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A review by the_grimdragon
Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"A new sensation filled my belly, one that did not belong to any of the stories, but was mine and mine alone. Desire."
Each of Us a Desert is the sophomore novel from Mark Oshiro. If this is any indication, Oshiro is a damn fine writer that will be around for a long time to come!
Following sixteen year old Xochitl, a cuentista in the village of Empalme, Each of Us a Desert is a story about stories. Given these special powers at just eight years old, Xo listens to stories of the villagers, then leaves them to Solís, the sun god, scattering them back to the earth. These stories are confessions that they will no longer need to bear the weight of, purging secrets from their lives, their bodies during the prayer ritual. The cuentista takes on the sin, yet once they return the story to Solís, it is forgotten.
Except one day, Xo decides she doesn't want to give up a particular story. Rather, she ventures out of her village on a quest to save her people, her only companions are her thoughts & the magical lines of poetry she finds hidden amongst the dunes.
For the first time in her young life, Xochitl is following her heart, her desires. But will the story consume her?
"Each of us a desert, alone and vast."
Each of Us a Desert is a post-apocalyptic fantasy coming-of-age story that is exquisitely queer, subverting the genre & the western gaze. The worldbuilding is vivid & atmospheric, taking place in a queernorm desert society with a diverse cast of characters, including nonbinary & Latinx rep, as well as a sapphic main relationship. I swear my little queer heart grew ten sizes while reading this! Oof.
Mark Oshiro's writing is beautifully intense & tangible. Exploring themes of immigration, history & trauma, Each of Us a Desert is a brutal, achingly emotional novel. It's about overwhelming loneliness, grief, pain, sacrifice, love & support. It's that sense of isolation, when you feel like you never quite belong. It's about that little flicker of hope that one grasps onto, while searching for your place in this unpredictable world.
Each of Us a Desert is the kind of book where I had finished & then immediately wanted to start reading again, so that I could find things that I had missed.
CW: Violence, abuse, gore, visceral horrors.
(Big thanks to Tor Teen/Tor Books for sending me a copy!)
Each of Us a Desert is the sophomore novel from Mark Oshiro. If this is any indication, Oshiro is a damn fine writer that will be around for a long time to come!
Following sixteen year old Xochitl, a cuentista in the village of Empalme, Each of Us a Desert is a story about stories. Given these special powers at just eight years old, Xo listens to stories of the villagers, then leaves them to Solís, the sun god, scattering them back to the earth. These stories are confessions that they will no longer need to bear the weight of, purging secrets from their lives, their bodies during the prayer ritual. The cuentista takes on the sin, yet once they return the story to Solís, it is forgotten.
Except one day, Xo decides she doesn't want to give up a particular story. Rather, she ventures out of her village on a quest to save her people, her only companions are her thoughts & the magical lines of poetry she finds hidden amongst the dunes.
For the first time in her young life, Xochitl is following her heart, her desires. But will the story consume her?
"Each of us a desert, alone and vast."
Each of Us a Desert is a post-apocalyptic fantasy coming-of-age story that is exquisitely queer, subverting the genre & the western gaze. The worldbuilding is vivid & atmospheric, taking place in a queernorm desert society with a diverse cast of characters, including nonbinary & Latinx rep, as well as a sapphic main relationship. I swear my little queer heart grew ten sizes while reading this! Oof.
Mark Oshiro's writing is beautifully intense & tangible. Exploring themes of immigration, history & trauma, Each of Us a Desert is a brutal, achingly emotional novel. It's about overwhelming loneliness, grief, pain, sacrifice, love & support. It's that sense of isolation, when you feel like you never quite belong. It's about that little flicker of hope that one grasps onto, while searching for your place in this unpredictable world.
Each of Us a Desert is the kind of book where I had finished & then immediately wanted to start reading again, so that I could find things that I had missed.
CW: Violence, abuse, gore, visceral horrors.
(Big thanks to Tor Teen/Tor Books for sending me a copy!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death