Blog When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
By Aspen | Book Reviews
When The Moon Was Ours is written by Anna-Marie McLemore and was published in 2016.
Winner of the 2016 Tiptree Award
Longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
Stonewall Book Award Honor
Recommended age: 12-15 years
When The Moon Was Ours is a fantasy novel about a girl called Miel, who has roses that grow out of her wrist, and a boy called Sam, who makes glowing moons out of many different materials and hangs them in trees. They’re best friends, and have been together ever since the town knocked down the old water tower, Miel fell out, and Aracely took her in.
Four sisters (known as the Bonner sisters), the most beautiful in the town, want Miel’s roses for themselves, because they believe they have the power to make anyone fall in love with them. Chloe, Lian, Ivy, and Peyton keep manipulating the boys in the town, but will they be able to manipulate Sam into abandoning Miel and help them get her roses?
Trigger warnings include: grief, mentions of child abuse, minor transphobia.
When The Moon Was Ours is my all-time favourite book. It has a lot of representation and is a beautiful metaphor for cultural appropriation - taking what they want without regard to what it means to people. The writing is mystical and flowery, which some people may not enjoy (I do). I would absolutely recommend this book to any queer POC youths who are looking for a magical realism book with all the representation you could ask for.
Published: Sun 9th Jul 2023