Scan barcode
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Lush, tender, romantic, and tinged w/ magic, When the Moon Was Ours is a book that adeptly, gently forces the reader to slow down. The writing--w/ each word seemingly carefully and thoughtfully chosen--teters on the edge of purple prose, but McLemore somehow always strikes the balance and does it just right. The mystery and secrets and truths are interesting; the characters and their relationships w/ one another complex and full of depth; though I do find some the characters' decisions frustrating.
What I most appreciate about the book, however, definitely has to be the empathetic, sensitive portrayal and exploration of its transgender characters, particularly Samir. This is my first time reading such a book, and it is so revelatory, insightful, and heartrending. A tender and imaginative work that thoughtfully explores themes of identity, love, and truth.
What I most appreciate about the book, however, definitely has to be the empathetic, sensitive portrayal and exploration of its transgender characters, particularly Samir. This is my first time reading such a book, and it is so revelatory, insightful, and heartrending. A tender and imaginative work that thoughtfully explores themes of identity, love, and truth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Body shaming, and Homophobia
Moderate: Racism and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Sexual content
sandy_21's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Bullying, and Transphobia
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide attempt, and Body horror
littlebluenaiad's review
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
1.5
The prose was pretty. I’ll admit that. My problem with it, however, was that it distracted from whatever was happening at any given moment. The chapter titles make no sense. Sam and Miel are making out and I can’t even realize until a couple pages in when they start taking off their clothes. Sam frees Miel from the glass coffin, and I don’t even know until they’ve run far from it. And when there were petals all over Sam’s face, I wasn’t sure who they were coming from. And maybe that was the point. But I didn’t enjoy it. It felt like the text was so descriptive that it circled from show don’t tell back to show, because I can only realize what’s happening once the characters tell me. And it was also so, so repetitive. I can’t count how many times it was reiterated that the Bonner sisters had red hair, that they could have anything they wanted, that they wanted the magic of Miel’s roses no matter how many times she told them they wouldn’t do what they wanted from them.
Also, more distressingly, it was very uncomfortable whenever Miel would say that she thought of Sam as her dead brother. Every time, I wanted to shake her and scream, “Then WHY did you sleep with him on page 3? WHY can’t you stop of making out with him?” Needless to say it was. Very uncomfortable. And I wish that they were just friends, even without all the brother comparisons, because I felt like the fact that they both just thought of kissing whenever near one another distracted from their friendship. Instead, the book ends with them about to have sex. I almost wish that this were a children’s or middle grade book instead, because the concept would work so nicely for that.
One last problem I had with this book. They kept saying that people called Miel and Sam “Honey and Moon”, but they really only call her “Honey” as in “Miel”, not because she ate it off spoons and knives and was oh-so quirky, but because Miel is literally her name. And literally no one called Sam “Moon” in the entire book. Yet another example of telling instead of showing despite the rich, descriptive writing style. Thank you for reading, this concludes my rant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Outing, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual content
taleofabibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Confinement, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia, Cursing, Suicide, and Racism
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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: Blood, Death of parent, Bullying, Transphobia, and Outing
Moderate: Child abuse and Deadnaming
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
mathewfairchild's review against another edition
no major reason, i just think i couldn't vibe with it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Sexual content
More...