Weekly Mews: My Bookish Mewsings on The Kaiju Preservation Society, The Roanoke Girls, & A Good Cry

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

 

It was quite windy and chilly out today, blue skies with a few white clouds here and there. The snow capped mountains on the horizon are quite picturesque. We got a lot of rain earlier in the week. It was nonstop there for awhile. We attended an award ceremony for Mouse at her school Thursday evening and made sure she could hear us cheering for her when her name was called. There was quite a crowd, but we had good seats. Mouse has the beginnings of a cold this weekend, unfortunately. The rest of us are hoping our scratchy throats are just sympathy symptoms. 

This past week I finished reading The Kaiju Preservation Society, The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel and A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter by Nikki Giovanni. My thoughts on all three are farther down in this post. 

I currently am reading an essay collection called Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out by Shannon Reed. I am finding it easily relatable and at times funny. It's got me reflecting on my own reasons why I read. 

 

One of my bookish goals this year is to read three books recommended by my daughter. Her first pick for me is the graphic novel, Misfit Mansion by Kay Davault, a story about misfit monsters, found family, and a dark secret . . . I have just begun reading it, but I am already loving it.

Thank you to everyone who voted in my February TBR List poll! This was a close one at times, but in the end a clear winner came out on top. Slay by Brittney Morris got three (3) votes, followed by Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson with six (6) votes. The winner of this month's poll is Women of the Post by Joshunda Sanders which won with eight (8) votes! I am looking forward to beginning Women of the Post soon. 

My TBR List was the idea of Michelle at Because Reading, and while Michelle has not been hosting this monthly event for some time now, it's one of my favorite traditions that I cannot bring myself to give up. It's just too much fun! The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books from my TBR pile I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

"Jamie Gray!" ~ opening of The Kaiju Preservation Society

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
Tor Books, 2022
Science Fiction; 264 pgs
Source: From my own TBR

In the author's note at the end of the book, John Scalzi explains that he wrote The Kaiju Preservation Society as an escape from the horror that was 2020. He likened it to a pop song, something that entertains and comforts us.

Jamie Gray loses his job right as the pandemic begins to sweep through New York City. Forced to take a job as a food delivery person, he is doing what he can to get by. A fortuitous encounter with a former acquaintance, Tom Stevens, leads to a job opportunity Jamie cannot pass up. All Jamie knows is that Tom works for an animal rights organization that everyone is very tight-lipped about. It isn't until Jamie arrives in Greenland that he discovers why. The Kaiju Preservation Society (KPS) is a top secret organization, located on an alternate Earth. While there are similarities to our Earth, there are many differences, including the existence of giant creatures who are both valued and feared. It is the mission of KPS to study these creatures and to keep them from breaking through the barrier between the dimensions. It would be quite disastrous if that happened.

This was such a fun book to read. There are a lot of pop culture references to movies and fantasy novels. The author's wit comes through on just about every page. There were characters I could root for, bad guys to root against, suspense that had me sitting up in my chair, and a setting that took me out of my own world for a little while. The kaiju are fascinating creatures with their very own ecosystems. There was a moment or two when the scientific explanations were a bit much for me, but I found it all interesting.  I think the author accomplished what he wanted and then some with The Kaiju Preservation Society. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more by John Scalzi. 

*

The first time I saw Roanoke was in a dream. ~ opening of The Roanoke Girls

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel, narrated by Brittany Pressley
Random House Audio, 2017
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller; 288 pgs (10h 41 min)
Source: From my own TBR

This was my first novel narrated by Brittany Pressley and I think she did a great job. Her tone and reading style fit Lane's character so well. 

Lane Roanoke returns to Osage Flats, Kansas after eleven years after learning her cousin, Allegra, is missing. She had sworn she would never go back after that one terrible summer she had lived there but she feels she owes it to Allegra. 

Author Amy Engel takes the reader back and forth between the present and the past as Lane searches for her cousin and remembers that long ago summer in Kansas. She was fifteen when her mother died and she was sent to live with the very people her mother had cut off all contact with. Lane's cousin, Allegra, abandoned my her own mother, introduces Lane to small town life and the advantages to having money. Lane's return after all these years means facing a past she longs to forget, including an ex-boyfriend who never quite got over her. 

