The Pull of the Moon
Pip Smith
Coralie threw the life jackets one by one, as hard as she could, and watched them catch on the wind and blow into the sea.
Coralie is thirteen years old and lives on Christmas Island, where sea birds circle the sky and the seasons are marked by the migratory patterns of crabs. But life on the island isn’t always paradise.
During a fierce tropical storm, a fishing boat carrying eighty-nine asylum seekers crashes into the island’s cliffs. Coralie locks eyes with Ali, an eleven-year-old Iranian boy, as his mother pulls her life jacket over his head. But soon Ali disappears beneath the waves and when his body isn’t recovered, Coralie resolves to do everything she can to find him.
Pip Smith’s The Pull of the Moon explores what happens when the urge to help collides with the unfathomable uncertainty of loss.
“A remarkable achievement. A powerful reminder of our shared humanity.” Hossein Asgari, author of Only Sound Remains
“In rendering Christmas Island in all its beauty and tragedy, Pip Smith has given us a new way of exploring how this place represents all of our histories and a way to talk about how the future could be better.” Felicity Castagna, author of Girls in Boys' Cars
Download the teaching notes here.
Reviews
"It's a story for younger readers that doesn't shy away from complex topics, engagingly written with an ear for realistic teen voices." Kylie Northover, Sydney Morning Herald
"A thought provoking, poignant and beautifully written novel. This is the sort of read where you want to grab your highlighter and sticky notes and markup all the wonderful descriptive and emotive sentence to savour again and again." Carol Seeley, Reading, Writing & Riesling
"You can't help but care for the characters in this story, especially the younger Coralie, Ali, and Zahra, and the representation of sudden acute trauma is so well managed. I would wholeheartedly recommend this one.” Amy, Book Worms Amy
“In this bold, brave and boundary-pushing young adult novel, Pip Smith draws on her experience teaching asylum seekers and years of research to explore complex social themes. Through a faithful recreation of [the 2010 sinking of the Janga, an Indonesian fishing boat carrying asylum seekers] Smith deftly examines the human impact of Australia's policy of 'silence'.” Nadia Heisler, Books + Publishing
“The Pull of the Moon is a great text to introduce young adults to these issues. Smith expertly balances cold, hard facts with deep emotional insight, weaving together a tapestry from which you cannot look away.” Alicia Guiney, Readings
Book details
PRICE: $26.99 AUD incl GST
FORMAT: B+ paperback, 210x140mm
ISBN: 978-1-76080-303-2
CATEGORY:
RIGHTS: World
PUBLICATION DATE: 2 June 2025