Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love With the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

8 reviews

apierlessbridge's review

challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.5

This book was so hard to get through but ultimately so powerful and beautiful and healing. the catharsis at the end is so perfect. I absolutely adored moon and santiago and the journey they both went on.

star and everyone else (except Tía not so much)

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship

sistinem24's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Body shaming, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Fatphobia

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

cassielaj's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Grief, Suicide, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Body shaming, Religious bigotry, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Really disturbing instances of parental abuse and neglect, body shaming and slut shaming, and religious bigotry

ash19_3's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Fatphobia

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

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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

legalplanner's review against another edition

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:

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Racism and Suicide

Minor: Infidelity, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders

nitya's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Toxic relationship is family related, not the main romance

indydanniejones's review

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

A difficult but beautiful coming od age story with a little bit of magic thrown in. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Death of parent

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders