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shelbs_can_try 's review for:
Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything
by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
This book was phenomenal. Raquel Vasquez Gilliland seamlessly combined a hard hitting contemporary novel with a speculative (dare I say science fiction?) twist. It addresses that complexity of life for a young Mexican-American girl, Sia, who lost her mother after being deported to Mexico. She must face the cruel realities of being a person of color in the United States of America, a teenager in high school, and dealing with trauma of past assault. (Trigger Warnings) And just when we think that those problems were enough for this young girl, another curve ball is thrown in her direction. Aliens?
The writer has a beautiful skill of balancing lyrical vignettes of Sia's culture and experiences with the dialogue and spunk of a young teenage girl. She also addresses many different topics in the novel such as religious and cultural oppression, sexual and domestic abuse, and the dynamics of various types of relationships. She writes very well rounded characters who we as readers can easily understand and appreciate as individuals with unique interests and personalities.
Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything is not a particularly short book, but it's lovely pacing and engaging plot made it so easy to read this in one sitting. I have already bought more of Raquel Vasquez Gilliland's book and I can't wait to read more by this author!
The writer has a beautiful skill of balancing lyrical vignettes of Sia's culture and experiences with the dialogue and spunk of a young teenage girl. She also addresses many different topics in the novel such as religious and cultural oppression, sexual and domestic abuse, and the dynamics of various types of relationships. She writes very well rounded characters who we as readers can easily understand and appreciate as individuals with unique interests and personalities.
Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything is not a particularly short book, but it's lovely pacing and engaging plot made it so easy to read this in one sitting. I have already bought more of Raquel Vasquez Gilliland's book and I can't wait to read more by this author!