Laugh with the Moon

In LAUGH WITH THE MOON, 13-year-old Clare is taken to Malawi, Africa, by her doctor father in hopes that the new setting may help both of them recover from the loss of Clare's mother, who died recently of a heart attack. While her father begins work at the local clinic, Clare must attend the village school. Though at first she feels out of place as the only non-African student, she immediately finds a kindred spirit in Memory, a smart and fun girl who has experienced loss that Clare can relate to. As Clare settles into village living, she becomes accustomed to eating cooked pumpkin for breakfast, sleeping under a malaria net, and seeing giant monkeys walking the dirt roads alongside people. When a teacher leaves unexpectedly, the principal of her school asks her if she'll help teach English to the first graders. Clare is nervous and scared but decides to take on the challenge, learning much about herself in the process. With Memory's support, she's able to both accept her grief and move on from it, finally understanding that "grief isn’t a tunnel you walk through and you’re done."