About the Book

Title: Like Moonlight at Low Tide
Author: Nicole Quigley
Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Release Date: 2012

When high school junior Melissa Keiser returns to her hometown of Anna Maria Island, Florida, she has one goal: hide from the bullies who had convinced her she was the ugliest girl in school. But when she is caught sneaking into a neighbor’s pool at night, everything changes. Something is different now that Melissa is sixteen, and the guys and popular girls who once made her life miserable have taken notice. When Melissa gets the chance to escape life in a house ruled by her mom’s latest boyfriend, she must choose where her loyalties lie between a long-time crush, a new friend, and her surfer brother who makes it impossible to forget her roots. Just as Melissa seems to achieve everything she ever wanted, she loses a loved one to suicide. Melissa must not only grieve for her loss, she must find the truth about the three boys who loved her and discover that joy sometimes comes from the most unexpected place of all.

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My Thoughts:

Like Moonlight at Low Tide was certainly a very emotional story. It starts off with a vague description of what happened at the beginning of Melissa’s senior year, and then mentions the suicide of someone dear to her. BAM! Right off the bat. Except she never names the person who does it. She simply names the three potential fellows who could have: Her brother Robby, her long-time crush Sam, and her new friend Josh.

One who loves her. One who couldn’t. And one who didn’t know how.

I read this book chomping on my fingernails, unsure who would commit suicide before the end and terrified to get too attached and have my heart broken as well as Melissa’s. I determined to stay as far away from these guy characters as possible, unfortunately Melissa did not have any premonition of what was to come and so spent a lot of time in the presence of each guy and I ended up coming to care deeply for them (well except for Sam, I didn’t really like him) even though I had determined not to.

This made the reading all the more nerve wrecking. I’m surprised that I have hair and nails leftover from this book, but I did like the ending. Though I think I would have liked just a little bit more closure.

This book deals with the very tough subject matters of suicide and bullying and abandonment, but it does so very well.

I received a copy of this book for free. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

Reviewed by Nicki

About the Author

Nicole Quigley is the author of Like Moonlight at Low Tide, a winner of the American Christian Fiction Writers “Carol Award” and “Genesis Contest” for best young adult fiction. Nicole works in public relations and spent many years in Washington, D.C. She now lives on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where she grew up. Nicole holds a B.S. from Appalachian State University, where she majored in Communications/Public Relations and minored in English. Her favorite place in the world is Western North Carolina, and her favorite place to write is a late night coffee shop, wherever she can find one open.

Guest Post from Nicole Quigley

Three Things I Hear from “Like Moonlight at Low Tide” Readers

When I first wrote “Like Moonlight at Low Tide,” I thought my readers were going to get the same things out of it that I did. The book gets off to a start when Missy Keiser sneaks into her neighbor’s pool to go nightswimming. She thought no one was home until she sees the figure of an unknown guy standing in the dark, at the edge of the pool.

Missy was bullied when she was younger, but this story is about what happens after she is bullied. What happens if you got everything you ever wanted? Would it be enough? I think that when we really look at the reasons behind why we want things and why the things we want can become so big in our lives, especially in high school—we often find that there’s really a bigger question left for all of us.

Who is going to love me?

Since “Like Moonlight at Low Tide” debuted, I’ve been so honored to hear from readers who could relate to Missy’s story. One thing that has surprised are the things I hear about from readers time and again.

First, I always hear about the ending! I definitely wrestled with how to bring the book to a close. I won’t say more about it (no spoilers!), but I have to laugh because most readers tell me I was really close to hearing a lot more from them! Second, I always hear about a certain guy who becomes the male protagonist. Yes, girls, I have to admit that I loved writing him!

Lastly, I often hear the book was written “just for them.” That’s what touches me most of all. I wrote this story from the heart. It means so much to hear that it reached others, and often in ways I never predicted. I love that.

Once a reader picks up my story and brings her own experiences to it, it becomes something new. And it’s really special to connect with a reader on some of these heart questions that we all have in common. One reader who has really made an impact on me sent me a hand-made charm bracelet based on the book. She took Missy’s story, and she turned it into something entirely new. Her creativity is really special, and the bracelet is now one of my most treasured possessions

I love hearing from readers about what they liked (or even didn’t like) in Missy’s story. As it turns out, listening to readers is one of the very best parts of writing for them.