What do you think?
Rate this book
The Moon Within
Celi Rivera's life swirls with questions. About her changing body. Her first attraction to a boy. And her best friend's exploration of what it means to be genderfluid.
But most of all, her mother's insistence she have a moon ceremony when her first period arrives. It's an ancestral Mexica ritual that Mima and her community have reclaimed, but Celi promises she will NOT be participating. Can she find the power within herself to take a stand for who she wants to be?
A dazzling story told with the sensitivity, humor, and brilliant verse of debut talent Aida Salazar.
But most of all, her mother's insistence she have a moon ceremony when her first period arrives. It's an ancestral Mexica ritual that Mima and her community have reclaimed, but Celi promises she will NOT be participating. Can she find the power within herself to take a stand for who she wants to be?
A dazzling story told with the sensitivity, humor, and brilliant verse of debut talent Aida Salazar.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published February 26, 2019
82 people are currently reading
3833 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 298 reviews
March 27, 2018
A beautiful, touching, powerful, important novel in verse! As the parent of a queer daughter who struggled with her own physical transformation, I would have loved to have had this book for her. Parents, young girls, and xochihuah everywhere are going to benefit from Aida's moving exploration of difficult but transcendent coming-of-age.
January 21, 2018
I had the privilege of reading this story still in manuscript form and I’m overcome by admiration, love, and Hope. This is such a needed story that will bless kids’ lives forever. I love it and I can’t wait for it to be out in the world! 💕💕💕
September 14, 2021
Splendid. A story in verse about young girl coming into her own body, exploring crushes and feelings, and friendship challenges with her best friend.
- Follows Celi, a Mexican-Puerto Rican girl and dancer, as she navigates puberty and her first period - and her mother wanting to do a moon ceremony (an indigenous Mexica tradition), even though Celi doesn't want the whole world to know about her period.
- Celi's story follows in tandem with her best friend, Marco, who comes out as genderfluid, or xochiuah. I loved that the story offers a lens from a Mexica perspective on Marco's gender, and how affirming it was.
- It's also a story about friendship - how, when people change or when we ourselves change, that can present challenges and navigating them can be really tough and confusing.
- I loved the way that this book honours, rather than shames or creates fear, about our bodies; it was such a beautiful, heartfelt, and positive depiction about something that can be scary for any young person with their first period.
- This has a gorgeous depiction of Celi's culture, and how cultural ceremonies and practising culture can create and strengthen bonds within your community and with identity as well.
Content warning: deadnaming, anti-trans bullying (challenged in-text), depiction and discussion about menstruation
- Follows Celi, a Mexican-Puerto Rican girl and dancer, as she navigates puberty and her first period - and her mother wanting to do a moon ceremony (an indigenous Mexica tradition), even though Celi doesn't want the whole world to know about her period.
- Celi's story follows in tandem with her best friend, Marco, who comes out as genderfluid, or xochiuah. I loved that the story offers a lens from a Mexica perspective on Marco's gender, and how affirming it was.
- It's also a story about friendship - how, when people change or when we ourselves change, that can present challenges and navigating them can be really tough and confusing.
- I loved the way that this book honours, rather than shames or creates fear, about our bodies; it was such a beautiful, heartfelt, and positive depiction about something that can be scary for any young person with their first period.
- This has a gorgeous depiction of Celi's culture, and how cultural ceremonies and practising culture can create and strengthen bonds within your community and with identity as well.
Content warning: deadnaming, anti-trans bullying (challenged in-text), depiction and discussion about menstruation
September 22, 2020
Mima says I'm flowering early
and it's true, my body is on the way to look like hers
blooming like a flower
I don't want to be. (72)
The Moon Within has so much going for it. I love the frank discussion of normal body parts and processes-- including a (albeit metaphorical) description of a vagina, non-judgemental conversations about menstruation, and the acknowledgement of a young girl's feelings of sexual attraction (in a middle grade book!). A side character realizes that they are non-binary (specifically xochihuah) and gender fluidity is acknowledged in the text as well. There's also tons of ethnic representation, including indigenous Mexica, Carribean, Latinx, and more.
