Blood Moon discusses a very important aspect of teenage life; slut shaming and the disparities between how boys & girls are treated regarding sex scandals. I think the novel addresses the bullying and shaming very well, and addresses the importance of erasing the taboo around periods. I hope that books like Blood Moon will encourage confidence in teenagers to have conversations about periods, as there is a lack of resources readily available that are as honest as this book.
It's also told in verse, I usually adore verse novels as I feel much more immersed in the emotions of the story, sadly I didn't have that experience with Blood Moon. My only issue with this book is that in my opinion it's slightly too long. Four hundred pages meant it wasn't as powerful as it could have been, the message was dragged out too much. It's still a very important reading resource for teens and young adults though.

Blood Moon is a debut novel told in verse about a girl who goes viral after getting her period during her first sexual experience with a boy.

This book is bloody brilliant (excuse the pun). When you hear that a book is a verse novel written about a period it could definitely go one of two ways – it’ll be either one of the best or worst things you’ve ever read – so I hit the request button on NetGalley faster than I ever have before. Luckily Blood Moon far exceeded my expectations.


Frankie is absolutely mortified when a meme of her goes viral following her first sexual experience with Benjamin. She’s certain that he must have told one of his friends about the fact that she started her period during foreplay but he denies it. She’s recently fallen out with her best friend, Harriet, and she wonders whether Harriet might be responsible, but Harriet also denies all responsibility. It becomes hard for Frankie to know who to trust during the fallout, and she isolates herself, skipping school and obsessively refreshing social media to see what horrible things have been posted about her now.

There is so much going on in this novel, and the only reason I knocked a star off was because I just don’t feel as though verse was the best way to tackle the amount of subjects Lucy Cuthew has squeezed into this story. Frankie loves astronomy so there are sections about the blood moon and stargazing which could have been expanded beautifully with a bit more description (particularly as the moon inspires the title!) but this aspect of her character falls to the wayside in favour of addressing the ordeal which she is experiencing.

I was a huge fan of the way Lucy Cuthew crafted the friendship between Harriet and Frankie. Just because you’ve been friends forever doesn’t mean it’s always going to be smooth sailing, and I loved the way that they grew apart because of a few misunderstandings but managed to reconnect by the end of the story.

Meanwhile Benjamin is an absolute DREAM. I felt more betrayed than Frankie when I thought he was the one who’d spread their sexual story through the school, but the way that it actually got out makes so much sense and is an utter relief. Periods are natural – they aren’t disgusting, almost ever person with a vagina will experience them at some point during their lives – and if more boys reacted the way that Benjamin does the world would be a better place. I’m certainly going to be talking to my son about periods when he’s older and teaching him that they’re nothing to be squeamish about, and I’m proud to have a partner who isn’t ashamed to pick up some pads from Boots or bring clean underwear to the bathroom if I need him to. If a boy is no good at dealing with your periods, he’s definitely going to be useless if you ever decide to have children!

The social media hate which Frankie receives is painfully realistic. Sometimes when authors tackle social media they don’t make the posts vitriolic enough to seem authentic, but Blood Moon genuinely feels like scrolling through the comments on a hateful Twitter thread. It’s heartbreaking to know that people receive messages like this, particularly for something which is completely out of their control, but it’s sadly the way that the internet works.

The conclusion is feminist AF, highly empowering and very inspirational, and this book is bound to be a huge hit among teenage girls (those who are already outspoken and confident, and those who just need a bit of a push to stand up for their bodies). I wish there’d been a book like this around when I was in secondary school – it would have made me far less ashamed of talking about my periods, and much more comfortable about going to school and sitting in classes for hours and hours on end while I was on.

Blood Moon was a powerful exploration of the female body and the stigma surrounding menstruation. Using verse to tell the story was a brilliant choice and really added another layer. I would definitely recommend this book to young adult readers as I think it highlights an important issue which is rarely touched upon in fiction.

Thank you to Walker Books for letting me read this in return for a review.

I decided to give Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew 4 stars.

At the start I wasn't one hundred percent sold on it and found that at time, the main character Frankie and her friends acted immaturely for her age, especially Jackson. However, I decided to put it aside and found myself really enjoying reading it.

This book follows Frankie who just so happens to get her period during her first sexual experience with Benjamin. Together, they agree that it's just blood and they decide to move on. However, somehow, a meme of their experience goes viral which breaks Frankie and she sees her relationships with the people around her falter.

