Reviews with content warning for Religious bigotry - How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe

This book hit me in the heart 💜 Moon’s story is heartbreaking, and her struggles with abuse and grief moved me to tears. But her journey of self-discovery and self-love moved me even more. She is soft and powerful, angry and sweet, broken and healing and so many wonderful and complicated things. The relationship she develops with Santiago is so full of hope, and the relationship she discovers with her self worth is even more so. This book is beautiful.

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the_readingraven's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

This is my new favorite YA book I have ever read. This book was made with so much love and intention, that you could really feel it. Raquel writes about very hard-hitting topics such as religion, sexuality, favoritism, physical disability, fatphobia, and more. The author manages to write about all of this while adding in bits of comedy and scenes where you can't help but smile.

The earthy and spiritualistic melodies throughout this book were something to really experience. I never thought of my favorite word or how certain flowers can mean certain things to me. It was written in such an inviting way, instead of me being turned off by Moon's spiritual nature I gladly joined in the thought of the cosmos.

I also enjoyed Moon having "flashbacks" every few chapters, where we see how people around her left their mark on her during her formative years. At times, I would feel frustrated with how Moon was thinking or reacting but seeing the experience that caused her to behave a certain way started to make sense. Moon is a character I will always love. It certainly was a journey to see her start to love and care for herself. So much of her self-hate and self-criticism at the beginning of the book reminded me so much of myself. We really don't treat ourselves like how we should so it was a healing feeling to see Moon start to turn a new leaf.

Now, in terms of the romance, it was very bittersweet. Santiago is the main love interest, I really like how it was enemies to lovers because it did not start out on the right spot, AT ALL. I loved them at times and absolutely couldn't stand them. I had to remind myself this is a YA romance, they are newly adults, and they don't know how to fully communicate yet. Like jeez, who knew a simple conversation could possibly fix everything up! But besides that, they both are two people with "baggage" that need to learn how to handle it.

One thing I do wish we saw was the outcome with Moon and Stars' mother. Was there a resolution, did anything change, and where are they now? I have lots of questions about that situation but overall, I think our characters have learned a lot of their family dynamic and the sisters will face it together. Overall, I love this book deeply and I'm so glad I finally decided to read it!

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caitlinemccann's review

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emotional funny reflective 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

5.0

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onarosebeam's review

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funny hopeful reflective 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

5.0

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brim010's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

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selysrivera's review

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challenging emotional funny inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

I enjoyed this book! It’s sex positive and the characters grew. But it really needed a trigger warning.

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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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