The Almost Moon is the 2nd book by Alice Sebold. It was published in 2007, and this author hasn’t written anything since. I wish she would, because she’s pretty great.
I knew I’d be hooked on The Almost Moon after reading its very first sentence:
When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily.
So dark, and yet so very compelling!
In The Almost Moon, nude model Helen Knightly kills her 88-year-old mother Clair, who suffers from mental illness and agoraphobia. After that, the book jumps between past and present, regaling us with stories about Helen’s upbringing and her present-day life. Along the way, we learn why Helen wanted to kill her mom.
This book is a true page-turner, and every flashback reveals a little bit more behind the “whys.” I like how Helen is painted as a victim, and not as a murderer. I rooted for her the entire time, and wanted things to work out for her.
The ending of The Almost Moon is completely unpredictable, a shocker. A statement is made early on in the book about how one of Helen’s mom’s neighbors, Mrs. Leverton, competes with Clair regarding who will outlive the other. This becomes relevant toward the end.
Overall, I thought this book was miraculous. It’s easy to read—it has great readability. You might just finish it in a few hours, because that’s what I did.
The only other book Alice Sebold has written is The Lovely Bones (2002). It was made into a movie in 2010, featuring Saoirse Ronan as the main character and Stanley Tucci as the bad guy.
What did you think about The Almost Moon? Did you like it?
Last Updated on January 20, 2026 by Sarah Ann
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