Reviews

A beautiful coming of age story, written in verse. It feels like a privilege to have been part of Celi’s journey, to have seen how she feels, how she acts and how she loves. A great book.

lorithereadingfairy's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bickie's review against another edition

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Many of my students will appreciate this book as they approach puberty and menstruation. It is highly readable and mentions questions "Like, why have my armpits begun to smell? Or how big will my breasts grow? Or when exactly will my period come?" on the first page. Celi sorts out her feelings about a boy, Iván, especially with regard to her school nemesis Aurora and best friend Magda. Celi's confusion about liking Iván while wanting to be a good friend to Magna feels realistic, particularly for a nearly-12-year-old.

Throughout, Celi refers to her heart as her "locket," something she opens and closes to share/hide at certain times.

The book is divided into 4 parts labeled New Moon, First Quarter Moon, Full Moon, and Last Quarter Moon, each with a quotation accompanying it. The moon phases do not coincide with the actual moon phases in the story.

Spoiler

One thing that is bothersome is Celi's mother's refusal to give Celi any agency in what she chooses to share about her changing body with family and community. While Mima's ideas end up working for Celi in the end, there is only a half-hearted mention that once they've prepared everything, Celi could change her mind about the ceremony. She doesn't change her mind, but Mima doesn't encourage discussion or thinking/feeling things through openly. There is some mention about not dating, not having a cell phone, not wearing makeup or cropped tops, until a certain age as well, but a ceremony that is supposed to celebrate Celi's changing body seems like something she should feel she wants rather than be imposed on her like the other rules. It also felt a little boundary-crossing-ish that her mom fished her soiled underwear out of the trash so they could use the first blood in the ceremony.

libwinnie's review against another edition

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1.0

The free verse was nice, though nothing outstanding. I appreciated the honest discussion of a girl's emotions around the changes in her body and her experience of her first period. I also really appreciated the gender fluidity of her best friend and the way their culture embraced it. The Mexica culture was vividly portrayed. My main issue with this book was the mother forcing her daughter to participate in a moon ceremony. Though I understand that the premise of the ceremony is to celebrate, it felt a bit too much like taking the power away from the girl rather than giving it to her. It might be my personal bias and it may very well be a cultural difference.

sparklethenpop's review against another edition

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4.0

Passing this one along to my younger daughter. Such a powerful little book.

gillianalice's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A lovely book for young people. My only complaint was the mother's absolute refusal to hear Celi when she said she just wanted privacy. But I really liked the writing, and it ended well.

I hate that people in my parish tried to get this book removed from the public library just because it talks about menstruation and because there's a non-binary character.

jwinchell's review against another edition

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4.0

Salazar has done something very special here in creating a novel in verse about menstruation. Other than Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, can you think of any novels for young people about this rite of passage? Like Celi’s cringing, I found myself recoiling at Mima’s insistence on having a moon ceremony for her when the time comes. This is our cultural conditioning to see menstruation as dirty and private and not something to be acknowledged or even celebrated. Celi’s friend Magda/Marco is gender fluid and how each navigates this evolving identity is a big part of the story. (Celi’s apology was a bit too pat for me.) I appreciated the author’s notes at the end and the moon cycle template one can use for journaling.

“I chose to write my version of a Xicana moon ceremony because I believe the forgetting, erasing, and lack of access to this information has contributed to the negative ways many Xicanas see menstruation.”

Here’s to getting this unique book into the right hands.

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