Raquel Vasquez GillilandRezensionen

Gr 9 Up—Moon, a Mexican American photographer, has always played second fiddle to her social media influencer
twin. But accompanying her sibling on a cross-country bus trip results in a journey of self-discovery. This poignant
coming-of-age story deftly weaves first love, religion, emotional abuse, purity culture, and familial jealousy into a rich
narrative.

Toxic family dynamic and a leftover grudge from a virtual high school relationship. He didn't know who she was then, and she's mad at him? Why? DNF at 32%. Thankful again for my local library because I don't need to spend money on books I don't enjoy.

This was a really great witchy read with a strong scecond chance romacne. I loved the sister dynamics in this read and it def gave me charmed vibes!! I also loved the elemental magic elements!! I thought this was such a quick read!!! I enjoyed this book alot and felt like it was a bit flat for character development but it was a fun read!! I would love more set in this world!!

This was a really great witchy read with a strong scecond chance romacne. I loved the sister dynamics in this read and it def gave me charmed vibes!! I also loved the elemental magic elements!! I thought this was such a quick read!!! I enjoyed this book alot and felt like it was a bit flat for character development but it was a fun read!! I would love more set in this world!!

From the book jacket: When her twin reached social media stardom, Moon Fuentez accepted her fate as the ugly, unwanted sister hidden in the background, destined to be nothing more than her sister’s camerawoman. But this summer, Moon also takes a job as the merch girl on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers, and her fate begins to shift in the best way possible.

My reactions:
This is a pretty typical enemies-to-friends-to-lovers scenario. It’s also a YA coming-of-age book that deals with bullying, body-image, and self-confidence. Moon and Star’s Mom is a religious fanatic who has always favored Star, the fair-skinned, blonde “good girl.” It takes a group of strangers, and one in particular, to get Moon to recognize her own gifts and talents, and to help her find her own path to success.

The up-and-down, on-and-off romance drove me a little crazy, but it’s part of the package for this genre. Although the sex scene was still unrealistic, I’m at least glad that Gilliland chose to have them get to know one another over several months before they acted on the attraction.

As for Star … I’m not sure I would have forgiven my sibling so easily for behaving the way she did.

4.25 stars

what I liked:
Sage - she's rad
Sky - the only family member whos ok
TALKING TO PLANTS!!!!!
pervy ghosts and the magic in general
the mentions of food - salivating
the house - sounded very Charmed style

what I did not like:
her abusive ass family - toxic as hell
the sex scenes - they did not hit for me and some of their interactions felt cringe

watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@starkissedstories

I don’t typically like books that make assertions about Jesus that are untrue. Call me brainwashed or whatever. And I certainly don’t like Mexican culture always being conflated to witchcraft and superstition. Call me proud or whatever. That being said, I did love this book. Moon is genuinely lovable and her description of photography made me want to go out and buy a camera. I hated the mother and sister because they represent exactly what is wrong with religion and it’s application. But Moon’s love for nature and creativity is a reflection of what it means to be a child of the creator. Love it.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an eGalley of this from NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: I really loved this. It was a fun and heartfelt read with magic, mystery, romance and a lot about family. It was very well done and a breeze to read. I desperately hope that this will be a series and we will see books form Sage's sisters' POVs!

This book follows Sage Flores. Sage left her home town after her younger sister, Sky, died. Eight years later she has to return to deal with unfinished issues. Things get complicated when she takes on a job for a local farmer helping with botany and finds out her new partner at work is going to be Tennessee Reyes. Her and Tennessee Reyes had a "thing" during high school via an anonymous chatting app; he never knew who she was in person. He hurt her badly and she wants nothing to do with him now. Too bad no one told Tennessee about this unknown past between him and Sage.

Meanwhile things get really complicated when Sky's ghost starts to haunt Sage, demanding Sage make amends with her other sister. But things are complicated in this family and all the women have strange magical powers. Sage can't talk to her living sister without having her call down a storm on her, so how is she supposed to make any peace there?

This book is fairly romance heavy, but also had wonderful magic elements. The mystery behind what happened to Sky is a fascinating one and helps to drive the story forward. Another key element to the story is Sage's family and trying to heal all the ills between Sage, her sisters, and the aunt that took care of them all.

This was incredibly well written and easy to read. I enjoyed the magic, the romance, the family, and Sage as a character in general. Sage grows and finds peace throughout this book and I loved taking that journey with her.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved this. It was a perfect summer escapist paranormal romance read. The romance is well done but so is the intriguing magic, the deep family connections, and the mystery behind Sky's death. This is a well-balanced read that I really enjoyed! I hope that we see more books in this world, maybe books from Sage's sisters' POV?

Moon overcomes her trauma and low self-esteem to come out from her sister's shadow and let herself find love with a hot guy who does the same. This book celebrates food, spirituality, art, and finding the beauty in the world and in yourself. This book broke my heart and healed it. I very much enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it.

Read the full review, and the list of trigger warnings, at https://fileundermichellaneous.blogspot.com/2023/02/book-review-how-moon-fuentez...