Despite all of this amazingness, there are a couple things that really dragged the book down for me. The Moon Within is written in verse, but I don't know why this is the case. I've read plenty of novels in verse, and enjoyed many of them, but this is the second verse novel by Aida Salazar (the other is The Land of the Cranes) in which the verse seemed completely unnecessary to the story. The poems didn't carry any added lyricism, emotion, or magic with them-- the story would have been unchanged had the author simply not pressed the Enter key so many times. Story-wise, I found the drama between Celi, her best friend, her crush, and her "mean girl" nemesis to be an extremely tired cliché that was shallowly handled by the author. That's pretty forgiveable in a middle grade book, though. There were also times in the narrative where I found the focus on bodies and the link between menstruation and womanhood to be a little uncomfy, even with the inclusion of a non-binary character. The central message of the book is not to feel ashamed of menstruation and instead to celebrate it as a magical and ancient gift of womanhood... but there was absolutely zero acknowledgement of how painful and dangerous some women's periods can be, and only a blink-and-you-miss-it mention that some women don't have periods.
Finally, my biggest gripe is the way the story handled the relationship between Celi and her mother, "Mima". At first, their conflict was what really drew me in to the story: Mima had a shame-filled experience with her first period and wants to make sure Celi's experience is better by openly celebrating her first "moon cycle" with a special "moon ceremony." This ceremony is a sort of cobbled together re-imagining of Aztec menstruation rituals that Mima and her friends have invented as a way to honor their indigenous heritage. Celi is openly and consistently horrified at the concept of holding a ceremony about something as private as her body. Her mother consistently ignores Celi's expressed wishes for privacy and insists that Celi not only go through with the ceremony, but feel proud and empowered by the experience. Mima is shocked and hurt when Celi consequently attempts to hide the evidence of her first period from her. I thought all of this was a really great build-up to discussions of personal agency and bodily autonomy, and the consequences of trying too hard to be body positive that personal privacy gets left in the dust. However, that build-up unfortunately goes nowhere, and in the end Celi is forced to go through with the ceremony, but finds that she likes the ceremony after all and is glad she did it. There's never any acknowledgement in the narrative that Mima was in the wrong to force Celi through this ritual. I was extremely uncomfortable with Celi's lack of agency in regard to her body, and found the negative message surrounding girls' right to privacy quite concerning. There's a moment where Mima calls in Celi's father and younger brother to congratulate how well she fills out her first bra... it's not sexualized at all and is meant as a positive and affirming moment, but Celi is understandably upset and embarrassed, especially as she begged her mother to give her privacy but was ignored. I wish there had been a conversation between Celi and her mother where Mima would come to realize that trying to force Celi to be proud of her period was actually making Celi more and more ashamed to talk about it, for fear that she couldn't trust Mima with that private information. That could have been a really powerful moment in the story, and then even if Celi had still ended up going through with the moon ceremony and enjoying it after all, it wouldn't have felt quite so icky to me.
All in all, despite so many positive things about this book, the few negatives were very jarring to my reading experience and have severely affected my rating of this book. What's sad is that if just a few things were slightly adjusted, this could have easily been a 3- or even 4-star read. But instead, I think I'll always have a bit of a sour taste in my mouth regarding this story.
February 25, 2019
A sacred celebratory text that grants every child the right to safe passage in their journey of self discovery. The ancestors smile on this work. Buying a class set ASAP.
February 18, 2019
**I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher which does not influence my review**
The Moon Within, Aida Salazar’s middle grade debut, is a novel I wish I could gift my eleven-year-old self. Celi is on the brink of turning twelve and she, along with the world around her, is changing faster than she can keep track of. Her body is already changing and with it, the promise of a period. Not something she is looking forward to, especially with her mom’s recent interest in their Mexica heritage. For Celi, this means a moon ceremony to celebrate her transition from girl to young woman, but Celi isn’t happy about having to share the things happening to her body with other people. Celi also finds herself torn between her best friend Marco, who is taking his first steps discovering what it means to be genderfluid, and her first crush Iván, who’s finally showing interest in her, but who is also less accepting of her best friend. Celi must find a way to navigate all the changing relationships in her life without sacrificing who she is and who she wants to be.
The Moon Within is an honest portrayal of how many young people feel about the changes their bodies go through. Celi’s first instinct when it comes to her first bra and her first period is to hide, to feel shame in the way her body now works. What Celi doesn’t quite understand yet is that her mother’s insistence on a moon ceremony, an Indigenous tradition meant to celebrate and honor the menstrual cycle, is her gift to her daughter. It’s a gift that says you don’t have to be ashamed. It’s one where the relationship between mother and daughter is defined by frankness and an openness that doesn’t leave Celi with all the unanswered questions her mother was left with...
Read my full review on my blog here.