Early on we find out the darkest secret of the Roanoke family. When a teen-aged Lane comes to live at the Roanoke estate, she is immediately drawn to her grandfather, whose kindness and attention she craves. Her own childhood was a difficult one, having been raised by a mother who seemed to hate her. As the past comes to light, the reader can better understand why Lane's mother behaved the way she did--the trauma she endured, why she ran, and how that impacted the way she parented her daughter. The impact extended to Lane's own relationships, past and present. Her lack of trust. Her self-hate. Her inability to form attachments. No one in this novel is without their own trauma and wounds. The history of abuse and the way the family normalized it over the years is extremely disturbing. 

I liked that the author included snippets from past Roanoke girls of previous generations, all of whom had disappeared or died young. It gives the reader a more fuller picture of just how dysfunctional this family was and how deeply the manipulation and trauma went. In some ways, this novel felt like a character study in how familial sexual abuse can affect one generation after another. There was no romanticizing of the abuse in this novel. I focus a lot here on the family's dark secret, and the novel does too. But there's still the mystery of what happened to Allegra, and whether she's alive or dead.

Did I like this book? I have mixed feelings about it, but I know that has more to do with the subject matter than it does with the execution. I generally avoid books (with a few exceptions) that delve into incest or child sexual abuse and probably would not have picked this one up had I known what it was about. Still, it says something that I kept listening. I was invested enough in the characters and their fates to continue to the end. 

A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter by Nikki Giovanni

William Morrow; 2017

Nonfiction/Memoir/Poetry; 128 pgs

Source: From my own TBR  

I started to read this poetry collection a year or so ago, set it aside, and it got lost under other books. I discovered it again recently and decided the time was right. 

Nikki Giovanni is an award winning poet, one I had not had a chance to read before. I enjoyed reading her poetry for its simplicity and depth. She writes about every day tasks from childhood and present, growing up in a home with domestic violence, her love for her grandparents, about the Civil Rights Era, and Denmark Vesey and the outlawing of the drum, just for starters. She pays tribute to people who have touched her life, including Maya Angelou, one of my favorite poets and her dear friend. Just as the subtitle says, I found myself laughing and tearing up. 

I often struggle over what parts of poems to share. Sometimes there are favorite verses that pop of the page. With this collection it was entire poems that captured my heart. I cannot share them in their entirety, but here are some excerpts from a few of my favorites. 

Among my favorite poems in this collection is "Summer Storms":

There are those who say 

We should run

inside from the storm

But that would be 

like leaving Grandmother

at the kitchen table

alone and sad 

A tribute poem to Maya Angelou called "At Times Like These" also moved me. It begins:

At times like these

We measure our words

Because we are

Measuring a life

My heart ached for a young Nikki in her poem called "Surveillance" as she witnessed her father beat her mother:

I am a camera

I am the silent film

It was recorded because

I surveilled

Another favorite of mine is "We Marched", in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Sisterhood of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority:

    The Suffragettes did not want us

Offering only the back of the March

Our other did not understand us so we went

Our separate ways

    But The Time Had Come

Black Women would no longer Wait

    We Marched

I often dogear pages in my poetry books when I come across a poem I especially like, and A Good Cry has quite a few. I enjoyed this collection of poetry and am so glad I finally pulled it off my shelf to read. 

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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© 2024, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Weekly Mews: A Quick Trip to Utah, COVID, and November's TBR List Poll Winner

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

I hope November has been treating you well so far. Last weekend my family and I, including my mom, drove out to Utah for my father-in-law's memorial service. We left after Mouse got out of school Friday, stopped in North Las Vegas for a late dinner, and made it to our hotel in Utah late that night. The service was Saturday at my mother-in-law's church. It was a nice service, one my father-in-law would have liked, with a reception after, and it was nice to hear all the heartfelt memories and thoughts people have of him. It was a quick trip because of work and school commitments, and we drove home to California on Sunday. The weather was perfect. Sunny days with cool evenings. Then on Wednesday, Anjin began to feel ill and tested positive for COVID. I have tested a couple of times and have been negative so far, although I am symptomatic.  I was given permission to work from home Thursday as a result. If Friday hadn't been a work holiday for me, I likely would have had to call off. I am still feeling crummy. Worse today than the last two days. Anjin feels more human again, at least. And Mouse reports she is feeling good. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

I recently read the cozy mystery The Fatal Folio (Cambridge Bookshop #3) by Elizabeth Penney and loved it. You can read my thoughts on it here. 

At the moment, I am reading the middle grade fantasy novel Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities #7) by Shannon Messenger and a cozy mystery called Death by Demo (A Home Renovation #1) by Callie Carpenter. I also slipped in a couple of short stories from Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre, edited by Tracy Chevalier. 

What have you been reading recently?

*                   *                *

Thank you to everyone who voted in my November TBR List Poll! It was a very close race. One of the books was ahead for most of the week, but at the last minute, the winner came from behind and took the first spot. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande received four votes and Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse got seven votes. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel won with 8 votes. 

While I eventually plan to read all three of these books, I am looking forward to diving into Station Eleven soon!  Thank you again to all who voted!

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle  at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

It was my hope to share my thoughts on a couple of poems I read this week, but with everything going on, it did not work out. Instead, I would like to share a Book Central Podcast I listened to recently and enjoyed by fellow blogger, Juli of A Universe in Words, in which she reads and discusses the beautiful poem "Often Rebuked, Yet Always Back Returning" by Emily Brontë. I hope you will check it out! 

Have you read any poetry you would recommend lately?

This year I have been slowly working my way through the short story anthology, Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre, and I recently read a couple more of the stories in between my other reading, both by authors I haven't read before. 

Patricia Park's "The China from Buenos Aires" centers around a young Korean immigrant from Argentina now living and studying in the United States. The author captures Teresa's diasporic feelings well. She doesn't quite fit in anywhere and is struggling with homesickness and loneliness. She finds a friend in Juan, a familiar person from her past, who has also made a home in America. His feelings for her are much stronger than hers are for him, and when a family emergency arises in Argentina, Teresa has a difficult decision to make. In just a few short pages, Patricia Park was able to create a character I came to care for, and I really felt for her in her situation. I still find myself thinking of this story and Teresa days after finishing the story.  

The second story I read was "Reader, She Married Me" by Sally Vickers. This was a different twist on the original Jane Eyre. The story is written from the point of view of Edward Rochester. It takes place after he is married to Jane, as he looks back on his life with his first wife, Bertha, the fire, and his ultimate marriage to Jane. As fond as I am of Jane, I was not too keen on this take on Jane, but I appreciated the creative take on familiar characters. Edward is painted in a somewhat more sympathetic view, but I felt more so for Bertha. This story touches on issues of child loss, post partum depression, and grief. It's heartbreaking. I wanted to feel for Edward, especially since he feels remorse after all this time, but it was too little, too late. 

Have you read any short stories you would recommend lately?

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

---

© 2023, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Weekly Mews: Reading Poetry / June's TBR Winner / And Hopefully Rain

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

I am linking up Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.  

I heard a rumor rain might be on the horizon. As much as I enjoy sunshine, I love rainy days, and they are rare enough here this time of year that I always look forward to them. So, I hope it does rain! 

We celebrated my husband's birthday the middle of the week--it was relatively lowkey despite being a milestone birthday. We plan to celebrate more this weekend and see Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse. We all enjoyed the first film in the series and are looking forward to the second. Last weekend Mouse and I dragged Anjin to see The Little Mermaid, which we all loved. My daughter is hoping she can talk her grandmother into taking her to see it again this summer. 

Today we went to see some of Mouse's friends perform in their end of the season dance recital. All the dancers did such a good job! And I think Mouse's friends were especially glad to have her there to support them. They got to spend some time together after the performances, making it extra fun for them all. It was nice to be a spectator this time around--not running in every direction to make sure costumes, make-up, and kids were in place. I miss the connections we made with people when Mouse was dancing at a studio, but I don't miss the too full schedules and constant running around as much.

Work was a little easier this past week--less busy, but still busy enough. I actually was able to get caught up on some of my online trainings finally. There's a big region meeting/potluck this coming week. 

