TWO MOONS IN AUGUST Martha Brooks Toronto, Groundwood/Douglas & Mclntyre, 1991. 157pp, cloth, $14.95 ISBN 0-88899-123-1. CIP Grades 7 to 9/Ages 12 to 14 Reviewed by Anne Louise Mahoney Volume 20 Number 2 1992 March At the start of Two Moons in August, Sidonie Fallows is about to turn sixteen. The year is 1959. This birthday is a sort of milestone - it means that she will be able to get her driver's license, and it marks the first anniversary of her mother's death. For Sidonie, as for many teenagers, life is complicated: her father is emotionally distant, she and her older sister fight constantly, and the good-looking guy across the street has a girlfriend somewhere else. Sidonie has not dealt with her grief for her mother, but by the end of the novel, which deftly interweaves flashbacks and the present and ends with a cathartic near-drown­ing, she is well on her way to becoming whole again. This, Martha Brooks' first novel, which was nominated for a Governor General's award, is an honest look at an important summer in the life of a spirited young woman. Sidonie nar­rates her own story, and this lends credibility to her thoughts and feelings; her use of the present tense throughout the novel keeps things moving. Her emotions are very close to the surface - she does a lot of yelling, slamming and storming off - but they are authentic. Any adolescent (or former adolescent) can relate to her feelings of frustration, anger and helplessness. Young adult readers will enjoy exploring the themes raised in this story - themes such as death, friendship and love - and will easily identify with Brooks' realistic, well-drawn characters. Anne Louise Mahoney, Ottawa, Ont.