The Moon Within, Aida Salazar’s middle grade debut, is a novel I wish I could gift my eleven-year-old self. Celi is on the brink of turning twelve and she, along with the world around her, is changing faster than she can keep track of. Her body is already changing and with it, the promise of a period. Not something she is looking forward to, especially with her mom’s recent interest in their Mexica heritage. For Celi, this means a moon ceremony to celebrate her transition from girl to young woman, but Celi isn’t happy about having to share the things happening to her body with other people. Celi also finds herself torn between her best friend Marco, who is taking his first steps discovering what it means to be genderfluid, and her first crush Iván, who’s finally showing interest in her, but who is also less accepting of her best friend. Celi must find a way to navigate all the changing relationships in her life without sacrificing who she is and who she wants to be.
The Moon Within is an honest portrayal of how many young people feel about the changes their bodies go through. Celi’s first instinct when it comes to her first bra and her first period is to hide, to feel shame in the way her body now works. What Celi doesn’t quite understand yet is that her mother’s insistence on a moon ceremony, an Indigenous tradition meant to celebrate and honor the menstrual cycle, is her gift to her daughter. It’s a gift that says you don’t have to be ashamed. It’s one where the relationship between mother and daughter is defined by frankness and an openness that doesn’t leave Celi with all the unanswered questions her mother was left with...
Read my full review on my blog here.
April 2, 2019
3.5 - The Moon Within is a touching middle grade story about a young girl, Celi Rivera, as she adjusts to her changing body, gets a crush on a boy, and learns what it means to be supportive to her genderfluid best friend. On top of all of this Celi’s mom wants to have a moon ceremony when her first period arrives. But Celi is adamant that she doesn’t want to share that experience with her body with other women in the community.
There is a lot of diverse cultural representation in this story. Celi is Mexican and Puerto Rican and we see elements of both of those cultures. The moon ceremony her mother wants to have is an ancestral Mexica ritual and we also see the bomba dance and drumming from her Puerto Rican background.
My only real complaint is about the writing. The book is written in verse and I didn’t really see the point in that. I didn’t feel a sense of rhythm or see anything stylistically that made it being written in verse necessary. So while I found the plot to be excellent, the writing brought down how much I was able to connect with the story. Perhaps if there was an audiobook and I could’ve listened to it then I would’ve enjoyed it more. Generally speaking I enjoy books in verse more when I listen to them.
I think the plot of this book is great and I’m sure it’ll be helpful for younger readers to see these types of topics in books. I’d definitely recommend reading it, especially if you aren’t as picky when it comes to reading books in verse.
There is a lot of diverse cultural representation in this story. Celi is Mexican and Puerto Rican and we see elements of both of those cultures. The moon ceremony her mother wants to have is an ancestral Mexica ritual and we also see the bomba dance and drumming from her Puerto Rican background.
My only real complaint is about the writing. The book is written in verse and I didn’t really see the point in that. I didn’t feel a sense of rhythm or see anything stylistically that made it being written in verse necessary. So while I found the plot to be excellent, the writing brought down how much I was able to connect with the story. Perhaps if there was an audiobook and I could’ve listened to it then I would’ve enjoyed it more. Generally speaking I enjoy books in verse more when I listen to them.
I think the plot of this book is great and I’m sure it’ll be helpful for younger readers to see these types of topics in books. I’d definitely recommend reading it, especially if you aren’t as picky when it comes to reading books in verse.
May 27, 2022
A beautiful book in verse about a young girl coming of age and the conflict she has with her mother's idea of having a ceremony to celebrate this occasion as per the Mexican tradition.
With all the changes happening inside her,12 yo Celi has to contend with her best friend coming out as gender fluid and the boy she likes mocking that friend without any understanding.
The cultural aspect of the ceremony and the role the moon plays is so wonderfully portrayed. I think this is one of the few books in which I have seen such supportive parents who endeavour to explain what it means when someone is different and why it's important to honour and celebrate our bodies and enjoy every phase of life.
With all the changes happening inside her,12 yo Celi has to contend with her best friend coming out as gender fluid and the boy she likes mocking that friend without any understanding.
The cultural aspect of the ceremony and the role the moon plays is so wonderfully portrayed. I think this is one of the few books in which I have seen such supportive parents who endeavour to explain what it means when someone is different and why it's important to honour and celebrate our bodies and enjoy every phase of life.
