ash19_3's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is the best book I have ever read! It discusses important topics such as purity culture and body insecurity. 
It's a beautiful enemies to lovers as well as a book about finding ways to love yourself. This is amazing representation for disabled and gay people, as well as for people of color. It's a beautiful book about finding beauty within one's self. This is criminally underrated and if you think you want to read it, you should. The chemistry between all of the characters was beautiful and the romance was powerful. The relationship between the main character and the love interest took my breath away. I found comfort in this book that I have never felt anywhere else. To Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, this was a masterpiece.

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samthebookdevotee's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 
This is one of the books that have sat on my tbr cart for a long while and I am honestly upset it took me this long to read it. I absolutely loved this book. I loved how it was written, the characters, and the plot. I literally could not get enough. I was almost late for my movie showing because I didn't want to wait to finish the book.


I absolutely loved Moon. I struggle a lot with my own weight and used to make a lot of self-deprecating jokes or comments about myself. Sometimes I still have those thoughts but I am working on them. I enjoyed seeing her bond with Santiago and seeing her grow confident as an artist and a creator while on the bus tour. I also connected a lot with the sister dynamic. I am not a twin but I and my younger sister were often compared by our parents. I was the golden child and my sister the scapegoat. I didn't realize it at the time. I couldn't understand why my sister held animosity towards me which in turn made me resent her. We're a lot better now, but I couldn't help but think of my sister often throughout this book. It's why I couldn't hate Star. Some of the things she did were so messed up, but I understood what drove her to that point. 


I have a few mixed feelings about Moon's romance with Santiago. While I am glad they were there for each other, there were times they pitted their own insecurities against each other causing toxic behavior from both parties. This was addressed towards the end a bit which I did like. I do wish there was more talk about it though. I guess I didn't hate it, but it's something to take note of.


I absolutely loved the writing style. I liked how almost lyrical the writing got, especially when Moon thought of the past. I thought the inclusion of bugs was a fascinating approach and brought a touch of magic to the story. I also liked how the author played around with the length of chapters. 


Overall, if you have not read this book already, you absolutely must. It's not only a great story but also one that includes an important life lesson. I will warn you it might be hard for some readers. There is depression, suicide, abuse, and talk about slut shaming. So please keep this in mind if you are sensitive to these topics. 

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flandeam's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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nitya's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

Read for MLIS elective

This destroyed me in the best of ways, I don't know if I can write a coherent review.

Wish a certain character hadn't been redeemed so early/easily though. I don't care that they're family, what this person did was FAR more unforgivable. (Then again I hold epic grudges.)

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lelder301's review

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dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Rep: Columbian mc, Fat mc, disabled mc, sapphic side character
 
This book gets dark, but you almost don't notice it is until you're explaining it to your friend at 11 pm and stop and realize how fucked up the plot actually is

The inner monolog of Moon, the main character, is insightful at the best of times and annoying at the worst. She is highly self-critical, and goes through the same character arc multiple times. Weirdly enough, in the context of this book that's not a criticism. 

While I was often annoyed by Moon and her insistent self hatred, I found it frustratingly realistic. Her body image issues and her sexuality were handled well, though did get repetitive. 

This book really excelled in its discussion of the darker topics it portrayed. The abuse Moon suffered felt fleshed-out and unfortunately very real. The religious trauma was also portrayed very well. I won't spoil every topic, but for each one the author took care to be accurate.

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evelync's review against another edition

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  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

THIS BOOK COMPLETELY BROKE ME. 
In this YA contemporary, coming of age story we follow Moon Fuentez as she is finding herself and her way out of her toxic home. This book is all about Moon's journey, navigating her trauma, learning her worth, and being open to the idea of others being capable of loving and caring for her.  

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simonereadsbooks's review

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dark emotional funny sad 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

4.5


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halfassedreader's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book is incredible, beautiful, and magical. Moon is hilarious, fat, and learning to love herself.

There are many TW so be aware. 

I loved so much about this book and found myself falling in love with the way it was written. Moon’s character development is refreshing and inspiring, however I did find some of her creative expressions to be a little bit cringe at times. 

I definitely think that sometimes the emphasis put onto Santiago’s love of Moon’s body felt a little bit fetishized which rubbed me the wrong way, and I think that Star’s arc was too quick and not explored enough to feel whole. 

Deposited these little critiques, I LOVED this book and it made me smile so much. I love the imagery, the integration of divination, flowers, and food. The research that the author put into this is evident and is woven into the story incredibly well.

I am seriously looking forward to reading this authors previous works and displaying this beautiful book and cover on my shelves. I imagine I will revisit this story again and again.

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