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A review by wanderlust_romance
How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love With the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
What the blurb doesn't tell you about Moon Fuentes' popular, beautiful, and seemingly perfect sister...is that she's a social media influencer who has built her following on purity culture. To that effect, if purity culture, fatphobic bullying, slut shaming, and religious bigotry/gaslighting are hard limits for your reading...then this is not the book for you.
I could appreciate that the messages in this book are meaningful for a young person working through similar issues. Moon recounts how she has used sex in order to seek validation, in light of the bullying and abuse she receives from her mother and sister. You see her struggle to break free from the internalized messages of slut shaming and how it has contributed to her low sense of self. Moon engages in a lot of negative self talk, especially when it comes to her body. At the same time, she constantly plays the comparison game; believing that her sister has it all. But Moon also has a plan to make her own way - if she can just get through this summer influencer tour slinging merch with a very grumpy and very attractive Santiago Phillips. There is a decent amount of sex in this book, mostly addressed through Moon's memories, her reflections on how it made her feel, and the eventual social stigma it caused her in school (partially because of her sister's social media prominence).
Outside of the "sex stigma" and purity culture aspects, How Moon Fuentes Fell In Love With The Universe took on A LOT. The death of a parent. Grief. Manipulation & gaslighting by a parent. Serious verbal and physical abuse by a parent (and sometimes a sibling). Magical realism. Social media. Influencer culture. Rejecting harmful conservative religious principles. Developing a healthy romantic relationship.
This reminded me quite a bit of "Kiss Me, Mi Amor" by Alana Quintana Albertson, which also dealt heavily with conservative, patriarchal, and harmful interpretations of religion.
I could appreciate that the messages in this book are meaningful for a young person working through similar issues. Moon recounts how she has used sex in order to seek validation, in light of the bullying and abuse she receives from her mother and sister. You see her struggle to break free from the internalized messages of slut shaming and how it has contributed to her low sense of self. Moon engages in a lot of negative self talk, especially when it comes to her body. At the same time, she constantly plays the comparison game; believing that her sister has it all. But Moon also has a plan to make her own way - if she can just get through this summer influencer tour slinging merch with a very grumpy and very attractive Santiago Phillips. There is a decent amount of sex in this book, mostly addressed through Moon's memories, her reflections on how it made her feel, and the eventual social stigma it caused her in school (partially because of her sister's social media prominence).
Outside of the "sex stigma" and purity culture aspects, How Moon Fuentes Fell In Love With The Universe took on A LOT. The death of a parent. Grief. Manipulation & gaslighting by a parent. Serious verbal and physical abuse by a parent (and sometimes a sibling). Magical realism. Social media. Influencer culture. Rejecting harmful conservative religious principles. Developing a healthy romantic relationship.
This reminded me quite a bit of "Kiss Me, Mi Amor" by Alana Quintana Albertson, which also dealt heavily with conservative, patriarchal, and harmful interpretations of religion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide and Schizophrenia/Psychosis