December 5, 2018
There is so much to love about this coming-of-age verse novel, including its excellent author’s note that calls readers to thoughtfully engage with the book’s subject matter. Though I found some poems to be less effective than others, The Moon Within is, as a whole, beautifully written, and I was especially impressed by the ways in which Salazar writes about colonialism and reclamation of indigenous rituals and beliefs for a middle grade audience. This book trusts child readers so much, and that’s something I can always get behind.
November 28, 2019
What a beautiful book! Honest, authentic, multi-layered portrayal of a young girl’s coming-of-age and all the conflicts and confusions that come along with it. Bravo, bravo.
August 16, 2025
Banned book club book! This is one of the YA banned books in Iowa and I’m so glad I decided to pick it up and give it a chance. A glimpse into moon rituals that were important to many cultures and women before colonization. Tempted to leave this one in the school library… if only to help those not of European descent feel less alone in their traditions and upbringing.
March 16, 2019
The messages here are good.
But the formatting wasn't my thing. But. I'm not sure I would have liked it any better in prose...
I also would have liked a glossary. There's a fair amount of Spanish and other... non... Spanish but South American languages(?). I found it difficult, so imagine younger readers who are also unfamiliar would find it just if not more frustrating to not understand whole passage and simply rely on context clues, or cave and do wiki walks.
But the formatting wasn't my thing. But. I'm not sure I would have liked it any better in prose...
I also would have liked a glossary. There's a fair amount of Spanish and other... non... Spanish but South American languages(?). I found it difficult, so imagine younger readers who are also unfamiliar would find it just if not more frustrating to not understand whole passage and simply rely on context clues, or cave and do wiki walks.
February 3, 2019
This was such a great book in body, self love, friendship, family, community, and acceptance. There is so much to say and learn from this book! It's written in verse making it a fast read, but it was amazing. The way she describes the dancing and music, to the way she taps into Celi's inner conflicts.
June 4, 2021
This is a LGBT Coming to Age Middle Grade Poetry. I have to say there is some parts of this book I really loved, but most of this book I found just ok. I also found this book to be very slow moving. I do not read a lot of Poetry, so that could be the reason I did not love it.
March 3, 2021
Beautiful, lyrical MG novel-in-verse about Celi Rivera, whose coming-of-age includes adjusting to her changing body (and her mother's incessant pointing out of all the changes) and her BFF Magda's (Marco's) growing awareness of her transgender identity. I loved the body positive messages & emphasis on self-love and empathy that are woven into every page.
April 19, 2019
3.5? Celi is dealing with a big crush, her impending period, and her best friend beginning to live his authentic life as genderfluid/xochiuah. I really, really love that there's a book about a menstruation. This is a topic that has been considered taboo for far too long, and it does all children a disservice not to have multiple titles about people going through this very natural and sometimes stressful thing. Celi is a wonderful character, flawing and loving and trying. She makes big, hurtful mistakes and struggles with the pains of growing up. I liked her, I liked Marco.
But I definitely have some issues with it. One is her mother's (Mima) obsession with having a moon party for Celi, as a way to welcome her into womanhood, and being celebrated by Mima's women friends. Celi is so clear that she isn't comfortable with this, and that isn't how she wants to celebrate, and her mother not only doesn't care, but tells her forcefully that it will happen whether she likes it or not. The flap copy asks "Can [Celi] find the power within herself to take a stand for who she wants to be?" NOPE. She doesn't. Her mom gets her way and Celi ends up enjoying it. I think it's a super dangerous narrative to have in place, that Celi's wishes don't count despite this being her milestone, and why fight, because you're going to like it anyway. No attempt at compromise, no attempt to make it a positive, powerful experience for Celi to help plan. It had to be her mom's way, and the narrative supported Mima over Celi. Not so empowering.
I also didn't like the tie of menstruation to womanhood. Not all women menstruate. (This was especially an interesting book to be reading as a 30 something woman who had just had a hysterectomy because menstruation brought nothing but pain and illness for 20+ years. It wasn't beautiful. It wasn't what made me a woman. It did harm my body and mind for decades.)
They addressed this a bit with Marco, who commented very briefly about his fear of starting a period and having to buy products for women when he didn't usually feel like one. The women of Mima's circle did a special ceremony for Marco, but the story didn't address the very real struggle that Marco will face.