Because it is written in verse, I found it an incredibly enjoyable reading experience. It also helped me read through it quicker and found it easier to read. When there are conversations, I really found the text on both sides of the page and made the distinction between who was talking very clear.

Along with this, I loved how astronomy and the stars and moon came into play in the story. I have always found astronomy fascinating and really enjoyed how it was incorporated.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys young adult contemporary where there are hints at romance as well as a small sense of mystery when they try to find out who created the meme. If you'd like to try out more novels written in verse then I'd definitely recommend this one.

Told entirely in verse, Blood Moon is a thought-provoking read that highlights important teen issues including talking about periods, testing friendships and society’s double standards.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An original format for a book and I think will appeal to many young women. This probably works better as a real book rather than digital format

There are times when I read a book without knowing much about it and having little to no expectations, then I get caught by surprise. I’m so glad to say Blood Moon is one of those times! I was intrigued by this book, but I didn’t know exactly what to expect from it, especially because it’s a debut novel. However, this YA feminist novel in verse was able to knock me off my feet and wow me with its simplicity and its powerful take on the sexualisation of women and going viral.

Blood Moon’s plot follows Frankie as her relationship with Benjamin sparks. Though we see her enjoy the beauty and excitement of her first relationship, her first time with Benjamin ends up bloody. She gets her period while they are being intimate and what follows then is a flurry of events that leaves Frankie harassed and ridiculed, her friendships hanging by a thread, and her feeling like nothing in the world will ever go right.

I like Frankie enough; her voice, her character, and her development and how she resolved the matter in the end (though it was definitely not an easy one). However, this doesn’t mean that she’s the perfect main character. She was quick to judge her friend and she let that judgement take over their friendship, as well as her friendship with other girls.

When it comes to the writing style, I’m conflicted. Blood Moon is a novel in verse, which is made up of poems and verses and this excited me in the first place since I have a fondness for poems. While I believe the author did a good job, I still feel like it lacked somewhat. It wasn’t altogether gripping as I had hoped it would be. On one hand, there are a couple of beautiful lines and entries that just took my breath away and resonated with me. There are times when I could feel Frankie’s thoughts and emotions as if they were my own and I loved that! On the other hand though, there are also times when the whole thing felt off, like the dialogue and sentences were roughly chopped up and as a result, it’s not invoking any thought or emotion whatsoever. For me, these ruined the harmony in the book and stunted my enjoyment as a reader.

Despite this, I commend the main message Blood Moon was trying to send to the readers. With these poems and with Frankie’s journey, the author was able to show the nuances of being a girl, of being a woman. From being objectified sexually due to something so simple as period, from being targeted more than the guy in a scandal, from being ridiculed and discriminated against for going viral due to all the wrong reasons－it’s all here. I especially liked the fact that the author chose to focus on menstruation and emphasised how it’s such a taboo even to this day (and how it really shouldn’t be). Of course, this also showed the ugly side of the online community－how quick it is for people to go viral these days and how quick people judge others without knowing them or their stories. I loved all these things and the author did such a good job highlighting and tackling these issues!

My favourite thing about this book as a whole is that, though it seemed simple (writing style-wise and plot-wise), it’s so powerful. It’s powerful because the issues tackled in this book are happening in real life and are being experienced by girls and women around the globe. It’s harmful and unnecessary, but just like Frankie, we must learn how to squash these kinds of thinking and stand up to the prejudice all around us.

Overall, Blood Moon is a great feminist YA novel perfect for young women and men alike. It’s relatable, memorable, and absolutely significant.

*3.5 stars
This book is so important.
It took some time until I got into this book but as soon as I was immersed into the story, I practically inhaled it. I didn’t really care about Harriet’s part of the story (and especially her crush on a teacher). For me, the first part did not really focus on Frankie but on Harriet and it wasn’t what I expected.
Adding to that, I didn’t like the ending. Obviously, it was really powerful and I love the message. But to me, it seemed to happen too quickly. I also think it was a little bit unrealistic.
However, the more I think about this book, the less it is about the story. I just really appreciate the message of it. The author didn’t shy away from tackling topics such as cyber bullying and the stigma around periods, which, for some reason, are still considered a taboo topic.
Nevertheless, it’s still a must read for everyone. This book is one of a kind.
I can’t wait to read Cuthew’s next book.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Walker Books for providing me with an ARC.

After reading other books which are told in verse (e.g. The Poet X), I’m always looking for new books which are told this way so when I found out about this one, I knew I wanted to read it.

