Review by Ian Keogh

Nova works in her grandmothers’ bookshop, known for having the finest witchcraft section in New England. That’s because this isn’t New England as we know it, but one where magic and magical creatures exist, and Nova’s about to have a reunion with a werewolf she’s not seen in years. Tam is being hunted by people who believe transformation from human to werewolf releases energies able to raise the dead. Nova’s friend Tat is the human face introduced to this astonishing world, disbelief her default setting, but believing her friend tells the truth.

It’s surprising how simply Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu pull you into their world and make it a place you’d want to visit. New England being rural and woodland enables Xu to draw spooky areas from the start, as Walker exploits the idea of small communities having secrets. She also throws in wonders such as Nova’s dead parents able to manifest as ghosts for an annual festival, but the early introduction of magical elements tends to raise expectations that aren’t entirely fulfilled. There’s a point where it seems the more interesting matters only serve as an exotic background to the growing relationship between Nova and Tam, but the supernatural elements acquire a larger role.

Xu’s expressive people strike an immediate chord, looking scraggly and lived in, their hair loose and dangling and their clothing ordinary. It gives an appealing impression of people with larger concerns than being seen with the right designer label. The use of magic has a similar looseness to it, an untidiness that’s practical rather than aesthetically pleasing.

Walker ensures an unpredictable progression of events, yet once revealed it’s clear the groundwork has been laid and everything that happens progresses naturally from the way people have been established. Ultimately it’s a story well told with nothing introduced without later purpose, and the ending fulfilling everything that’s been constructed, depending on humanity rather than magic.

Mooncakes stands well on its own, and was well enough received for a hardcover edition two years after the original publication, but surely there’s enough here for a sequel.