I really loved so much about this, the free verse was so musical and flowing, the combination of Celi's Mexican and Puerto Rican identities forming such a strong foundation in her and her interests, seeing Marco's family supporting him as he embraced his dualities and how he fit in with their ancient Mexica beliefs. It was beautiful and mostly loving, and I think it's going to be important to a lot of kids. But I really do think the flaws are very big and concerning.
But I definitely have some issues with it. One is her mother's (Mima) obsession with having a moon party for Celi, as a way to welcome her into womanhood, and being celebrated by Mima's women friends. Celi is so clear that she isn't comfortable with this, and that isn't how she wants to celebrate, and her mother not only doesn't care, but tells her forcefully that it will happen whether she likes it or not. The flap copy asks "Can [Celi] find the power within herself to take a stand for who she wants to be?" NOPE. She doesn't. Her mom gets her way and Celi ends up enjoying it. I think it's a super dangerous narrative to have in place, that Celi's wishes don't count despite this being her milestone, and why fight, because you're going to like it anyway. No attempt at compromise, no attempt to make it a positive, powerful experience for Celi to help plan. It had to be her mom's way, and the narrative supported Mima over Celi. Not so empowering.
I also didn't like the tie of menstruation to womanhood. Not all women menstruate. (This was especially an interesting book to be reading as a 30 something woman who had just had a hysterectomy because menstruation brought nothing but pain and illness for 20+ years. It wasn't beautiful. It wasn't what made me a woman. It did harm my body and mind for decades.)
They addressed this a bit with Marco, who commented very briefly about his fear of starting a period and having to buy products for women when he didn't usually feel like one. The women of Mima's circle did a special ceremony for Marco, but the story didn't address the very real struggle that Marco will face.
I really loved so much about this, the free verse was so musical and flowing, the combination of Celi's Mexican and Puerto Rican identities forming such a strong foundation in her and her interests, seeing Marco's family supporting him as he embraced his dualities and how he fit in with their ancient Mexica beliefs. It was beautiful and mostly loving, and I think it's going to be important to a lot of kids. But I really do think the flaws are very big and concerning.
November 5, 2022
A lovely ode to getting your period, but not all is rosy. Celi's mom is working through her own issues and shame, and so forces Celi to go through a moon ceremony to embrace her womanhood. Celi comes around and finds some joy and peace in her transition.
There's some nice support for Celi's friend who embraces their own masculinity and transitions. While his family is very supportive, and Celi begins very supportive, Celi abandons Marco for a crush, which is hard to read.
There's some nice support for Celi's friend who embraces their own masculinity and transitions. While his family is very supportive, and Celi begins very supportive, Celi abandons Marco for a crush, which is hard to read.
March 16, 2019
this was so stunning, i could cry. this is the book i needed as a preteen.
actual rating: 4.5/5 stars
actual rating: 4.5/5 stars
June 26, 2019
As a mother of daughters, this book has me rejoicing. As a mother who has a heart for genderfluid and transgender children, this book has me crying. So beautiful! I will be buying multiple copies to gift.
July 16, 2019
Richie’s Picks: THE MOON WITHIN by Aida Salazar, Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, March 2019, 240p., ISBN: 978-1-338-28337-2
“Menarche is the first menstrual cycle or first menstrual bleeding in female humans. From both social and medical perspectives, it is often considered the central event of female puberty, as it signals the possibility of fertility...The average age of menarche is about 12.5 years in the United States.”
-- Wikipedia
“In the moonlight
Under starlight
Songs old as the night
Are what I’ve been dreaming of”
-- Hall & Oates (1984)
“LUNA
A beam of moonlight
squeezes through
my window’s curtain.
Luna is out tonight.
My eyes wide open like doors.
I’ll be twelve in a few months, I should
be allowed to go to sleep later
than seven-year-old Juju who shares a room with me
but I’m not.
No matter that it is Saturday.
Round-cheeked Juju passes
out the moment his head hits the pillow.
And I stare at the May moonlight.
I watch her light up a sliver of dust
in my room.
Like a performance
small specks dance
twirl, bounce
float,
glide,
somersault.
They dance like I do.
I try to memorize their choreography
to use during bomba dance class
when Magda drums for me
and I am free to improvise
bring my own moves.
I smile to think that specks of dust
dance around me
though I don’t hear music.
Maybe they dance to the clicks and creaks
of our little house in Oakland
and the city crickets
and Mima’s and Papi’s footsteps
outside my door
Juju’s steady breathing.
And when Luna is gone
and I can’t see their floating,
I know they continue to dance
in a dream
with Luna and me.”