What have you been up to? 

Finished reading this past week: 

Playing It Safe (Electra McDonnell #3) by Ashley Weaver (bookish mewsings to come)

Mom, Can I Do My Laundry at Your House?: Poems from Your Adult Child by Olivia Roberts 

Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities #2) by Shannon Messenger

Flutter, Kick by Anna V.Q. Ross

In the middle of reading: 

Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood by Lisa Damour

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle  at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

Thank you to everyone who voted in this month's TBR poll! It was a close race, but ultimately there was only one winner. Weyward by Emilia Hart received 7 votes and The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox got 8 votes. The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner won with 10 votes! I will be starting The London Séance Society very soon and am looking forward to it!  

Thank you for voting! 

What are you reading? 

This week I picked up and read a review poetry book I received via Edelweiss (all opinions are my own), Mom, Can I Do My Laundry at Your House?: Poems from Your Adult Child by Olivia Roberts (Chronicle Books, 2023; 64 pgs). It is the type of book that would make a fun little gift for a mother as a way to say thank you--nothing serious, just for a chuckle and a hug. It's less insightful and more simplified, meant to bring a smile to the reader's face.

I found some of the poems more relatable than others--maybe because I'm an older adult child and some of the pop references are from a younger generation. But there were many relatable gems in the book too--like how my mom graciously doesn't say a word about my messy house when she visits, how she tolerated listening to my favorite songs over and over again while I was growing up (and still does with her grandchild), that she is "amazing, kind, patient, and beautiful", helped me with my homework when I was in school, mediated sibling fights, loved me and loves me still through my worst and best and every mood in between, and how good she is at folding fitted sheets (I still can't do it well), among other things.

When I was young I thought you were an invincible superhero

Now I realize you are just a human

and you have human feelings

and make human mistakes

and do all the other human things just like everyone else

You're still a superhero to me anyway [excerpt from Mom, Can I Do My Laundry at Your House?]

I come from there, with lavender

greenery small against the bricks. 

[opening of "House" by Anna V.Q. Ross]

I also read Flutter, Kick by Anna V.Q. Ross (Red Hen Press, 2022; 96 pgs). I wish I had words that could adequately convey how much I loved this collection of poems and just how much it resonated with me. The poems vary in style, and I admire the way Ross uses style and language with purpose. I loved the imagery in Ross's poems and the way she juxtaposes daily routines with reflections of loss, fears, and traumatic memories, sometimes touching on political and world events as well. I felt these poems as I read them and live many of them as a mother (especially of a daughter) and as a woman who was once a girl. Some made me cry, my own memories of trauma and fears as a mother facing me on the pages of the book, and others made me smile. There was one poem that made me laugh, in part because it is as if the poet could see the ads on my Facebook feed in "The Algorithm Thinks I Need a Girdle". 

That this collection of poems spoke to me makes it even more meaningful for me personally, but, in general, I found Ross's poetry to be not only insightful and though provoking, but also very well crafted. 

Is it an apparition, a machine of memory,

or is the story and remembering? 

["What Is the Poem" by Anna V.Q. Ross]

Have you read either of these collections of poetry? If so, what did you think? What poetry have you read lately? 

I was looking for a quick read one day recently and settled on "Million Dollar Baby" by Kim Harrison. It's one of the novellas in her Into the Woods anthology, based on her Hollows urban fantasy series. I have been enjoying the stories in this collection for the most part and this one was no different. Elf Trent Kalamack reluctantly teams up with Jenks, the pixie, in order to kidnap Trent's and Elisabeth's daughter, who had been kept from him by Elisabeth. The kidnapping is a good thing in that Elisabeth isn't the nicest of elves--and would let her daughter get killed in the crossfire if it meant taking out Trent. I liked seeing the relationship between Trent and Jenks evolve over the course of the novella. Trent doesn't trust many people and it shows. It was interesting to read a story told from Trent's point of view. He's not always as confident as he often comes across, afraid of becoming like his father and also of what Rachel thinks of him. Spending more time with Jenks is always a fun time. Don't underestimate the pixie! 

What short stories, novellas or essays have you read lately? 

