The Moon Within (Scholastic Gold)

by Aida Salazar

Paperback, 2020

Status

Available

Genres

Publication

Arthur A. Levine Books (2020), 256 pages

Description

Eleven-year-old (nearly twelve) Celi Rivera, who is a mix of Black-Puerto Rican-Mexican Indian is uncomfortable about her approaching period, and the changes that are happening to her body; she is horrified that her mother wants to hold a traditional public moon ceremony to celebrate the occasion--until she finds out that her best friend Magda is contemplating an even more profound change of life.

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Rating

(17 ratings; 4.1)

User reviews

LibraryThing member jennybeast

This book was hard for me to read, because it centers on the subject of menstruation, something that has long been a topic full of shame and secrecy. I applaud Salazar for creating a story that not only captures the extreme discomfort many women feel with the topic (in her young main character),

but offers a different perspective, a celebration, that acknowledges the tie to the moon, and the sacred traditions of many indigenous cultures. I also love the thoughtful plotline that surrounds her best friend, a genderfluid character. Really, it's lovely book, well written, well-centered in modern teen life, and both kind and powerful.

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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian

Celi is 11 years old and lives in Oakland. She and her best friend Magda are active in a Puerto Rican bomba dance group. Celi’s mother tells her she is on the verge of experiencing her first moon (menstruation). She wants it to be a positive experience for Celi, and looks forward to celebrating

her moon ceremony. Celi is mortified by her mother’s enthusiasm and would just as soon not talk about it. She would rather dance bomba and catch the eye of cute Iván from the capoeira class at the cultural center. But her attraction to Iván threatens her friendship with Magda, who is on the verge of making an important change of her own.

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