THE MOON WITHIN is a spirited coming-of-age verse novel set in Oakland, California, featuring eleven-year-old Celestina (Celi) Rivera. Celi’s body is busy transforming her from a child to a young woman, and she is dreading the inevitable arrival of her first period. This reluctance is in large part the result of Celi’s reluctance to be the center of attention at the women’s Moon Ceremony that her herbalist mother is intent on organizing for her.
Meanwhile, Celi’s lifelong best friend Magda is coming to the realization that she’s a boy in a girl’s body. Conflict develops when Iván, the skateboarding boy on whom Celi has a crush, makes fun of Magda, who has begun identifying as Marco.
The story contains rich Mexica cultural traditions and rituals. There is a wealth of dancing and drumming and a warm community center where much of the action takes place. Celi’s mother is good about explaining to Celi about her changing female body in a loving, poetic, and readily understood manner.
Meanwhile, Marco is made to feel special when his gender fluidity is connected to that of the Creator who, in their ancestral Mexica tradition, has “spirit that is neither female nor male but both -- divine duality.”
By the story’s conclusion, Celi has won Iván’s respect by fiercely standing up for Marco. Celi has also gotten her first period. Both she and Celi and Marco are subsequently honored in the moon ceremony, bringing them into the circle of their female elders.
I can imagine this being a great mother-daughter shared reading experience.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
“Menarche is the first menstrual cycle or first menstrual bleeding in female humans. From both social and medical perspectives, it is often considered the central event of female puberty, as it signals the possibility of fertility...The average age of menarche is about 12.5 years in the United States.”
-- Wikipedia
“In the moonlight
Under starlight
Songs old as the night
Are what I’ve been dreaming of”
-- Hall & Oates (1984)
“LUNA
A beam of moonlight
squeezes through
my window’s curtain.
Luna is out tonight.
My eyes wide open like doors.
I’ll be twelve in a few months, I should
be allowed to go to sleep later
than seven-year-old Juju who shares a room with me
but I’m not.
No matter that it is Saturday.
Round-cheeked Juju passes
out the moment his head hits the pillow.
And I stare at the May moonlight.
I watch her light up a sliver of dust
in my room.
Like a performance
small specks dance
twirl, bounce
float,
glide,
somersault.
They dance like I do.
I try to memorize their choreography
to use during bomba dance class
when Magda drums for me
and I am free to improvise
bring my own moves.
I smile to think that specks of dust
dance around me
though I don’t hear music.
Maybe they dance to the clicks and creaks
of our little house in Oakland
and the city crickets
and Mima’s and Papi’s footsteps
outside my door
Juju’s steady breathing.
And when Luna is gone
and I can’t see their floating,
I know they continue to dance
in a dream
with Luna and me.”
THE MOON WITHIN is a spirited coming-of-age verse novel set in Oakland, California, featuring eleven-year-old Celestina (Celi) Rivera. Celi’s body is busy transforming her from a child to a young woman, and she is dreading the inevitable arrival of her first period. This reluctance is in large part the result of Celi’s reluctance to be the center of attention at the women’s Moon Ceremony that her herbalist mother is intent on organizing for her.
Meanwhile, Celi’s lifelong best friend Magda is coming to the realization that she’s a boy in a girl’s body. Conflict develops when Iván, the skateboarding boy on whom Celi has a crush, makes fun of Magda, who has begun identifying as Marco.
The story contains rich Mexica cultural traditions and rituals. There is a wealth of dancing and drumming and a warm community center where much of the action takes place. Celi’s mother is good about explaining to Celi about her changing female body in a loving, poetic, and readily understood manner.
Meanwhile, Marco is made to feel special when his gender fluidity is connected to that of the Creator who, in their ancestral Mexica tradition, has “spirit that is neither female nor male but both -- divine duality.”
By the story’s conclusion, Celi has won Iván’s respect by fiercely standing up for Marco. Celi has also gotten her first period. Both she and Celi and Marco are subsequently honored in the moon ceremony, bringing them into the circle of their female elders.
I can imagine this being a great mother-daughter shared reading experience.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
January 30, 2019
ALL THE STARS!!!! Thank you to the author and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book. It was one of my most anticipated middle grade books of 2019, and although its early in the year, I have a hard time believing it won't be on a list of my very favorites at the end of the year.
