anyone. Something which we kept to ourselves since we were small. I can disappear and Seli can produce lightning.

Possessing those powers, we go on adventures to the most amazing places.

This is the second book from the series “EARTH.” The original book published in 2015 by Gramedia Pustaka Utama under the tittle “BULAN.” First published in Indonesia, in 2019 by Gramedia Pustaka Utama. I was excited that one of my favorite series finally translate in english, hopefully the people who love Harry Potter series all around the world can read and enjoy this book.

RAIB, can disappear, from Moon Clan. She’s only child. For an adolescent of her age, there’s nothing spesial about her. She has long, straight, black hair. She like reading and she’s got two cats at home. She’s not clever or even popular. She just socialize with her classmates and mainly mix with the girls. Her marks are average, none of them particullary spectacular, except in languange–She really like that subject. She always liked the rain. Watching the rain drops fall always made her feel happy.

SELI, can produce lightning, from Sun Clan. She has shoulder lenght hair. She’s Raib best friend since Class Ten, Raib classmate who shared same table. She always love watching the sunset. It always makes her heart feel warm and at peace. That sunset was very beautiful. When she was still small, wherever she was  taken to the beach, when it was time for the sunset, she would stop playing, or even if she was in the middle of crying. She would be quiet for a moment. She would stand on her own watching the sunset, no one could talk to her until the sun had completely gone. Seli love the sunset. She’s a member of Sun Clan. Seli always looked so fasionable, because her mother gave her such good advice.

ALI, from the most primitive tribe of the  parrarel world, can turn into a giant bear. Ali from Earth Clan. He did seem lazy, rowdy, he like fighting, but in certain classes he could reduce the tearchers to silence through his question which showed up their stupidity. His teacher are often really nervous in class when he start asking his strange question. If you had to teach a kid who was as brainy as him, you would have to feel awkward. Horrific in sense of being different. It’s only Miss Curly-Locks who’s not bothered by him, and she even dares to punish him. He read far more that anyone else in his school. He’s genius! He was the most of genius amongst Raib and Seli. Ali’s character which always made him so relaxed about everything could bring them into  danger.

This series always interesting for me. This is fiction, but I always have sama new knowlodge  from this book. Like Ali can describe Knowledge about eel:

Does anyone know why this eel can emit electricity? Ali just answered as if it was self-evident. “It’s simple. Seven eighths of the eel’s body are its tail. In its tail it has small batteries in the form of small horizontal and vertical plates. There are a lot of them, more than five thousand. The voltage of each battery is small but if all the batteries are linked together in a row, that can enable a charge of 600 volts. From the arrangement of these small batteries the eel can emit electricity. Naturally, the eel posseses a mechanism to prevent its body from being electroduced by its own electricity. It is easier to explain this if we think of a lightning conductor   on a roof top.” This was Ali’s answer  as he ruffled this already messy hair.  (page 9)

source image: https://www.idntimes.com/science/discovery/bayu-widhayasa/fakta-unik-belut-A-c1c2/full

And also Ali can explain about Seli’s power. ”Because I even know that it’s not just this group of eels that can emit a significant charge of electricity. Human being can also emit lightning. …. “As long as they have inherited the geneti code to do that, as long as they have millions of super-tiny battery plates in structure of their hands, which join with the blood cells are arranged in a row. And there are even more batteries than those of eel. Let alone significant strike of millions of volts. It’s easy to explain,” Ali answered simply. (page 10)

Read: Book Review Origin by Dan Brown

In this book, Raib, Ali, Seli, Ms. Curly Hair, Av and  Ily going to Sun Clan. It’s not a trip to the Sun Clan. This will not be an easy visit. We’re not going  there as tourists. We are enganging in inter-world diplomacy. And we have no way of knowing what reaction we will get from the leadership of the Sun Clan. In the past it was them who decided to close the portal ant to lock it for thounsands of years, to avoid the chaos of war. Their clan doesn’t like foreigners, particullary the inhabitants of the Moon Clan. This act of diplomacy could fail totally and end badly.” (39)

Only with the Book of Life that can open the portal, finally they touchdown in Sun Clan, but at the same time in this clan held an event. They arrived bofore Sunflower festival open. The Sun Clan is the most advanced in comparison with the Monn and Earth clans. They posses some cutting—dge technology. They are led by a Council made up of twelve elders, who were the ones who met us just now. Ilios city is the largest city in the whole world of Sun Clan. It’s in the same position as Tishri City in the world of Moon Clan, the capital of the whole country. Illios city is like city in the heavens, it’s so sophisticated and modern, while the settlements in the interior have been left behind several centuries.

Read: Dear tomorrow by Maudy Ayunda

The Sunflower Festival is the most important competition for the Sun Clan. Nine contingents from nine factions in the whole country compete to find the first suflower that blooms, in an unknown location. Whichever contingent finds that flower first will win the festival. The contestants are young people who are well trained, tough, and have the best survival skills, as there are many obstacles to finding this flower. But for the first time they will have ten contingents. Raib, Seli, Ali, and Ily will join as the last contingents.

Actually this festival would be dangerious. They would need to travel for days and days to find the first sunflower to bloom. They have no idea what you will encounter.

