THE MOON PRINCE

Siblings living in New Jersey during the reign of Queen Mathilde become embroiled in lunar politics.

Twelve-year-old Max and his younger sister, Molly, are orphans who spend their days toiling away in a quarry. When an older Black man appears, the two learn they have a mystical heritage. He directs them to seek a special map and follow it—and the map ultimately sends them all the way to the moon. There, they find many strange and wonderful creatures, who are embroiled in conflicts of their own. Max and Molly might be the key to saving the moon and the Earth—if they can uncover the secrets of their past in time. The siblings, who have light-brown skin, black hair, and unusual turquoise eyes, are biracial, something that’s established by the racial slurs the white quarry manager flings at them. Their earthly society is deeply divided by race, and when they reach the moon, they find there are other ways that beings divide themselves and perpetuate inequalities. Both the illustrations and episodic plot evoke a retro storytelling aesthetic. This adventurous tale is bizarre, entertaining, and grounded in relationships: Molly searches for kindness, and Max fights to protect her. Although this is a satisfying story without the adrenaline-filled incidents or lengthy worldbuilding that the genre often contains, there’s a mismatch between the protagonists, whose behavior feels very young, and some of the more mature content.

An imaginative take on galactic empires with relevant social commentary.