HANG THE MOON: The Tale of Sallie Kincaid

“Hang the Moon” by Jeanette Walls tells the story of a young woman, Sallie Kincaid, living in Virginia during the Prohibition. She comes from a prominent family who makes their money from running an underground whiskey trade. When the estate and future of the family’s company falls into her hands, Sallie is forced to step up and chart her own legacy.

"The Glass Castle" was one of my favorite reads of 2022, so when I saw this book as an upcoming release, I was already looking forward to reading it. I hate to say, however, that I was really let down. “Hang the Moon” was an entirely character driven book. Besides the fact that I don’t usually enjoy character driven books, I didn’t particularly like the main character, Sallie, so that definitely played a big part in my dislike of this book.

I think Sallie is meant to be a “girl boss” and a trailblazer of her generation, but I found her to be whiney, dependent and indecisive. There are parts of Sallie’s life that seem to be leading up to a bigger story, but end up being completely irrelevant (i.e. her relationship with her stepmother and stepbrother; her moving into her aunt’s home).

Honestly, and I sadly write this, “Hang the Moon” was not worth the read. However, "The Glass Castle" still remains one of my all time favorite books, that I would absolutely recommend to read over this one.

You can read more about Jeannette Walls by checking out this New York Times Article written about her: "The Many Lives of Jeanette Walls."