“Sometimes when the clue is situated deep in the forest and is difficult to find, your path will be full of obstables. Sometimes when the clue is situated in a village or a township, it will be easy to get. This is the area for your completion, the whole country. There will be three clues that will appear to show you the way to the sunflower. You will follow these three clues and the time limit, according to the calculation of the Council, will be that the sunflower will bloom nine days from now, when the sun rises.” (page 77)

Each contingets get a scroll paper about the first clue:

Go to the north. Find the flute which has no end. Disclosed behind it. The very first clue will appear

Who will win this competition? Who will be the first contingents that find the first sunflower? Just find out in this book.   If you love reading fantasy genre science fiction, it’s really recommended book. 🙂

Read: Goodbye Things

The Chracters in this book:

• Raib
• Seli
• Ali
• Gun, biology teacher
• Miss Curly-Locks or Miss Selena, can disappear and Math teacher.
• Av, the librarian in the Moon Clan’s Central Library, and old man dressed all in white, with white hair and a white beard, carrying wodden stick. His face looked friendly and agreeable.
• ILY: Ilo and Vey’s first born. His body was tall, his physique was strong, he was still young maybe just three or four years older than Raib, Seli & Ali. His face was handsome, with dark eyes.
• Seli’s mum
• Seli’s dad
• Saba-tara-taba, the steward of Sunflawer Festival.
• Mala-tara-tana II, one of the elders in the Sun Clan and a members of the Council. Av’s pen pal.
• Fala-tara-tana IV, the Head of Council, is the only one who knows first clue
• Hana-tara-hata
• Mata-hana-tara, (Hana’s son)
• Nena-tara-neta V, the boat owner who have ever play riddles with Ali.
• Mena-tara-nata II, (Nena’s son)
• Fala-tara-tana I, II, III

The unique:  for me the name in the Sun Clan very unique, consists of three litters like Hana-tara-hata, one of my favorite character besides Ily, then Fala-tara-tana IV, Nena-tara-neta. The story about Ily, only tell in this book.

My favorite Quote from this book:

1. A few years ago, when we scouted out this city and discovered that you three were special, I just wanted to bring you three together, so that you would all become close friends. I wanted human being from various clan to best friend one another, respect one another and help one another. (page 39)
2. I didn’t comment. Ali’s definition of fun was very different from other’s people. (page 50)
3. This is not something which I alone can decide. I am responsible for their safety. (pafe 71)
4. “I’ll go along with whatever Ra decides. She’s my best friend. I’ll go wherever she goes.” Seli took my arms. (page 74)
5. Ily really helped us a lot. He taught us how to determine the direction we were traveling in, and to tell the time by looking at the position of the starts. (page 110)
6. “If you finally find that flower, Child, be very careful. It might be the case that the best policy woulb be to just let it bloom until it fades. Listen to what Nature is telling you.” (page 126)
7. We human being always feel that we have the best communication skills in this world, to such a degree that we forget that dolphins possess the best underwater radar system in the whole world. However extraordinary the technology that we human create, it’s still not comparable to the way of communicating. Bees too, they have a signal, a way, a sign when they’re flying to let other bee know about the position of the flowers. Just because we have more words doesn’t mean our way’s superior. (page 129)
8. There’s an explanation, that doesn’t mean it’s just a ghost or a spell, or something. (page 130)
9. But being pessimistic was not going to help us much, it was better to think positively. (page 139)
10. We weren’t going to do that. We weren’t criminals. Winning the competition was important, but that didn’t mean that we would do anything to achieve that. (page 171)
11. We didn’t even notice the time passing, we were always busy with something. Then the world change. (page 182)
12. Apart from being teenegers, you are a very odd combination, you’re not all the same, you’re all very different. You just said you were concerned about the safety of one of the contingents. This is a competition, Child, you ought to be happy if they can’t continue with the contest. (page 183-184)
13. You have sincerity and are ready to sacrifice yourself to help others. Last night, when you decided to rescue those who ypu are competing against, I could see all that goodness. Although you are still teenagers, you already possess great virtues of characters. (page 213)
14. I’m always pressing you, reminding you of our schedule. I forget that this competition is not about winning or losing, but about us, our team, who should assist one another, help one another, and are always loyal friends. (page 266)
15. You don’t need special powers or the best weapons to find the first sunflower bloom. It’s enough for you to possess bravely, respect, sincerity, and most important of all, to listen to the Nature. (page 331)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tere Liye was born in Lahat, on May 21st, 1979. He is the sixth of seven children. Aside from being a writer, he works as professional accountant. He wwent to elementary and junior high school in South Sumatera, then continued to senior high school in Bandar Lampung. In 2012 he graduated from an Accounting Department, Faculty of Economics in University of Indonesia. He published 17 novels with Gramedia Pustaka Utama, namely:

1. The Gogon Series
2. The Falling Leaf Never Hates the Wind
3. My Father is (Not) a Liar
4. You and I and the Red Money Envelope
5. The Land of Scoundrels
6. A Nation on the Edge
7. Spoken or Not, Love Is Still Love (poem anthology)
8. Earth
9. Moon
10. Sun
11. Star
12. Comet
13. Ceros and Batozar
14. Minor Comet
15. Rain
16. #AboutLove (100 Quotes about love)
17. #AboutFriends (100 Quotes about friendship)
18. #AboutLife (100 Quotes about life)

Tere Liye has also published 15 novels for Republika Publisher

Happy reading! 📚 📖😊

With Love, ❤️💙