At Mouse's recommendation, I squeezed in the second Keeper of the Lost Cities book, Exile, by Shannon Messenger (Aladdin, 2013; Middle Grade Fantasy; 576 pgs) earlier this week. These books are relatively fast reads despite being long. Exile picks up soon after the first book ended. Sophie is settling in with her adoptive parents at Havenfield, adjusting to life as an elf. Havenfield is the kind of place I would love to live: an animal rehabilitation center. Although not of animals you and I are familiar with. 

In Exile, Sophie befriends a rare mythical creature called an Alicorn and is tasked with training her so she can be moved safely to the sanctuary. The female alicorn is a sign of hope for the elven community and not everyone thinks Sophie is up for the job. But Silveny, the Alicorn, only trusts Sophie. There's also the little problem of the people who want to harm Sophie. They haven't been caught. And there are still secrets about her past and existence that Sophie would like to find answers to. Oh, and the fallout from when Emissary Adlen Vacker enlists Sophie to help him with his latest top secret job.

A lot seems to rest on this 13 year old's shoulders and I blame the adults. She's extraordinarily gifted, most likely more so than all the other elves. I am enjoying seeing the trouble she gets into--and is pulled into through no fault of her own--and how she gets out of it. She's got a great group of friends--although maybe too many guys who have crushes on her (Mouse is Team Keefe). I have some theories about who is behind what and what direction certain storylines may go, but there have been a few surprises along the way, and I look forward to seeing what Sophie and her friends end up doing next. 

Are you reading any children's or middle grade books right now? If so, what? 

The local independent bookstore is in between locations, but I was able to order a couple of books online through them. Originally, the owner planned to open at the new location later this month, but it looks like it will be after the first of July instead.  

The Bangalore Detectives Club (Kaveri and Ramu #1) by Harini Nagendra

Treasure Island by Robert Luis Stevenson (Mouse's request)

What new books made it onto your shelf recently? 

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

---

© 2023, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Weekly Mews: My Bookish Mewsings on The Moon Within by Aida Salazar & Other Updates

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

 

May is going by so fast! We had painters at the house today, giving our shutters a fresh coat of paint. That should make the homeowner's association happy.  My husband considered doing it himself, but my mom and I talked him out of it. He's got a bad shoulder and we worried about his safety. 

This week was relatively calm as far as it goes. Work continues to be busy. My husband and I had to get creative with our work schedules this week in order to make sure Mouse was picked up from school. My mom often helps out with pick up (thank you, Mom!), but my mom's aunt fractured her pelvic bone and my mom has been helping her and her partner out this week and possibly for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the after school program Mouse sometimes goes to was full  for the week and unable to take her. My great-aunt seems to be doing well. Hopefully that continues to be the case. 

At the moment, I am reading Deanna Raybourn's Killers of a Certain Age, this month's TBR poll winner. It is good so far! These four retired assassins are a force to be reckoned with!  

Earlier this week, I finished reading Well Played (Well Met #2) by Jen DeLuca. You can check out my review here.

I am considering one of these next. I wonder which one it will be . . . . 

Marion Lane and the Raven's Revenge (#3) by T.A. Willberg

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Homicide and Halo-Halo (Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #2) by Mia P. Manansala

Playing It Safe (Electra McDonell #3) by Ashley Weaver

What are you reading right now? What do you plan to read next? 

I wish I had read this book with my daughter two or three years ago, when I first added it to my TBR shelf. But I am glad I read it now. Aida Salazar's novel in verse, The Moon Within (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2019, 240 pgs), is a beautiful and inspiring book about not just a Mexican-Puerto Rican girl, Celi, entering a new phase in her life, but also that of her friend, Marco, who is also coming into his own.  This is a story about growing up: first periods, first love, friendship, family bonds and conflict, bullying, and transitioning. It is steeped in culture, traditions, and heart. This review includes some spoilers--so stop reading and skip to the next section if you plan to read this novel. 

Though I've never seen it

I know my locket is there. 

