Ebook The Moon Within Aida Salazar Books
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****Four starred reviews!****
* "A worthy successor to Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret set in present-day Oakland." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Celi Rivera's life swirls with questions. About her changing body. Her first attraction to a boy. And her best friend's exploration of what it means to be genderfluid.
But most of all, her mother's insistence she have a moon ceremony when her first period arrives. It's an ancestral Mexica ritual that Mima and her community have reclaimed, but Celi promises she will NOT be participating. Can she find the power within herself to take a stand for who she wants to be?
A dazzling story told with the sensitivity, humor, and brilliant verse of debut talent Aida Salazar.
* "A worthy successor to Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret set in present-day Oakland." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Celi Rivera's life swirls with questions. About her changing body. Her first attraction to a boy. And her best friend's exploration of what it means to be genderfluid.
But most of all, her mother's insistence she have a moon ceremony when her first period arrives. It's an ancestral Mexica ritual that Mima and her community have reclaimed, but Celi promises she will NOT be participating. Can she find the power within herself to take a stand for who she wants to be?
A dazzling story told with the sensitivity, humor, and brilliant verse of debut talent Aida Salazar.
Ebook The Moon Within Aida Salazar Books
"I have never reviewed anything on Amazon before. But my daughter, who seldom enjoys reading, and definitely not reading a book that’s not a graphic novel, is enthralled by this book. She is 10, and she says, “the way it is written, the details she gives and the rhythm of the words—it just makes me want to read it forever.†I haven’t yet read it myself, but I give 5 stars to a book that has mesmerized my hard to please fifth grader. Looking forward to seeing more from this author."
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Tags : The Moon Within (9781338283372) Aida Salazar Books,Aida Salazar,The Moon Within,Arthur A. Levine Books,1338283375,Best friends,Friendship,Life change events,Menstrual cycle - Rites and ceremonies,Mothers and daughters,Novels in verse,Puberty,Puberty - Rites and ceremonies,Puberty;Rites and ceremonies;Juvenile fiction.,Racially mixed children,Racially mixed children;Juvenile fiction.,Racially mixed families,Racially mixed families;Juvenile fiction.,Racially mixed people,Transgender children,Transgender people,JUVENILE,JUVENILE FICTION / People Places / United States / Hispanic Latino,JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Adolescence Coming of Age,JUVENILE FICTION / Stories in Verse (see also Poetry),Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Fiction/LGBT,Juvenile Fiction/People Places - United States - Hispanic Latino,Juvenile Fiction/Social Themes - Friendship,Juvenile Fiction/Stories in Verse (see also Poetry),Juvenile Grades 4-6 Ages 9-11
The Moon Within Aida Salazar Books Reviews :
The Moon Within Aida Salazar Books Reviews
- The Moon Within, Aida Salazar’s middle grade debut, is a novel I wish I could gift my eleven-year-old self. Celi is on the brink of turning twelve and she, along with the world around her, is changing faster than she can keep track of. Her body is already changing and with it, the promise of a period. Not something she is looking forward to, especially with her mom’s recent interest in their Mexica heritage. For Celi, this means a moon ceremony to celebrate her transition from girl to young woman, but Celi isn’t happy about having to share the things happening to her body with other people. Celi also finds herself torn between her best friend Marco, who is taking his first steps discovering what it means to be genderfluid, and her first crush Iván, who’s finally showing interest in her, but who is also less accepting of her best friend. Celi must find a way to navigate all the changing relationships in her life without sacrificing who she is and who she wants to be.
The Moon Within is an honest portrayal of how many young people feel about the changes their bodies go through. Celi’s first instinct when it comes to her first bra and her first period is to hide, to feel shame in the way her body now works. What Celi doesn’t quite understand yet is that her mother’s insistence on a moon ceremony, an Indigenous tradition meant to celebrate and honor the menstrual cycle, is her gift to her daughter. It’s a gift that says you don’t have to be ashamed. It’s one where the relationship between mother and daughter is defined by frankness and an openness that doesn’t leave Celi with all the unanswered questions her mother was left with. I loved the relationship between Celi and her mother because they clashed. They don’t always communicate well and Celi is just starting to see her mother as a person and not just her mom, but someone one who was once a scared girl herself.
