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A review by laurasarmientov
When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Had I DNFed this at Sea of Island like I was planning to, I would have given this book 1 star. I haven't DNFed a book in a crazy long time, so I decided to power through and found myself less bothered by the writing and caring a lot for the two main characters. The beginning is very hard to get through; the writing is overly descriptive, repetitive, and bland. My theory is that the author may have had a hard time figuring out how to introduce the characters without giving too much away. It was confusing; the fantastical element was detracting from the story, and it was overall very poorly paced. In the first 20 pages, I rolled my eyes at least 15 times because the execution of the introduction was so bad. Miel and Samir are way too complex characters to start using metaphors and anterior motifs when the reader knows nothing about them. That leads me to my next point: a book that uses magical realism has to use this style for a purpose beyond theme representation; it actually has to make sense in the world that is being built. The characters are supposed to find this normal. What "When the Moon Was Ours" does is take random pieces of different Latin American and Arabian folklore, picks and chooses when the magical elements are meant to be real, and then completely neglects necessary explanations that end up creating plot holes. As the book progresses, it is clear that the writer becomes more comfortable with the story they are building; the writing becomes much more coherent, and as the characters discover more about themselves, the prose itself makes more sense. I am so glad I finished this book; by the end, I was mesmerized by Miel, Samir, and Aracely. The main issue is that while I find myself understanding why Miel is linked to water and Samir to the moon, I still cannot differentiate between the parts of the book that were meant to be symbolic and the ones that were real.
This story is not perfect, but it is a beautiful representation of trans people, those who have experimented with their gender, and overcoming bullies by having true connections and staying true to who you are. The main love interest, Samir, and his mother are Palestinians who express cultural and generational trauma. The individual characters are wonderful and shine a light on a trans Palestinian character being comfortable in this family yet accurately portraying the internal and societal barriers a non-fictional trans boy like him would face. When it came to shaping the characters, there is no doubt in my mind that the author writes authentically, drawing from their experiences and those of their loved ones. There is so much thought and care that went into their internal and external dialogues, their personalities, and their purpose. I just wish that care went into every other description of the plot.
Rather than the story itself, what will stick with me is Samir and Miel as people and the love they shared. Not a perfect book, but perfect leads indeed.
This story is not perfect, but it is a beautiful representation of trans people, those who have experimented with their gender, and overcoming bullies by having true connections and staying true to who you are. The main love interest, Samir, and his mother are Palestinians who express cultural and generational trauma. The individual characters are wonderful and shine a light on a trans Palestinian character being comfortable in this family yet accurately portraying the internal and societal barriers a non-fictional trans boy like him would face. When it came to shaping the characters, there is no doubt in my mind that the author writes authentically, drawing from their experiences and those of their loved ones. There is so much thought and care that went into their internal and external dialogues, their personalities, and their purpose. I just wish that care went into every other description of the plot.
Rather than the story itself, what will stick with me is Samir and Miel as people and the love they shared. Not a perfect book, but perfect leads indeed.