Last weekend I posted about How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe when I talked about five reasons to read this book for a book tour. Today I want to give you a full review about this book. When I started this book I had a feeling it would be special, but it ended up being a book I know is going to end on my favorite books of 2021 list. Keep on reading to find out more about this book and what I thought.

A big thanks to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc to read and review!

The Hating Game meets I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter in this irresistible romance starring a Mexican American teen who discovers love and profound truths about the universe when she spends her summer on a road trip across the country.

When her twin sister reaches social media stardom, Moon Fuentez accepts her fate as the ugly, unwanted sister hidden in the background, destined to be nothing more than her sister’s camerawoman. But this summer, Moon also takes a job as the “merch girl” on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and her fate begins to shift in the best way possible.

Most notable is her bunkmate and new nemesis, Santiago Phillips, who is grumpy, combative, and also the hottest guy Moon has ever seen.

Moon is certain she hates Santiago and that he hates her back. But as chance and destiny (and maybe, probably, close proximity) bring the two of them in each other’s perpetual paths, Moon starts to wonder if that’s really true. She even starts to question her destiny as the unnoticed, unloved wallflower she always thought she was.

Could this summer change Moon’s life as she knows it?

Content Warning: child abuse (physical and emotional), death of a parent, suicide, depression, fat phobia, disablism/disability discrimination, racism, shut shaming, lgbt-phobia, bullying.

Review

To be honest I just don’t know where to start when it comes to reviewing How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe. This book was just amazing and it was everything I didn’t know I needed. This author sucked me in with her vivid storytelling and I felt like I was there with Moon the whole entire time. The story is mostly character driven, but it just really works. I laughed, cried, was angry and just felt everything all at once.

Our main character Moon has a twin sister Star. She describes them as close, but it’s clear as we get into the story that this relationship isn’t healthy. Moon doesn’t feel like the “good” sister. She’s the “ugly” and “unwanted” sister. I want to start off by saying that many times this book isn’t easy to read. There are darker sides with abuse and Moon is treated in ways no one should be treated. Ever since her sister became popular and a social influencer, Moon has been volunteered to be her photographer and even has to sacrifice her summer, so her sister can go on a tour. Moon isn’t excited about this, but it ends up being the best thing to happen to her.

What I really loved is that Moon really starts thinking about herself more and more during this book. Even when she gets snide remarks from her sister or threatening phone calls from her mother she slowly starts seeing she deserves to be there and do what she does. Because Moon is also very talented. She has her own account with a lot of followers, working on a tarot deck and is just amazing how she is. It was so hard seeing her dismiss compliments or even not being able to believe someone could think she was “hot”. I could seriously ramble on about how angry her mother and sister made me.

The book is split between the present and Moon looking back at different memories in her life and it all fits together perfectly. The story about her father is truly sad, but I loved reading the memories she had of him. How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe is about growing up, sexuality (it’s very sex positive), accepting yourself, learning to love yourself, grief, love and very complicated family relationships. Also, I don’t want to talk too much about the romance, because this story is so much more, but Santiago definitely made this book even better. Yeah, he started off as a grump, but I truly believe he got Moon to open up and starting seeing how much she was worth. I appreciated that the romance didn’t take over the story, but really complimented it.

All in all, I won’t forget How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe anytime soon. It’s something that hits you in all the feels, but it does have many lighthearted moments that made me laugh. There was a really good balance. If you haven’t read this one, I definitely recommend picking this one up!

 

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe is a book that really made me feel. I have a feeling I’ll be talking about this book often. What was the last book that hit you in all the feels? Let me know in the comments!