When the Moon Hatched

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Reflect on the revelation that Raeve is in fact Elluin Navan. How did this plot twist alter your impression of the narrative world and its primary conflicts and stakes?

2. Which aspects of Raeve’s character and story were most resonant with your own, and why? How did her choices and battles align with or conflict with your own outlook on life?

3. Raeve’s storyline is intricately tied to her connection with Essi. Do you have friendships that resemble Raeve and Essi’s bond? How would you respond if you lost your friend as Raeve loses Essi?

4. Raeve’s world, The Fade, is defined by injustice and brutality. What elements of this world resonate with your own social and political systems?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Raeve rebels against the system and fights for social justice throughout the novel. How does Parker use Raeve’s passion for equality to comment on contemporary social justice issues? (Be sure to place When the Moon Hatched in the context of the 2020 American social justice movement.) 

2. Discuss the relationship between the novel’s fantastical world and the novel's explorations of healing, trauma, rebellion, and love. How would these themes resonate differently if the novel were set in a more realistic universe? 

3. When the Moon Hatched is a romantasy—or romantic fantasy—novel. Explore how the novel satisfies or subverts the tropes of this genre. How do the novel’s fantastical elements deepen Parker’s thematic considerations?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. When the Moon Hatched is the first installment in Parker’s Moonfall series. How does the novel embrace elements of ambiguity in order to establish the stakes for its sequel? Which conflicts or character arcs do you anticipate that Parker will address in the October 2025 title The Ballad of Falling Dragons?

2. Analyze Raeve’s evolution over the course of the novel. How do her behaviors in the narrative present relate to her personal history as Elluin? 

3. Explore the symbolic significance of the moons and dragons that are referenced throughout the novel. How do these fantastical elements relate to the characters’ inner worlds and their regard for their larger social context?

4. The novel conducts a thematic examination of the fear of love via Raeve and Kaan Vaeger’s relationship. Why are these characters apprehensive of romance and connection? How do their attitudes toward intimacy change?

5. Discuss Kaan’s role in Raeve’s evolution. How does he encourage Raeve to heal from her wounds? How would the novel differ if Kaan were less empathetic to Raeve?