It keeps my questions

            my secrets

warm

unanswered

and safe. [excerpt from  pg 5 of The Moon Within]

Celi doesn't want the fanfare her mother has planned for her first menstrual cycle. She's embarrassed by her mother's wish to celebrate something Celi would rather keep private and hidden. But her mother does not want her daughter's experience to be the same as hers. She does not want her to feel shame or fear. As a mother and as someone who was once a young girl going through puberty, I understand both points of view.  

Celi, your moon will not be like mine.

You will not begin womanhood in doubt

in shame

but surrounded by the strength

of women in your community.

    No it isn't. It is a way you've made up!

It is a way that we have to reclaim 

so that we are not erased. [excerpt from page 182 of The Moon Within]

In the author's note, the author talks about how something once so celebrated and honored in some cultures has been made to feel dirty in modern-day western cultures. This is something I have observed too, although I like to think the tide is changing.  

As Celi navigates her changing body and puberty, her friend Marco is going through his own changes. Born a girl, Marco has long felt more like a boy. I loved how Salazar celebrates him in his and his family's acceptance of who he is. The author draws from precolonial indigenous, Mesoamerican ideas and beliefs, referencing the Aztec god Xochiquetzal, who was both male and female. Xochihuah, people with dual genders or who are gender fluid, are believed to have been considered sacred and well respected. 

While Celi loves Marco and their friendship, conflict arises when the boy she is crushing on is rude to Marco, deadnaming him and making fun of him. Celi struggles with her feelings--her attraction to Iván and her loyalty to her best friend. 

My locket lies open on

            a shore of a sea

                        of confusion

steady sand grounds my feet

like Marco--my best amifriend forever

            but the waves of Iván

                        crash into me

            a foam that wraps around my legs

                        sends a tingle through my body

                                    and swarms my heart

                        with a feeling of

            first love? [excerpt from pg 141 of The Moon Within]

Celi's relationship with dance, music and the moon (Luna), play a big part in this book. Celi is most herself when she is dancing, often to the sound of drums played by her father or Marco. It is a part of who she is. The title itself suggest the importance of the moon to the story, as it can be tied to the moon cycle as it relates to the female body. And here the author brings dance and the moon together: 

I watch her light up a sliver of dust

in my room.

Like a performance

small specks dance

twirl,

                bounce,

                                        float,

                glide,

                        somersault. 

They dance like I do. [excerpt from pg. 7 of The Moon Within]

I love the idea of a moon ceremony; and while it is not a tradition I carried out, it is one I admire and see the beauty in. The picture painted by Salazar as she wrote about Celi's moon ceremony was very moving and heartfelt. 

As my last offering to my moon altar

I lay my first doll, Alma, inside an open gourd

then I add a flint, for protection

and a spool of thread to mend

her bird-print dress

I say goodbye beneath my breath

while Mima sprinkles her

with

 crystal dust

that feels like love. [excerpt from pg 197 of The Moon Within]

I also really liked that she included Marco in the experience, incorporating his transition in such a way that honored both him and Celi.

The Moon Within carries such a positive message and the characters are very relatable. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.

Have you read The Moon Within? Have you read any poetry or a novel in verse recently? 

School is winding down for Mouse, and this week of school has been spent doing mostly non-academic activities (Mouse said she would rather work on her play than play board games). Just three more days of school to go and then it's on to middle school in August. Mouse isn't sure she's ready--and I am not sure I am either. Reading wise, Mouse is reading V.E. Schwab's Gallant. 

I recently watched the movie The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, based on the book with the same title by Gabrielle Zevin. I really liked the book and remember how much the characters came to mean to me as I read it. I wasn't quite as enamored with the movie, although I did enjoy it. Today I made my family watch A Man Called Otto, an Americanized movie version of Fredrick Backman's book, A Man Called Ove. I thought it was very well done. I really like Tom Hanks and Mariana Treviño was great as Marisol. Let's face it though. The cat stole the entire movie. (It goes without saying though that the book was still better.)

My daughter has been begging me to watch more anime with her and we most recently started the first season of Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-Kun! It is about a human boy who is sold by his parents to a demon, and the demon enrolls the human boy in demon school, trying to pass him off as his demon grandson. It's a cute show--a good mix of action and heart. We also started the second season of By the Grace of the Gods, an isekai slice of life anime. 

What have you watched recently?

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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