Celi is at the age where her body is starting to develop into that of a young woman. Her mother is so excited about these changes, and proudly points them out to the family, but Celi is mortified. She wants nothing to do with the ancient Mexica moon ceremony that her mother wants to plan when she gets her first period. She only wants to dance while her best friend, Magda, drums beside her, and put off the inevitable as long as possible. But changes are happening whether she likes it or not, and they include attention from a boy, and her relationship with her best friend. Celi is faced with choices that have an impact on life as she knows it, and how she wants to move into a new phase of life.
I truly, madly, deeply loved this book. I loved the subject matter, the discussion surrounding periods, moon ceremonies, reclaiming rites of passage, and honoring transitions. I deeply felt a connection to this part of the story, and wished every young girl had the opportunity to feel as cherished and proud of her body as Celi's mother tried to encourage her to be. This book also delves into gender identity, and I was so inspired to hear about xochihuah and the hope that it can offer individuals who need the sacred respect it's shown in this book. I am so grateful to the author for her courage to tell the story, to show us how community and family can be supportive of a young person's struggle to come to terms with who they are, and what they believe.
I will absolutely be purchasing a copy of this book for my library, and I sincerely hope that as many of you as possible will make an effort to read, share and discuss this book with young people in your lives.
Celi is at the age where her body is starting to develop into that of a young woman. Her mother is so excited about these changes, and proudly points them out to the family, but Celi is mortified. She wants nothing to do with the ancient Mexica moon ceremony that her mother wants to plan when she gets her first period. She only wants to dance while her best friend, Magda, drums beside her, and put off the inevitable as long as possible. But changes are happening whether she likes it or not, and they include attention from a boy, and her relationship with her best friend. Celi is faced with choices that have an impact on life as she knows it, and how she wants to move into a new phase of life.
I truly, madly, deeply loved this book. I loved the subject matter, the discussion surrounding periods, moon ceremonies, reclaiming rites of passage, and honoring transitions. I deeply felt a connection to this part of the story, and wished every young girl had the opportunity to feel as cherished and proud of her body as Celi's mother tried to encourage her to be. This book also delves into gender identity, and I was so inspired to hear about xochihuah and the hope that it can offer individuals who need the sacred respect it's shown in this book. I am so grateful to the author for her courage to tell the story, to show us how community and family can be supportive of a young person's struggle to come to terms with who they are, and what they believe.
I will absolutely be purchasing a copy of this book for my library, and I sincerely hope that as many of you as possible will make an effort to read, share and discuss this book with young people in your lives.
September 18, 2019
I wish this was a 150 page book about menstruation. Instead, it's a 220 page book that's mostly about menstruation and partly about the main character's genderfluid friend.
The menstruation and body-positivity parts were great. I love the main character's journey from being freaked out to embracing her body. This topic rarely gets this kind of head-on treatment, so it made for an exciting read.
The genderfluid plotline was cliched. The main character turns her back on her friend due to peer pressure, then everything turns out exactly like it does in every other book from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to Wonder. Also, the genderfluid character is so perfect and nigh-worshiped by the adults that he's completely boring. Perfect characters make me ill, except maybe Paul Atreides.
I enjoyed Salazar's poetry, especially her creative use of line breaks, spacing and indents. The poems moved about the page and seemed to be dancing.
The menstruation and body-positivity parts were great. I love the main character's journey from being freaked out to embracing her body. This topic rarely gets this kind of head-on treatment, so it made for an exciting read.
The genderfluid plotline was cliched. The main character turns her back on her friend due to peer pressure, then everything turns out exactly like it does in every other book from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to Wonder. Also, the genderfluid character is so perfect and nigh-worshiped by the adults that he's completely boring. Perfect characters make me ill, except maybe Paul Atreides.
I enjoyed Salazar's poetry, especially her creative use of line breaks, spacing and indents. The poems moved about the page and seemed to be dancing.
September 18, 2021
Gorgeously written story that truly captures the anger, confusion, anxiety, betrayal, self-centred nature of a girl going through puberty. The language is gorgeous, capturing the rhythm of the drums that Celi loves to dance to, and breathes warm, vibrant life into Celi's world. There are direct references to menstruation, the female body and arousal, something that is extremely rare in contemporary middle grade fiction. Celi is of mixed heritage, and her mother draws on her Mexican, Puerto Rican and African American heritage to create a first moon party that includes references to all of these cultures.
This book also features a sensitively-handled transition of Magda, who is gender creative but feels more like a boy, and therefore becomes Marco, something that is also embraced at the first moon party. There is a lot to love in this slim and impactful verse novel, something I know many readers will treasure.
