Hide Behind the Moon

I’ll admit: I approached *Hide Behind the Moon* skeptical of yet another ‘faith-based teen drama,’ expecting either heavy-handed morality or a watered-down *Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret*. What I got instead was a gut-punch of a story that respects its audience enough to leave questions unanswered. Merry Hanson is a protagonist who *annoyed* me at times—which is exactly why I loved her. She’s selfish, judgmental, and hypocritical, but also fiercely loving and painfully self-aware. When she snaps at her Amish neighbor for ‘living in the past’ only to later envy her simplicity, it’s not a plot point; it’s the sound of a teen’s conscience cracking open. Tavia Gilbert’s narration is the kind that makes you pull over the car to listen. Her Merry isn’t just a voice; it’s a full-body performance. The way she lets Merry’s sarcasm curdle into shame after a cruel remark, or how her voice tightens when Merry prays through gritted teeth—it’s acting of the highest order. My only critique? The audiobook’s brevity sometimes works against it. A few emotional beats (like Merry’s reconciliation with her mother) feel rushed, as if Lewis trusted the listener to fill in the blanks. And while the Amish-adjacent setting is vivid, I wished for more sensory details in the narration—the clip-clop of buggies, the scent of fresh hay—to ground the story’s physical world. Still, this is a standout. It’s rare to find a Christian audiobook that doesn’t flinch from doubt or tie everything up with a Scripture-shaped bow. *Hide Behind the Moon* lingers because it dares to suggest that growing up in faith isn’t about having the right answers, but asking the right questions—even when they scare you.