Celi’s Mexica side isn’t the only cultural heritage that is celebrate in this one. Her father is Afro-Puerto Rican and Celi has grown up learning how to dance the bomba. I loved the portrayal of Celi’s relationship with this dance. She’s incredibly gifted and her connection to the music feels almost instinctual for her. Salazar also uses this dance to show Celi’s connection to her best friend Marco, whom she calls her best echo. Their friendship is incredibly sweet and even though Celi stumbles, this is the one relationship in this novel that felt like it could survive no matter what was thrown at them. I loved how Salazar’s portrayal of Marco being genderfluid is tied to his Indigenous roots. While our views on the gender binary are changing, we sometimes forget that many Indigenous cultures already had words for those who are nonbinary and in this case, specifically genderfluid. For Marco, being xochihuah and embodying both female and male genders, is what feels right. I loved that there is a beautiful reverence given to both the changes Celie and Marco go through and by embracing who they are, they were also reclaiming cultural traditions.
The Moon Within took me back to the days of first crushes, that uncertain time between childhood and adulthood, recounting that secret shame we sometimes feel when we get our first period, the shame that sometimes follows us into adulthood. This poignant novel-in-verse instead encourages celebration and acceptance, and one I wish every child on the verge of getting their first period could read. - I have never reviewed anything on before. But my daughter, who seldom enjoys reading, and definitely not reading a book that’s not a graphic novel, is enthralled by this book. She is 10, and she says, “the way it is written, the details she gives and the rhythm of the words—it just makes me want to read it forever.†I haven’t yet read it myself, but I give 5 stars to a book that has mesmerized my hard to please fifth grader. Looking forward to seeing more from this author.
- Empowering, enlightening, and relatable! I’m so glad this novel exists. I love the way it addresses periods, a gender-fluid character, and traditions. A beautiful, loving gift of a book.
- I absolutely love this book. Great for a young pre teen to teen girl. It has her understand the changes her body is going through is normal and nothing to be ashamed of.
- Great read. Great gift.
- I think that this story may have been easier to understand if it was not written on poetry. The note from the author at the end tied up a lot of loose ends for. I am not sure that preteen girls would understand this story without some more in depth material. I do love that the idea of a girl getttng her period s treated so positively I was not familiar with the Mexican Moon Ceremony before.
The idea of fluidity of sexuality identity is also dealt with positively. - The Moon Within is written in a unique way. The entire book is written in poetry form. This book is about an 11 year-old girl named Celi Rivera. Celi is of half Puerto Rican and half Mexican-American heritage. She lives in East Oakland, California. Her 12th birthday is right around the corner. Her body has started to change, which includes Celi getting her period. When Celi gets her period, her mom insists that she is going to have a traditional Mexican moon ceremony for her. A moon ceremony is a public celebration where they celebrate her transition from a girl to a young woman. Celi doesn’t want to have a moon ceremony because she wants her body changes to be kept private. She does not want to share the changes that are happening to her body with other women. Celi’s best friend, Magda, is discovering what it means to be genderfluid. Magda and Celi have been best friends since they were babies. Celi’s passion is dancing. She loves to dance the bomba, a traditional Puerto Rican dance accompanied with drums. Celi is also experiencing her first crush on a boy named Iván. He is finally showing interest in Celi, but Iván is less accepting of Magda because she is genderfluid.
One of the lessons in this book is that teens don’t have to be ashamed or feel embarrassed about the changes that are happening to their body. All girls will go through these changes. You are not going through this by yourself.
Since this entire book is written in poetry form, it is more challenging to read. However, if you enjoy poetry and reading books that are in poetry form, this book may be for you. I recommend this book for people who are interested in knowing about traditions in different cultures. I also recommend this book more for teenage girls.
Review by Alexis N., age 13, North Texas Mensa
