Love is love is love.
February is the month of love, of magic,
of fairy tales so of course we had to find a book that included all those
qualities for our Book of the Month, and we found it.
WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS (Thomas Dunne Books) is
full of magic, fairies and witches, full of love and betrayal. We picked this novel because the prose
is beautiful and evocative, and magic blooms in every page. And, the dedication by author
Anna-Marie McLemore will capture the heart of every reader.
To the boys who get called girls,To girls who get called boys,
And those who live outside these words.
To those called names,
And those searching for names of their own,
To those who live on the edges,
And in the spaces in between.
I wish for your every light in the sky.
WHEN THE MOON IS OURS is a love story
between a magical girl and a transgender boy. Their secrets are choking them
and keeping them from being true to themselves. And, it is only when they let
go of their fear, of their shame, and learn to love themselves first, that they
find the courage to face each other and their community. Nothing is more beautiful than finding that one
person to love and loving all of them, even the parts they don’t love about
themselves.
SUMMARY: Miel and Sam have been inseparable since
they met when she fell out of a water tower. (Actually, the water from the fallen
tower fell over her in the brush and exposed her to the town.) Miel has roses
growing out of her wrists, while Sam is known for the moons he is always
painting and hanging in trees. They are odd and harmless in the eyes of the
town, except to the four Bonner girls, who are rumored to be witches. The two
groups have stayed away from each, but now the Bonner sisters want the flowers
Miel grows because they believe their scent will make anyone fall in love. The
battle is on. The sisters fight dirty and threatened to expose every secret
Miel and Sam have in order to get what they want. Now Miel and Sam must band
together stronger than ever to survive, and to define their love for themselves
and their community.
Read our review of THE WEIGHT OF
FEATHERS by clicking here.
And, join us on Wednesday, February 8,
when The Latina Book Club will feature an excerpt from WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Anna-Marie McLemore is a Mexican-American
author who draws on the beautiful cultures she grew up in to write magical
realism. Her debut novel, THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS, was a 2016 William C. Morris
YA Debut Award Finalist. Her new novel, WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS, was longlisted
for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. Her third book, WILD BEAUTY, will be out
later in 2017. Anna-Marie’s short stories have been published by Harlequin
Teen, Candlewick Press, and in The Portland Review. She lives in Northern
California and is represented by the Full Circle Literary Agency. Learn more
about her at author.annamariemclemore.com.
Happy Reading. Read Latino Lit.