Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Frankie has a good group of friends, including her best friend Harriet and usually isn’t that interested in being involved with boys yet…until she spends time with Benjamin at a group trip to ice skating. He is exactly her type and makes her feel special. Soon they end up spending some intimate time together, which is Frankie’s first ever sexual experience.

When she gets her period, they both agree it’s just blood and she needn’t be embarrassed or ashamed. Frankie is happy to have met someone so considerate and kind – she can’t believe how much she likes Benjamin and the time they spent together.

That is, until a very graphic meme about her experience appears online degrading her and calling her disgusting. The online abuse spreads rapidly and soon becomes damaging to Frankie in more ways than one. Not only is she left feeling empty and devastated with her personal life online, but she finds friends are being lost and maybe Benjamin isn’t what he seemed either.

Periods are still a very taboo subject in today’s society, despite being something that should be comfortably discussed and openly acknowledged by anyone, no matter their gender or age. Lucy’s book addresses this, as well as identifying that it can still be a time that can be turned into something negative. It’s a book that is needed among young people.

As well as discussing periods, it also demonstrates how damaging online abuse can be. It isn’t just a ‘joke’ but actually something which can destroy someone’s friendships, experiences and ultimately, their life. Although it can feel removed from reality by being online, cyber bullying can have very real effects.

Written in the form of poetry, Blood Moon is powerful and has an impact on the reader using a limited word count. I loved the flow of the language and how the story developed. As a reader you become so invested; the story really resonated with me and you have such empathy with the characters. Frankie is just an ordinary girl which could be someone you know, which makes the story have even more resonance.

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