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A review by inkstndfngrs
The Moon Within by Aida Salazar
2.0
On one hand, my opinion of this book means nothing as a Midwestern white person.
On the other hand, I am part of the LGBTQ+ community, and identified as a woman for the first 30-odd years of my life before accepting my non-binary identity.
But where do I even start with this?
First, I knew already that I was going to have a hard time with this one because it's in verse. And I *loath* books in verse. The only thing I hate more is present tense fiction. But, I had to read this because of a book challenge issued to a local school district, and I'm on the committee to decide to keep it or not (spoiler alert: I may not have liked it, but I don't believe in censorship). One perk: It was about an hour and a half to read it.
I have two major issues with this book. First, the Moon Ceremony. Celi tells her mother (Memi) *repeatedly* that she does not want to have this ceremony and wants her menstruation to remain private. Her mother spouts off about "reclaiming the traditions that were taken from us" and waxes rhapsodic about the glory of being a woman. Even at the end, when it finally happens --Celi is STILL telling her mother no, and her mom basically says "Too bad! It's happening!".
This is just so frustrating. People with vaginas are already constantly told that their bodies are not their own. Her mother's attitude comes from a "horrifying" experience of "not being prepared" for her first time --but the thing is: SHE PREPARED CELI! Not to mention that her Grandmother is later part of the ceremony, along with with her transwoman friend? WHO DOESN'T EVEN MENSTRUATE? WHAT?! And yes, Celi does eventually have "fun" (we assume?) at the ceremony, and Mar even takes part in it as well, which probably relieved some of anxiety around the situation.
Several others have mentioned the scene at the very beginning of the book where Memi calls in Celi's Dad and Brother to check out her new bra. Again, no, it's not sexual, but OH MY GOD. I'm dying from the secondhand embaressment. If I didn't *have* to read this book, I would have stopped then and just been like, "nope!".
My other issue comes around Mar. They embrace him as a sort of two-spirit person (I can't spell the word they used in the book; thank god Celi added a pronunciation in the text). Many reviewers call him "genderfluid". But...that's not really accurate and is never used anywhere in the text. I also didn't really like that they basically told him "You'll get your period too, but it's okay because you have both man and woman spirit in you, so it'll be cool!".
...No. No, that isn't how it works. And while all the grown-ups in their life embrace Marco (nee Magda) and their transitioning, Celi is rather blindsided by it. The plotline around Ivan being a jerk to Mar is also kind of contrived. A lot of that is very cliche (as is getting her period for the first time in white pants --I knew it was coming the SECOND I saw the line...)
I also really, really hated everything about the lunar calendar and menses. The book goes as far as INCLUDING A CALENDAR to "help track". ...I have never had a regular period, my entire life. I have PCOS. In fact, in my family, only my little sister is lucky enough to have a period like clock-work. Hardly any of my friends are this insanely regular either. So, no...no, this does not apply to "all women" and honestly if I had read this when I was a teen, I would have been terrified and wondered what the heck was wrong with me. (Another Spoiler Alert: I have PCOS, but it wasn't diagnosed until I was 30, even though I underwent various tests for it a few years prior... Thanks Healthcare System!)
So...yeah. I just...I cannot with this book. I am sure that there are cisgirls out there who are going to love and appreciate this book and find the lunar thing "magical" and "reassuring"...but it really just made me feel like a failure of a person with a vagina.
If you're gender non-conforming, maybe do yourself a favor and just skip this one. It's not worth the possible dysphoria.
On the other hand, I am part of the LGBTQ+ community, and identified as a woman for the first 30-odd years of my life before accepting my non-binary identity.
But where do I even start with this?
First, I knew already that I was going to have a hard time with this one because it's in verse. And I *loath* books in verse. The only thing I hate more is present tense fiction. But, I had to read this because of a book challenge issued to a local school district, and I'm on the committee to decide to keep it or not (spoiler alert: I may not have liked it, but I don't believe in censorship). One perk: It was about an hour and a half to read it.
I have two major issues with this book. First, the Moon Ceremony. Celi tells her mother (Memi) *repeatedly* that she does not want to have this ceremony and wants her menstruation to remain private. Her mother spouts off about "reclaiming the traditions that were taken from us" and waxes rhapsodic about the glory of being a woman. Even at the end, when it finally happens --Celi is STILL telling her mother no, and her mom basically says "Too bad! It's happening!".
This is just so frustrating. People with vaginas are already constantly told that their bodies are not their own. Her mother's attitude comes from a "horrifying" experience of "not being prepared" for her first time --but the thing is: SHE PREPARED CELI! Not to mention that her Grandmother is later part of the ceremony, along with with her transwoman friend? WHO DOESN'T EVEN MENSTRUATE? WHAT?! And yes, Celi does eventually have "fun" (we assume?) at the ceremony, and Mar even takes part in it as well, which probably relieved some of anxiety around the situation.
Several others have mentioned the scene at the very beginning of the book where Memi calls in Celi's Dad and Brother to check out her new bra. Again, no, it's not sexual, but OH MY GOD. I'm dying from the secondhand embaressment. If I didn't *have* to read this book, I would have stopped then and just been like, "nope!".
My other issue comes around Mar. They embrace him as a sort of two-spirit person (I can't spell the word they used in the book; thank god Celi added a pronunciation in the text). Many reviewers call him "genderfluid". But...that's not really accurate and is never used anywhere in the text. I also didn't really like that they basically told him "You'll get your period too, but it's okay because you have both man and woman spirit in you, so it'll be cool!".
...No. No, that isn't how it works. And while all the grown-ups in their life embrace Marco (nee Magda) and their transitioning, Celi is rather blindsided by it. The plotline around Ivan being a jerk to Mar is also kind of contrived. A lot of that is very cliche (as is getting her period for the first time in white pants --I knew it was coming the SECOND I saw the line...)
I also really, really hated everything about the lunar calendar and menses. The book goes as far as INCLUDING A CALENDAR to "help track". ...I have never had a regular period, my entire life. I have PCOS. In fact, in my family, only my little sister is lucky enough to have a period like clock-work. Hardly any of my friends are this insanely regular either. So, no...no, this does not apply to "all women" and honestly if I had read this when I was a teen, I would have been terrified and wondered what the heck was wrong with me. (Another Spoiler Alert: I have PCOS, but it wasn't diagnosed until I was 30, even though I underwent various tests for it a few years prior... Thanks Healthcare System!)
So...yeah. I just...I cannot with this book. I am sure that there are cisgirls out there who are going to love and appreciate this book and find the lunar thing "magical" and "reassuring"...but it really just made me feel like a failure of a person with a vagina.
If you're gender non-conforming, maybe do yourself a favor and just skip this one. It's not worth the possible dysphoria.