Starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and SLJ.

worthy successor to Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret set in present-day Oakland.

Eleven-year-old Celi, mixed black–Puerto Rican–Mexican, dreads the imminent arrival of her period, less because of the menstruation itself and more because her mother insists that Celi have a “moon ceremony,” in which the members of her mother’s “women’s circle” will mark the transition from childhood to womanhood. Meanwhile, her best friend is going through a different transition—from girl to xochihuah, “neither / female nor male but both.” While Celi is initially shocked by the adjustment, she loves Mar, as her best friend now prefers to be known, no less. But when other kids, including her crush, Iván, say cruel things about Mar, Celi is torn between the possibility of a first kiss and loyalty to her friend. Salazar’s verse novel is sensitive and fresh, featuring modern interpretations of pre-Columbian coming-of-age traditions that arise organically from the characters. Mar’s heritage is Mexican, and Iván is mixed, black and Mexican; Celi and Mar’s participation in a Puerto Rican performance group and their mothers’ shared, deeply felt Xicana identity allow Salazar to naturally explore cultural nuances not often seen in middle-grade fiction. Genderfluid Mar takes both that name and the masculine pronoun midway through the book, and Celi’s narration adjusts accordingly even if some of their peers’ attitudes do not.

An authentically middle school voice and diverse Latinx cast make this book a standout . (Verse fiction. 8-12)

-Kirkus Review

Full review found here: https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/02/04/affirming-middle-grade-gems-spring-2... ( )

This book was hard for me to read, because it centers on the subject of menstruation, something that has long been a topic full of shame and secrecy. I applaud Salazar for creating a story that not only captures the extreme discomfort many women feel with the topic (in her young main character), but offers a different perspective, a celebration, that acknowledges the tie to the moon, and the sacred traditions of many indigenous cultures. I also love the thoughtful plotline that surrounds her best friend, a genderfluid character. Really, it's lovely book, well written, well-centered in modern teen life, and both kind and powerful. ( )

In this novel in verse, Celi Rivera lives in Oakland with her parents and younger brother. She loves to dance bomba to her best friend ("best echo") Magda's drums, she feels tingly around her crush Iván, and she does NOT want the moon ceremony her mother is planning for when Ceci has her first period. When Magda delicately comes out as nonbinary, Ceci promises to support her friend - but when Iván makes fun of Magda's (now Mar or Marco's) boyishness, Ceci doesn't defend him. She feels guilty, but she continues to see Iván - and her mother continues to plan the moon ceremony over Ceci's wishes. When Ceci's period does arrive, however, it's Marco who rescues her from embarrassment, and their mothers have a ceremony for them both - and despite Ceci's initial resistance, her feelings change.

An authentic, sensitive portrait of a character at a tender, transitional age, learning to embrace and feel pride in her cultural heritage (Ceci is Black-Puerto Rican-Mexican).

See also: Revenge of the Red Club

Quotes

Sometimes we do things
we don't mean
when we're hurt.
(Magda to Ceci, 53) ( )