I'll Watch the Moon is an emotional, heartwarming story that will remind you of the strength and love shared within a family. Told from the perspective of Nova Tierney, a young girl growing up in St. Paul Minnesota in the late 1940's, the novel takes readers through historic events that changed the world: World War II, the end of the Holocaust, Truman's election and the dreaded polio epidemic. The events that change Nova's life, however, are more personal.
Mrs. Catherine Tierney is a divorced mother raising Nova and her son Dewey alone in a small boardinghouse on Selby Ave. The boarders Nova encounters fill her with endless amusement as she imagines their lives--and none more than Joseph Karski, a mystery man who seems to harbor a dark secret. Nova is and isn't a typical girl. She yearns for the latest fashion and feels life would be better if she could just be an adult; but she also is a strong, independent girl who is forced to grow up fast when she discovers her brother, Dewey, has contracted polio. Everything seems to be going downhill until she meets her guardian angel in the guise of Karski, who teaches her lessons of strength, sacrifice and the power of love.
Writing in clear, conversational dialogue, Tatlock captures the readers interest from the first moment we see Nova Tierney sitting on her porch one hot summer day in July. Local readers will identify with Tatlock's descriptions of swimming in Cedar Lake, riding a streetcar down Lake Street or driving down Summit to take in the Christmas Lights displays. The St. Paul setting is not coincidental--Tatlock resided for many years in Roseville, only recently moving to Asheville, North Carolina with her family.