Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Kaela Rivera, Author of Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls – On Mexican Folklore and Exploring Latine Themes of Death, Familia, and Duality

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Our Friend is Here: Latine Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond between September 15 – October 15, where we invite Latine authors to celebrate being Latine and Latine books! Find the introduction post for Latine Heritage Month here.

One of my favourite kinds of middle-grade books are those that take you on an adventure; the kind where, after finishing the book, you felt that you’ve traveled to a place far away and have returned to yourself changed. That’s how I felt after reading Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera, an action-packed and exciting Latine fantasy adventure. Cece Rios takes you on an unforgettable world, a place full of magic, where the desert feels vast, and the criatura are mysterious and powerful.

Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, Author of How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe – On Body Image, Enemies-to-Lovers Romances, and Her Writing Journey So Far

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Our Friend is Here: Latine Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond between September 15 – October 15, where we invite Latine authors to celebrate being Latine and Latine books! Find the introduction post for Latine Heritage Month here.

Earlier this year, I read, what will certainly be, one of my favourite books of 2021. It broke my heart wide open but filled it with light and awe. That book is How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland; a gorgeous contemporary novel with elements of magical realism that also explores family, sex positivity, and self-love. How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe is the kind of book that fills you with so much wonder and magic of the universe, one that I love whole-heartedly. After I finished Moon Fuentez, though, I felt like I had so many questions that I wanted to ask Raquel – and so I’m immeasurably happy that she’s returned to the Pond.

Book Review: Lupe Wong Won’t Dance by Donna Barba Higuera – Funny and Thoughtful, a Story about Square Dancing, Friendship, and Fighting For What We Believe In – But At What Cost?

Synopsis:

Lupe Wong is going to be the first female pitcher in the Major Leagues. She’s also championed causes her whole young life. Some worthy…like expanding the options for race on school tests beyond just a few bubbles. And some not so much…like complaining to the BBC about the length between Doctor Who seasons.

Lupe needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who’s Chinacan/Mexinese just like her. So when the horror that is square dancing rears its head in gym? Obviously she’s not gonna let that slide.

I read Lupe Wong Won’t Dance on a sunny weekend morning – and I cannot think of a better time of the day and week to have read this delightful and funny book. Lupe Wong Won’t Dance has a simple premise, but underneath the seemingly straightforward story is also an emotional and heartfelt story about friendship, the echoes of grief, and how, sometimes, we lose sight of how our actions affect people because of our own ambitions.

Book Review: How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland – A Lyrical and Vulnerable Story about Complicated Families and a Celebration of Self-Love and the Beauty of the Universe

Synopsis:

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?

I was provided an eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe is a masterpiece and it wrecked me, ruined me, destroyed me. Moon Fuentez understood me in a way that very few books ever have and, for that, it has now made a home in my heart forever. If Moon Fuentez was a person, I would want to cry and give her a big hug – and I imagine she would give me the most delightful, squishiest cuddle back.

Book Review: Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa – A Vulnerable and Warmly Funny Story about First Love, Coming Out, and Loving Oneself

Synopsis:

A poignant, funny, openhearted novel about coming out, first love, and being your one and only best and true self.

Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate. Get into UCLA. And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life.

Then in one reckless moment, with one impulsive tweet, his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet. The downside: the whole world knows, and Jules has to prepare for rejection. The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self.

Then Mat, a cute, empathetic Twitter crush from Los Angeles, slides into Jules’s DMs. Jules can tell him anything. Mat makes the world seem conquerable. But when Jules’s fears about coming out come true, the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away. Jules has to face them alone.

Jules accidentally propelled himself into the life he’s always dreamed of. And now that he’s in control of it, what he does next is up to him.

I was provided an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Somewhere, sometime, a queer teen will read Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun, hold this story close to their chest, the story finding a home in their heart. What an illuminating and poignant book Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun is; a book that deftly balances the softness and joy of first love and steadfast friendship but also the sharp and painful edges of heteronormativity and anti-gay prejudice. Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun is soft, beautiful, triumphant, painful, heart-aching, and bittersweet – and I suppose it’s a little like life, isn’t it?