This book tackles so many important topics, for example, teenage friendships, online shaming and the stigma surrounding periods. Frankie’s story is so important. It shows how society treats girls differently from the way they treat boys, and how girls are always the ones treated badly, especially when it comes to their sexuality.

Blood Moon was an empowering story with a powerful message surrounding the way society treats women differently, simply for being a woman.

An incredibly interesting book that should be available for all young people, it was incredibly compelling and a must read.


Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc of this book for an honest review.

Thank you Walker Books and Netgalley for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The topic of the book intrigued me so I had to request it. I didn’t realise it was written in verse so when I started reading it, it was a nice surprise. I absolutely loved it!

This book was incredible and I loved that it was written in verse. This is a topic I am passionate about I am glad that it is being discussed more and that there are even books being published that deal with periods and how it is normal and nothing that should cause someone to say eww.

This book deals with period shame and how something natural results in a girl being shamed and humiliated and bullied. It touches on how it can affect her whole life from her self worth to her self confidence and her mental health. It also deals with friendship and girls supporting girls and more.

When I started reading I was quickly hooked and then before I knew it, it was 4am and I had reached the end of the book which left me feeling a mess of emotions. I was angry and sad and hopeful and I just wanted to scream about this book.

This book was difficult to read at times because of the awful ways that the other teenagers treat the main character and anyone who tries to stand up to her. But also how quickly one bully can get so many supporters not only in their school but also on the internet. People think it is okay to humiliate a girl on the internet and won’t have to take responsibility or deal with any of the consequences of doing so. But in this book we see what the consequences of the humiliation and bullying is and it was heart breaking. No one should have to go through this especially as periods are nothing to be embarrassed about.

I hope we get more books that deal with periods and shaming women for their periods. I think the only thing I wished we had seen more of in the book was including women of colour and how it can affect them too and how it can be a different experience and the issues they deal with may be different to the ones that the young women in this book had to deal with. I also hope we get more books dealing with period poverty as that also has a huge impact on young people.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!

You guys. It's so hard to say anything other than I LOVE THIS BOOK.

I love that it's in verse.

I love the story in itself - I haven't read much about period shaming and honestly we need more of it!

I love the characters and how authentic they are.

This was just great.

During astronomy-lover Frankie’s first sexual experience with the quiet and lovely Benjamin, she gets her period. It’s only blood, they agree. No shame. But soon a graphic meme goes viral, turning their fun, intimate afternoon into something disgusting, mortifying and damaging. As the online shaming takes on a horrifying life of its own, Frankie begins to wonder: is her real life over?
Recently I’ve been appreciating novels in poetry form and this book is no exception to that rule! I really loved this book for the issues it handles, the tension it creates through poetry and how the poems are delivered to give each character a voice. You can feel the emotion of each part through how the verses are delivered and through each character and it makes for such a brilliant read for that reason.

How these pages/poems are delivered allows you to hear the voice of the characters and how they feel, particularly as Frankie is open about what has happened toward her and also how she feels when she meets Benjamin for the first time. The characters through this are given such good development thanks to this and I feel Frankie and Harriet throughout the book really grow as characters and have a great arc in the story.

I think the subject is important too, as someone who took time to even say the word ‘period’ out loud and not whisper like it was some sort of disease (smh) I think tackling subjects like this is really important not to mention online bullying and the impact social media can have. A really great book with well developed characters and a message needing to be received.

Told in verse style about friendships, social media, bullying and the taboo subject of periods.
Because of the verse style, more is said between and around the words on the page; your mind, your imagination, is the engine driving and colouring the story, and it is vivid and sharp and slices straight to the bone.

Even though this book still isn't out for a couple of months, the hype for this book and the good reviews are quite staggering which meant that I knew I had to jump on the bandwagon. I can definitely see why this book has so much hype as it was a captivating and feminist read that should be read by everyone who reads.

I enjoy a good verse novel and this one is no different. I think that it is so powerful what Lucy Cuthew can do with this format as you still feel every word and it does not dampen the message at all. I think that often the format is quite similar but Blood Moon really plays with the formula which was a great reading experience for my eyes and definitely added to the story.

Of course, the book focuses a lot around period and sexuality which I loved to read about because I try to normalise periods as much as possible and this is something that definitely needs to be seen more of in YA. The book deals with the topic carefully and it delivers a message that is at the end quite hopefully and powerful with I loved to see.