And why did I wait so long to jump into this book? So so good. I laughed out loud so many times, wanted to scream at Moon’s horrible mother more times than I can count and wanted to go to culinary school after reading about all the amazing meals Moon and Santiago made together. A beautifully written story about finding yourself and truly falling in love with your universe. The enemies to lovers trope was not overdone, it was done with sensitivity and true feelings. The envious sister relationship is one that many can relate to. Definitely a top 10 book for me!! The author shined a light on body shaming, family violence, mental health issues and the grief of losing a loved one, among other issues

This book was absolutely amazing! The book follows Star and Moon Fuentes, twin sisters who couldn't be more different. Star is the "pretty twin" and Moon is forced, by everyone, to live in Star's shadow.

The summer after high school graduation, they go on an influencer's tour to expand Star's following and brand. However, Moon spreads her wings and her own brand grows, and begins overshadowing Star's brand. This, of course makes not only Star unhappy, but mama Fuentes as well.

Moon is the over-weight, "ugly" twin and has been the punching bag of her mother and sister for years. When the ridiculously attractive younger brother of the tour's creator shows interest in Moon, and disinterest in Star, it throws both sisters for a loop. Moon is a talented artist, photographer, and editor. When head of the tour, inadvertently learns of Moon's talent, he promotes it on his own social media, and earns Moon many new followers. It gives Moon such joy and confidence, but makes her sister jealous. And of course she tries to sabotage her budding success.

This book really took me through it. There were laughs, second-hand embarrassment, sadness, shock, anger, and joy. The story was well thought, and well written. They characters were loveable, and strangle-worthy. The journey this novel took me on was incredible, and ended with great character developement.

I would/will read this again!

I really, really loved the magic realism vibe of this book: the divination, La Raíz, the nature art and all the descriptions of Moon's photographs and the sensory delights surrounding her. I just wish I enjoyed the rest of the book as much.

Moon is—all the characters are—difficult to like throughout the book, and while this makes for convincing and much appreciated character growth, I would've found it more compelling if not for the many scenes of almost ludicrous villainy.

This book originally started out as "a robot-and-cyborg traveling circus story set in historic Mexico," according to the author's acknowledgements, and it feels like that at times, moments when all the subtlety and nuance of the characters and the world they live in are completely blotted out by a cartoonish merry-go-round of misfortune and abuse and douchebaggery.

Do I think that sometimes people's lives really feel like this? Sure. Does that mean I found it believable in this book? Unfortunately not. I'm happy to carry the rich imagery and quiet, empowering mysticism of Moon's story with me as I leave it, but I'm also grateful to shake its drama off my feet.

Spoiler Alert. I devoured This book. I immediately fell in love with Moon’s character and I ached for her home situation. I won't go into too many details but Moon deserves so much more than the universe. While yes this book has romance with a Enemy to lovers trope, it was so much more character driven than I thought it was going to be which was a huge relief.

Gilliland is such an amazing writer. There's humor, beautiful descriptors and each character was thought out and given actual Characterization. There was a perfect balance of sweet lightheartedness and seriousness that made this book so much more interesting.

I was so happy when the conflict that came actually helped the plot rather than hinder it, and seemed to naturally make the story flow rather than grind it to a halt like most YA romances can do. I really liked Moon and Santiago’s dynamic and chemistry. Their relationship developed naturally, no instant love but a gradual build up that made it seem real. I also really liked the relationship between Moon and her sister Star even if I did see the plot coming. The ending wrapped up pretty nicely and I was very content with how it ended, although I wished their was more consequences for a particular people.

Overall, a great read

*Thank you to Edelweiss for allowing me to read this. This is my honest and unbiased review*

RGG: A fun rom-com. Issues of body image and slut-shaming are well presented. Steamy, and the ending is somewhat explicit. Main characters are entering college. Reading Interest: YA.

I thought Sia Martinez and the Moonlight Beginning of Everything was a great story. This is as good or better. It has sisters who are as unalike as possible until some of the layers are peeled away by circumstances, flawed parents, one horrible, the other unable to deal with an illness with devastating results, and building chemistry between Moon and Santiago. Moon's sense of humor is spot on, as is her stream of consciousness relating to events in her life and her massive feelings of 'less than'. Altogether, a great book and one deserving of a place in any library caring about providing really good books for teens.

mature teen fiction (teen falls for son of racist sheriff while dealing with missing/deported mother, UFO conspiracy theories, residual trauma from sexual assault)

I like the characters ok but not really into the whole alien tech/govt conspiracy angle (which makes up a considerable portion of this story). I got more than halfway through the book but it was all alien conspiracy at that point. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, I would recommend instead the author's second book, How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe.½

teen/adult fiction - funny, dark-skinned, fat photographer deals with insecurities from always comparing herself to her thin, light-skinned, "pure" sister; she stops being ashamed of herself and reject her mom's toxicity, and also falls in love with the gorgeous jerk she spends the summer working with.

