A review by spearly
How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

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.

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
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.
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