As well as just periods, the book tackles sexuality and slut-shaming which again were well-dealt with and again the book breaks them down and states that these should not be normal in society. The effects of all of the issues are so important and it was emotional to see what Frankie goes through in this book and the progress that she has.

One of the more minor things that were included in the book is that the main character is interested in STEM, especially astrology and physics. I loved seeing this part of the book and loved the scenes where this played a role. Also, I love to see more girls in STEM in books as I took A-Levels in Sciences so it's cool for me to see.

While the friendship was complicated and for most of the book related to miscommunication which I don't normally like, it was a true reflection of how complicated friendships can be in real life. I think that this is also super important because friendship and its complication are a part of life and again reflections in books are good.

On the whole, I really enjoyed Blood Moon and everyone should definitely check it out when it releases this summer.

The Verdict:

Blood Moon is a captivating and important story that breaks down period taboos with blinding ease that shines brightly.

During her seminal sexual experience with the quiet and lovely Benjamin, astronomy fan and physics-lover Frankie gets her period. The next day a gruesome meme goes viral, turning an innocent and intimate afternoon into something mortifying, sordid and damaging.

Blood Moon is one of those books you can pick up one afternoon and finish it within a couple of hours. Blood Moon is a book that every teenager should read at some point in their teenager lives. I wish I had had this book when I was a teenager. I did read it in a couple of hours though and was blown away by it. I adored it and think this is such an important book that needs to be read by so many people.

Blood Moon is a verse novel, so it is certainly a quick read but that message and its contents leave a lasting effect with the reader. It was only this year when I started reading verse novels but I've read a lot in the past few months and this is one of my favourites so far for a number of reasons.

I love the messages that this book shows the reader. The main message being to break the stigma that surrounds periods. Periods are a natural part of a woman's life and this book shows just that. It breaks the stigma around getting your period during an intimate moment because it happens a lot more than you would imagine and it is normal!

It also shows the importance of girls supporting each other and being there for each other. All of this is done whilst showing that embarrassing moments sometimes happen but they happen to everyone and it is something to own.

Blood Moon excellently explores what effects things going viral can have. Especially when you go viral for something out of your control, not knowing who started it and as a result how damaging it can be on someones life and their mental health. It shows how you should think before sharing anything as it is a real person behind the meme and that person has feelings.

I adored the characters in this book, they felt realistic and relatable. Not only has the author written some beautiful friendships which I feel stand out and are memorable. Lucy has also written lovely, supportive and loving parents. I cannot wait to read more books by Lucy Cuthew in the future. Blood Moon is the book we all need to read and I cannot recommend it enough.

Overall, Blood Moon is incredible and needs to be read by so many people. When it is released on July 2nd 2020 I highly recommend buying a copy, borrowing one from your local library or borrowing it from a friends then sitting down with it one afternoon and reading the whole thing. You won't regret it.

This was a powerful book about period shaming and I liked it. It doesn't shy away from showing what cyber bullying really looks like and what it can do to you, even in the long run.
I loved that this book was told in verse and with a particular use of typography. These aspects gave the narrative an impact that was not only textual but also visual.
However, this book wasn't exactly for me. I love the concept but the execution had its highs and lows.

The beginning was slow and it bored me; the synopsis promised me the period shaming plot but instead I got a student-teacher drama, which I 100% could have done without.

The second third I absolutely loved. When people at school start gossiping about Frankie and Benjamin's experience, the writing suddenly turns very gritty and it's impossible to put the book down. It was like watching a trainwreck, where you know it's going to get only worse but you can't not watch. That part realistically shows why women have the urge to hide that they are on their period in a "boys will be boys" society.

The last part I didn't like again. It was a sweet resolution, but it felt unrealistic and quick. After everything that Harriet said and did to Frankie, I don't understand how Frankie had to be the one to go to her and apologize first. Harriet is no good friend, she's borderline abusive for me.
I'm also not a fan of Benjamin's part in the plot. The main character had to go and kick his door down to get his confession, and he wasn't even guilty? That wasn't a good plot twist, it was just confusing.

The ending was disappointing. I couldn't stop thinking about how the other students in school weren't there for Frankie when she needed their help the most. At the assembly they all defend her and it's like they never gossiped about her too, but Frankie never addresses this.

Overall, this was an okay read. It is more on the younger side of YA, so the plot resulted a bit unrealistic to me, and the characters and their behavior were way too cheesy for my tastes.
I still recommend this book though, because it delves into the difficult topic of period shaming in a very good way.

