Okay, I’m pretty sure this is going to be in the running for one of my favorite books of the year because I loved this one so much! It had me laughing, and crying, and even swooning! And the story was so much more than just a teenage girl with a crush and having issues with her parents. It was all that, but each of those things were so deep and so heavy but also so perfectly fitting for a girl that age.

I adored Moon. She was just the exact type of character I love to read about, because I connect in so many ways with her. She was snarky, and felt not as pretty/good as her sister who was as far as anyone could tell, her mother’s favorite. But there was a lot more to the story with the mother, and their father as well.

And then there was the love interest, Santiago. For so much of the book I really liked him and kept hoping he and Moon could get past their own insecurities and issues and make it work. But there was one point, towards the end, when I totally thought she was right to consider moving on. That he needed to take a step back and realize exactly how he was behaving.

Finally, there was Moon’s art. The descriptions really did give me a picture, but I wanted more! I wish there was a real Moon making this art so that I could see pretty pictures. I loved the connection to New Orleans that I didn’t realize this book would have, since I do adore that city. There was even a restaurant they described that I think is based on a real famous one in NOLA that now I want to make a visit just to try it! And oh yeah, Santiago’s cooking! All that food sounds so good! And his thoughts on salt, so true and I loved it!

I know this review is totally gushing and probably doesn’t make a ton of sense, but I really, really, really adored this book. Like I said, I’m pretty sure it will be in my top 10 books for the year and I can totally see nominating it to be a future award list for my state school library association next year!

Review first published on Lisa Loves Literature.