I loved this so much! The complex character development, the magical spiritualism, the mouth-watering descriptions of food, all of it. Looking forward to reading more from this poet/author.

OH MY GOSH. I honestly didn't know what to expect going into this book (UFO abductions?) but it completely blew me away.

Gilliland's novel covers a lot of heavy stuff - racism, sexual abuse, physical abuse, deportation and the death of a parent. She mixes this with quirky characters, magical realism and Latinx representation, and a wonderful, original coming of age story,

The first two thirds of the book focuses on social and relationship issues. Sia is constantly thrown into situations with the awful son of the racist sheriff who deported her mom, making for some uncomfortable and maddening scenes. She meets the new boy at school, and her friendship with him puts her at odds with her best friend Rose. (Who has her own secrets, but hasn't actually let Sia in on this.) Her grandmother has passed, but Sia constantly feels her spirit around her - her grandmother is a very feisty spirit, and these scenes were really lovely, many incorporating Mexican folklore.

The last third of the book is where the UFO part of the storyline comes in. It's definitely a change of tempo and it suddenly takes on a much more X-files tone. (There are a lot of X-files references thrown in, too.) Admittedly, this felt part of the story becomes infinitely more quirky and out there, and feels a little out of place. The ending of the UFO portion was NOT what I would have predicted at all, either, so brava to Gilliland for continually keeping me on my toes.

The story has some lovely prose, and its characters are colorful and engaging. I can't wait to see what comes next from this author!

This book took me in a completely unexpected direction. I was expecting a tale of gradual revenge against the very angry and bigoted sheriff. Instead, it turned out to go in a far more interesting direction, one involving unbreakable family ties, lots of coming of age, Sia's having to deal with the aftermath of a traumatic boyfriend experience, evil government people and plenty of additional surprises. Saying more would give too much away. Let it be said that this is a nearly impossible to put down book by a very promising author.

Fun diversion into YA land and cultural diversity, with aliens and traditions thrown in. Pandemic read.½

Packed to the gills with emotional moments, action, romance, political issues, social issues, and aliens, this book doesn't leave a breath for boredom.

Sia's mother, an illegal alien living in the US since she was 6 months old, is caught by ICE and shipped back to Mexico. Unfortunately, it's not easy for her to return, and she makes a bad decision by sneaking across the border. She disappears while crossing the desert...something Sia refuses to forgive the sheriff for, but then, he isn't a caring kind of individual. Racism runs ramped in the small town, and although Sia and her father are Americans, she still needs to keep off the sheriff's radar to keep life easy. But things are about to go weird. Strange lights appear over the desert, and soon, become more and more obvious...even to Sia. But that's just the beginning.

I love the cover and blurb on this one, and was extremely excited to get my hands on it. The characters come across naturally, and especially their dialogue is well done. I enjoyed the friendship between Sia and Rose and found it inspiring, especially since things went up and down and not always perfect. Also, the father/daughter relationship as well as the one with the other relatives was loving. It was a treat to hear about the spirits and learn about Sia love for growing heritage vegetables—such a wonderful tradition! In other words, there's a nice wholesome side to counter the more racist one, which keeps hope and goodness alive in in times of darkness.

While there is much to love, there's too much to love. Within the first half of the book, I think every difficult theme or issue mentioned in the teen-literature world was touched upon. It rolls through illegal immigration, breaking up of families, loss of a mother, racism, LGBTQ, bullying, family violence, romance, sexual assault, injury of loved ones... and I'm sure I forgot a few. Unfortunately, this allowed little time to really sink into important emotions and needed care to explore these tough issues. Many were simply brushed over in a few sentences. This was especially odd when (for example) Rose comes with horrific news and is in tears...should be crushed and comforted...but instead, one sentence later forgets the incident completely to ask and poke at a romantic possibility of Sia's. Whiplash hit leaving no time for the emotions to build which would make a reader connect with the characters' situations.

The second half of the book switches gears from emotional teen moments and issues into the alien plot. Action fans will love this half, and it was my favorite section of the book. Still, it felt like two very different reads packed into one.

All in all, it's a quick read even at over 400 pages, and it does have more than a couple inspirational moments. Sia learns quite a bit as a character, and the overall messages do offer lovely hope. I wouldn't recommend it for the older end of the YA spectrum, thanks to the writing. It simply felt younger to me. Still, this won't be for every younger reader, either, since there are several triggers. There is also foul language, some light violence and more explicit moments. For the right reader, it is a book which holds many surprises and keeps the reader guessing until the end.

I received an ARC copy and found a lot to enjoy in this book.

In "Tales from the House of Vasquez," Raquel Vasquez Gilliland melds autobiography with myth and fairy tale to create a feminist history of the women of her family and her personal crisis--and an archetype of the human. At times surreal, at times poignantly real, these poems dance with energy and hope in the face of death and the oppression of the male priests of the mundane and spiritless "real" world. In the end, the feminine wins by persisting in seeing with "all four eyes...opened like stars."