Blood Moon was one of my most anticipated books of 2020 and the premise sounded fantastic so my expectations were sky-high. I thought Blood Moon would be unabashedly feminist in the style of Courtney Summers and Louise O'Neill, just maybe a little less gritty and dark.

Blood Moon was a solid and fun read but it had its flaws. It was a promising beginning and I loved the sex positivity and the discussion of period stigmata. I didn't love the use of the hashtags at times, it made me cringe once or twice. But what bothered me the most was the constant slut-shaming and the blatant cyber-bullying that included a couple of rape threats. I found it somewhat problematic in the sense that while both these things happened in the book, they weren't actually discussed. Yes, it was horrifying to read about it, but it was never explained that these things are toxic and harmful, and I think that's a shortcoming for a feminist book directed at young readers. I would have liked to see the two best friends who got into a fight and started bullying each other properly apologise and reflect about their sexist behaviour towards one another, but that didn't happen. There was potential for the book to be mind-blowing but it didn't quite get there. Nevertheless, it's an empowering book that teaches people that experience periods that they should not be made to feel shame or disgust.

I'm excited to see what else the author has up her sleeve and can't wait for her next book.

This book is so clever. Not only does it challenge the thankfully lessening stigma, and ignorance, surrounding periods but it does so in a witty, scandalous and undeniably heart-warming way. Blood Moon gave me the same feeling that "Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging" did as a teenager; it has that quintessentially British vibe to it, propelled by friendship, first relationships and teenage embarrassment. I really, really enjoyed it and feel like it's the baby sister of Netflix sensation "Sex Education".

In Blood Moon, a girl's seminal sexual experience becomes the talk of the school (and later basically breaks the internet!) when a meme is created detailing that Frankie had her period during the encounter. Whilst I can imagine a number of people thinking, "what's the big deal? who would care about that?", the reality for young women is actually quite different. Frankie's story perfectly captures some of the ways in which people can make something completely normal, healthy and good seem ugly, shameful and disgusting.

The entire novel is written in verse, although I became so engrossed in the story I totally forgot to appreciate that. There are a couple of moments in which the presentation of a word, phrase or verse did enhance the meaning behind something, but my experience of it was mostly that it really only serves as an excuse to read the entire thing in a single sitting (which is fine by me!).

A novel tackling ideas surrounding periods, slut-shaming, online trolls and, most of all, sticking it to the man. Loved it.

ARC provided from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review goes live on my blog, Serendipity Reviews today. I will also put a link on Twitter, Amazon, Goodreads and Instagram.

This was gifted to me for an honest review from Walker Books via Netgalley

This is one of those books that you won't ever forget reading!
This book is an important read. It is the type of book that should be read by every teenager. It looks at how females are ridiculed and made to feel dirty about having periods.

Written in verse, the author tells the story of Frankie, a teenage girl, obsessed by astronomy and not as into boys as her friends are. Until she meets Benjamin. After her first sexual experience with him, her life turns upside down when a meme about her goes viral.

The book is told in verse in a similar style to Sarah Crossan and I really think the author has done an amazing job of establishing herself in this niche market. Every word matters. Many are hard hitting and many make you feel really uncomfortable as the situation escalates and Frankie feels like there is on no where to turn. In an era where online bullying is so rampant, this is a book that should be taught in school.

When I think about what I came away with from this book, there are a few things.

1) Don't believe everything you read online. You can never know the full story from one person's point of view, especially if that person is talking about it secondhand. Unless you see it for yourself, don't alway believe it and certainly don't gossip about it.

2) It is just blood, folks, nothing else. Blood that can create a new life. Every woman has periods, so why so much disgust and hate about them among teenagers. Get over it!

3) Nothing has changed since I was at school. The obsession with sex which seems to start as young as eleven, if not before in some cases, is still going strong. It often feels like there is a competition on who can have sex first and anyone left behind will have to wear a bell to warn all they come in contact with.

If I could, I would buy hundreds of copies of this book and stand outside school, giving them out to both boys and girls. We all have done stuff we are ashamed about, but that doesn't give anyone else the right to spread rumours about it.

As you can guess, I absolutely loved this book and I really hope it goes on to win many awards. Mainly because then I will know that it is getting into the right hands of the kids who have to deal with this kind of abuse in real life and hopefully they will come away with the realisation that there is no shame in these matters.