Top Ten List.

(no particular order)

1. A Motif of Relationships

Relationships occur frequently in the book The Slow Moon. There are many Characters who were introduced through out the book; some who have very large and crucial roles and some who have small and very un-noticeable parts. One thing that keeps all these characters bound. Relationships. Some relationships in the book are:
- Crow and his mother: Small but united with love and support for each other
- Crow and his father (Carl): At times distant but the love and caring is constant.
- Crow and Sophie: Strong at the beginning but grows apart after the attack.
- Crow and friends: Strong, unique bond that is frequently put to the test.
- Sophie and her mother (Rita): Strong and loving, often filled with pressure.
- Tom and Crow’s brother (Johnny): a loving relationship, care for each other as friends. Although Tom turns out to be a homosexual while Johnny claims to be straight.

2. The Viewpoint of an Adult to a Teenager

All the adults in The Slow Moon believe Crow to be an innocent young man. They believe that such a hardworking and loyal son would never be able to commit such a horrific crime such as this. There is also the viewpoint of Sophie’s mother. Rita believes that Crow did commit the crime because he was really “always too old for her, and he only wanted one thing.” These are very typical viewpoints of teenagers from adults. Adults believe either they are Heaven sent or have the soul of a demon. Both of these opinions are brought up in the book.

3. The Character Crow

The character Crow is important to the book because he either witnessed or became part of every key point in the story line. The main event that Crow is part of is the attacking of Sophie, although he did not commit the crime, he was present. Sophie and Crow were getting intimate when they realized that they had forgotten something in the truck, so Crown left to retrieve it. Sophie stayed back, but by the time Crow returned, Sophie was badly injured and near unconsciousness. Another key part of the story is when there is a trial, which is being held because Crow is the main suspect in Sophie’s attack.

4. The Character Bobby

The character Bobby was a key participate in the book because he was Crow’s best friend. Bobby was also Sophie’s neighbor. She met him first, and went to one of his band practices with him, which is where she met Crow. Sophie was the only girl that he wanted more than anything, but was also the only girl he couldn’t get with his good looks and charm. In the very last section of the book, we find out that Sophie remembers who were her attackers. One happens to be Bobby; he turns himself in, in order to keep her from being assaulted with questions.

5. The Motif of Loyalty.

Loyalty is shown very often throughout the course of this book. The loyalty Crow has for Sophie. He never begins to doubt her, never hates her, but only shows loyalty to her decisions and does whatever he can to help her through the situation. She could not recall who were her attackers for most of the book, but Crow never gave up trying to help her, even when she speculated that it might be him. There was also loyalty from Crows parents to him, they never doubted him, and they stuck by his side the whole way through.

6. The Quote, “Are we still human?”

This was thought by Crow. He kept noticing how everyone was tearing everyone else apart. They were trying to make it so that they would not be caught on the crime they committed. They were acting like animals trying to defend themselves. Crow was innocent so he did not understand why his friends were acting in the way they were, little did he know that they were the ones who committed the horrific crime.

7. The Character of Sophie

This character is very important because, she, like Crow was very influential on all of the major events in the book. She was the one who was attacked in the woods the night of the party. She was the one constantly being questioned. She was the one who was terribly injured and put in the hospital for a long time. She was the one who needed to remember her attackers faces but couldn’t.

8. The Reoccurrence of Forbidden Love

There were three main examples of forbidden love in this book.
-Crow and Sophie: Sophie’s mother always thought that Crow was too old for her daughter, but went along with their relationship thinking if Sophie was happy she should be as well. Then the attack happened and Rita would not allow Sophie even speak to Crow, or his family at that.
- Tom and Johnny: Tom loves Johnny, but Johnny was not quite sure if he loved Tom in the same way that he was being loved by Tom. Tom came out to Johnny stating that he was a homosexual. Johnny was not sure yet, he like a girl named Madison but was not sure if it was just a cover up.
-Carl and Ava: Ava was Crow’s aunt who Carl (Crow’s father) truly loved. She would come for a visit and they would have their romance. But it was forbidden because Carl was married, to her sister.

9. The Mystery
The whole book is a mystery. The theme is very constant. The mystery of who attacked Sophie? Was it really Crow? The mystery of determining when Sophie will realize. The mystery of whether Sophie knew the attackers personally, or if they were just some stranger. There were many mysteries in this book.

10. The Message

The message of this book is to think before you act. The decision that Crow and Sophie made to become intimate at the party was bad. The decision that Crow’s friends made to drink was bad, they could not control their actions. The message was very important because it showed how people should always stick together if your friends or family, that you should always make decisions together and never let anyone down.