In the beginning of the book, there is a note from the author that says: The story you are about to read was created with the utmost love and respect for all beings on this and every planet- known and unknown. It was not written with the intent to disparage or offend any group or organization. It is the hope of this author that you will read the entire book with an open mind and perhaps come away with a different perspective on some things that you may not have previously considered. Now, when I read this, I thought...whaaa? The summary doesn't seem to hint at anything that could offend anyone. However, it didn't take me long to realize, there are some clear parallels to religion, and not just any specific religion, but religion in general. I could see how some religious fanatics could find it offensive, even if it isn't intended to be. I personally don't find it offensive, but we know my stance on religion so of course I wouldn't be.I thought the book was eloquently written. The writing is vivid and engaging. However, I have one gripe about the writing, and this is purely on a personal level. Some of the dialogue distracted me. Certain characters said things like "yer" instead of "your", or "git" instead of "get". I totally understand why this was done, and Doll was successful in creating the voice inflection to make those characters appear...white trash-ish, for lack of a better word. While successful in how the misspellings were used, misspellings are always a distraction for me, even if it serves a purpose. Lucky for me, it wasn't like this for every character, as many of them were well spoken and appeared well educated.The characters were well written. The humans seemed completely real. As for the animals, well you know I can't really say how real they seemed, because I have no idea what is going through animals' minds. However, I'd like to think they are as intelligent as they're shown in the book. I sincerely believe animals have feelings, and I believe they feel the torture that they're dealt on a regular basis in our world. However, to be honest, I hope they don't. I hope they're oblivious to it all. But part of me knows that's a false hope.I enjoyed the story. It made me sad, angry, happy, sad, angry, and happy. It was thought provoking. Moon Shadow is taken on a heart-wrenching journey, all for the sake of Earth's preservation. Never did she (nor I) imagine that this journey would be so difficult, and she goes through some serious hardships. In fact, everyone in the story goes through their own personal journey, and each and every one of them are difficult to sit through, and yet you can't help but keep reading.Overall, it was a mixture of fantasy (or what I perceive as fantasy, anyway), and real problems we face in the world. I really enjoyed it.
