How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe

Starred review from August 9, 2021
Mexican American Moon Fuentez, 17, is dark-skinned and round; her twin, Star, is light-skinned as well as “willowy and still curvy.” Model and purity crusader Star is their single mother’s favorite; Moon, who has had sex, is “the unwanted, ugly sister.” Though talented photographer Moon takes the photos that Star’s 900,000 Fotogram followers love, her other talents—she’s also an earth artist and tarot card reader and designer—don’t attract much notice. But now Moon is spending the summer before college as the “merch girl” on “The Summer Fotogram Influencers for Charity Tour,” which invited Star. Adding insult to injury, Moon is sharing a bunk with merch boy Santiago Philips, the hot but grumpy half-Colombian, half-white brother of Fotogram’s founder. Santiago, who lost a hand in an accident, also has issues with his place in the world, but as he teaches Moon to cook, they develop a bond. In Vasquez Gilliland’s (Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything) poetic hands, Moon’s strong voice shines amid magic and indigenous knowledge, even as she struggles with her mother, colorism, and fatphobia. Readers will cheer for Moon as she learns to embrace her own beauty and power. Ages 14–up. Agent: Elizabeth Bewley, Sterling Lord Literistic.