Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'
How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe, by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
7 reviews
shector1's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Suicide, Infidelity, and Sexual content
toffishay's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A really powerful, emotional read. The style of writing is so beautiful; you can really tell that the author is also a poet. I love Moon and Santiago, the exploration of them as characters and them together. Moon is an awesome character too, so quippy and fun. The book also explores really important themes of depression, emotional abuse, physical abuse, insecurity, and identity. How religion can harm us and opening ourselves up can save us. What brings the book down for me is that there are just so many themes being explored. It makes for a really intense read when so much is happening. Definitely check content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Death, Injury/injury detail, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Fatphobia, and Grief
Minor: Rape, Racism, Outing, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
legalplanner's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Overall, this was a phenomenal read, Somehow I managed to push through this in a day and cried, laughed, felt my heart break for Moon, and cheered her on throughout the novel.
Moon Fuentez is a nobody in the social media world unlike her twin sister Star who wants nothing more than to be the top influencer on the summer tour. Moon has accepted her fate as the summer "merch girl" and knows it will be all bad. Bring in grumpy, snippy, sometimes combative, attractive Santiago Phillips to change Moon's mind.
About Moon:
I absolutely loved how we get to know Moon. She's real, she's not some faked out character who is "perfect". Moon is not a size 2, she's not a virgin, she wants her own life away from her sister, and she wants to be loved for her.
The dynamic in the family is evident from the very beginning of the book. It is clearly outlined that Moon is the outcast and Star is the favorite. Yet, we get to know Moon in ways that show she's been cast in the roll as outcast for so long that even she has started to believe it. She goes above and beyond for her sister's career by taking and editing her photographs, yet she is never given a choice or a compliment about the hard work she's done.
In some moments of the story, it was painful to hear the degrading comments about Moon because she is not a virgin and not a size 2. Yes because people should not be shamed for those things but also its because its coming from a person who should love her unconditionally, but doesn't.
The twists and turns and her friendship with Santiago is what kept me turning page after page. While you think this might be a Teen YA RomCom, it is don't worry, it doesn't feel like an overplayed RomCom. We learn more about Santiago and Moon as disinterested co-workers, then friends, and then possibly more. Yet we see their insecurities and we see them work through how you're supposed to work through those in a proper manner. We also see the downfall of Star and Moon's relationship and how being put on a pedestal can create immature jealousy that does more damage than realized.
Moon Fuentez is a nobody in the social media world unlike her twin sister Star who wants nothing more than to be the top influencer on the summer tour. Moon has accepted her fate as the summer "merch girl" and knows it will be all bad. Bring in grumpy, snippy, sometimes combative, attractive Santiago Phillips to change Moon's mind.
About Moon:
Spoiler
We met moon as a hidden in the shadows sister and daughter with not a lot clearly laid out about her family other than she's the black sheep. Even though she is the black sheep, Moon is the singular person in her family that will speak the truth about things without consequences. She doesn't live her life for others. She lives it for her and her alone. That's power.... in a way.I absolutely loved how we get to know Moon. She's real, she's not some faked out character who is "perfect". Moon is not a size 2, she's not a virgin, she wants her own life away from her sister, and she wants to be loved for her.
The dynamic in the family is evident from the very beginning of the book. It is clearly outlined that Moon is the outcast and Star is the favorite. Yet, we get to know Moon in ways that show she's been cast in the roll as outcast for so long that even she has started to believe it. She goes above and beyond for her sister's career by taking and editing her photographs, yet she is never given a choice or a compliment about the hard work she's done.
In some moments of the story, it was painful to hear the degrading comments about Moon because she is not a virgin and not a size 2. Yes because people should not be shamed for those things but also its because its coming from a person who should love her unconditionally, but doesn't.
The twists and turns and her friendship with Santiago is what kept me turning page after page. While you think this might be a Teen YA RomCom, it is don't worry, it doesn't feel like an overplayed RomCom. We learn more about Santiago and Moon as disinterested co-workers, then friends, and then possibly more. Yet we see their insecurities and we see them work through how you're supposed to work through those in a proper manner. We also see the downfall of Star and Moon's relationship and how being put on a pedestal can create immature jealousy that does more damage than realized.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Racism and Suicide
Minor: Infidelity, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders
imstephtacular's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexual content, Mental illness, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Grief, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: Suicide, Cursing, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, and Car accident
betweentheshelves's review
emotional
slow-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
4.0
This book snuck up on me. In the beginning, I wasn't quite hooked into the story, but the characters are what pulled me into it. By the end, you're rooting for them to make it, for Moon and her sister Star to get out of a toxic situation. I do think the book didn't quite have to be this long, but it was still so heartbreaking. By the time I got to the second half of the story, I couldn't put this book down.
There's a lot of great diversity in this book as well. Moon and Santiago have the best chemistry, and the side characters were just as fleshed out as the main ones. Definitely worthy of all the praise it has been getting!
There's a lot of great diversity in this book as well. Moon and Santiago have the best chemistry, and the side characters were just as fleshed out as the main ones. Definitely worthy of all the praise it has been getting!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, Sexual content, and Bullying
Minor: Infidelity, Blood, and Racism
There is also quite a bit of slut shaming in this book.antonique_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Infidelity
spearly's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC for review!
all the god-loving stars.
all the god-loving stars.
We are all ancient. And it's bananas to me, how the holiness of this earth was attempted to be contained in a church, forcing people to feel bad about the sacred and ancient and wild of our bodies, our senses, our glorious impulses to make mistakes, some of which turn out to be the best things ever.
How Moon Fuentes Fell in Love with the Universe made ME fall in love with the universe. Made me want to dance in poppy fields and chase dragonflies and feel the ocean's salt between my fingers.
This book is like a warm hug, in the most heartbreaking, devastating, lovely way. Moon was an incredible protagonist. I felt for her ever step of the way. Her anger, her loyalty to her family, her self-deprecation, her humour, her journey to finding herself despite all her traumas.
I wasn't expecting that, going into this. I wasn't expecting the deeper conversations about religion and purity and rape-culture. I wasn't expecting facets of mental illness and emotional and physical abuse. And not once did the story feel contrived, feel like it was trying to shove in a whole bunch of hot-button issues just to tick some boxes. Everything was so personal and nuanced and I'm not sure how we got from a story of Instagram-esque influencers on a tour bus for the summer to one of a girl living her twin's shadow, under her mother's thumb, as she overcomes deeply-rooted and toxic religious teachings, as she deals with abuse at home and from peers, as she struggles to accept love. And yet here we are.
Even the parts of the book that made me angry for Moon, I understood. Even the parts where I was angry AT Moon, I understood. I HATED
Spoiler
the way Star treated Moon around her influencer friends. I hated her for her cruel jokes, her passive-aggressive comments, her judgement.... and yet, i felt for her. I can't pretend to know how internalized homophobia affects someone who is so deeply indoctrinated in the church, but I know that Star was troubled. Not blameless. But dealing with her own insecurities and traumas and I can almost, <i>almost</i> forgive her like Moon did.Also *chef’s kiss* to 3-Dimensional side characters! Sometimes a rarity in the NA genre, especially in a romance. Tía. Santiago. William. Even Star (and she definitely had her classic Insta-bitch moments!)
I think I resonated so much with Moon because I too - though at a much lesser extent - know the journey of breaking free from religious and conservative values. I know how hard it is to question what you’ve been taught, to feel like you have no-one in your corner.
This is a love story. A self-love story. A story of acceptance and beauty and finding the tiny miracles in life and the words that run over your skin like honey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Blood, Infidelity, and Racism
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