Night of the Purple Moon

Night of the Purple Moon
by Scott Cramer

260 pages
Published March 25, 2012

This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

What happens after space dust decimates the adult population?

For months, astronomers have been predicting that Earth will pass through the tail of a comet. They say that people will see colorful sunsets and, best of all, a purple moon.

But nobody has predicted the lightning-fast epidemic that sweeps across the planet on the night of the purple moon. The comet brings space dust with it that contains germs that attack human hormones. Older teens and adults die within hours of exposure.

On a small island off the coast of Maine, Abby Leigh and a group of children struggle to survive in this new world, but all the while they have inside them a ticking time bomb — adolescence.

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Night of the Purple Moon is a quick read. I read it in a little over a day.

I have to say, I'd love to see a purple moon (as long as the side effect wasn't death). Having the earth surrounded by the tail of a comet is in interesting idea, making me wonder what, scientifically speaking, would be the real effects on our atmosphere.

As for the characters, some of them bugged me (they were supposed to), others I liked. I found I cared what happened to these kids. I loved how the group went out looking for the survivors and banded together in order to not just survive, but have a pretty good life.


I wouldn't have minded having a little more story at the end. Yes, it was a pretty good ending, all things considered, but I expected the characters it ended with to return home.

Let's face it, there are a lot of apocalyptic books out there right now. I can't say this is the best one I've read, but it's a far cry from the worst!

4/5 stars