This book also features a sensitively-handled transition of Magda, who is gender creative but feels more like a boy, and therefore becomes Marco, something that is also embraced at the first moon party. There is a lot to love in this slim and impactful verse novel, something I know many readers will treasure.
January 10, 2019
The Moon Within is a beautiful yet no-frills story that focuses on Celi's coming of age-- her first period, her first crush, and the traditions of her Indigenous (Aztec) ancestors that celebrate these changes. Another focus is Celi's best friend, Magda/Marco, who has realized he is transgender, and how that also relates to their heritage. The Moon Within is open and loving, while also not forgetting how embarrassing it is to grow up at times. A must-read regarding puberty and culture.
December 6, 2021
Started a new verse novel recommended on the WeNeedDiverse books website and as a book to read to understand women and other cultures..This one with a Hispanic culture and vocabulary that was so refreshing to read about..I am so glad I previewed this one based on reviews and didn’t just purchase it as it is definitely a female read with the first page starting off with questions on the moon cycle or period and our main character Celi hiding all her questions and secrets in her locket--
“I dread the ceremony where she will gather all six of my aunts some of my dance teachers a constellation of grown-up women to talk to me about what it means to bleed monthly and worse, I’ll have to openly share my body’s secret my locket’s secret as if on display like a ripe mango on a fruit stand.” (pp. 13-14).
“The thought of having to talk to anyone, especially adults about secrets only meant for my locket makes my insides crumble,(p. 14).
And while the subject of menstruation as the focal point is odd there is a bigger issue as well that is beautifully handled and honestly written with Celi’s best friend Magda and her obvious affinity for male clothes and boyish hair and ways..
“You can’t really be in the girls’ bathroom. Magda chuckles back. Course I can. I’m a girl. She knew what Aurora was hinting at because others often asked her about how much boyness she had versus girlness.(p. 29).
There is the friendship of Celi and Magda and also the budding feelings that Celi is experiencing for Ivan, a Black and Mexican boy that does Capoeira...as she gets all these feelings about a boy and all this upcoming talk about her moon cycle and period she also has an overly communicative doctor mother who tells her all about her vagina or flor and what to expect--
“And this button here is only for you—it’s your happy button. You get to choose when to push it. Our flores are women’s most magical parts, mija. Aren’t we lucky?”(p. 37). Scholastic Inc.. Kindle Edition.
“’ll be damned if MY daughter comes into her womanhood in ignorance of her body and her connection to the universe. But she’s just a little girl, Mima. Yes, a BLOSSOMING little girl who is almost twelve and very soon will be a woman. She is going to need all of her power, all of her self-knowledge, and all of her community when it comes.”(p. 42).
As supportive and open as Celi’s mother is she is not ready to celebrate her private moment with the world as her mother plans a moon cycle to welcome in her first blood and her thoughts on her changing body-
“I close my eyes too heavy with tears now and the words stumble from me: I don’t want to share what happens to my body with the whole world! It’s nobody’s business. You have no right, Mima. It’s my body!”(p. 47).
“I catch my reflection in the mirror and I can’t pretend anymore. There they are: the fuzzy hair, the tulip breasts, my growing thighs. Mima says I’m flowering early and it’s true, my body is on the way to look like hers blooming like a flower I don’t want to be.” (p. 71).
Her mother’s reverence for this moon cycle was admirable and I admit I learned alot about Indigenous culture’s attitudes and honor for women and their time of the month--
“Even though much of our knowledge was taken away from us many cultures honored women’s moons across the millennia, Celi. Both of your lineages grant you that gift.”(p. 85).
“Indigenous ancestors created a space called moon time where women could replenish, create, dream, and rest when they bled. Our ancestors believed it to be supernatural that women could bleed for so many days and not die then give life. And so the community honored and respected these days for every woman.”(pp. 211-212).
But just as big of a part of the story is the moon cycle so is the drama that is created with Celi, Ivan and Magda as Ivan doesn’t know how to deal with a boyish girl and speaks harshly..Celi doesn’t stop him or even stop hanging out with him losing her best friend in the process..Just when Magda needs Celi most as she finally transitions from Magda to Marco..
“I want to tell him that it was a mistake to have gone to the movies with him that I really can’t be friends with a person who totally misunderstood and hurt my best friend no matter how my heart spins. But I don’t. It is as if my mouth shrinks with the truth.”(p. 132).
“I know he did not recognize me. I did not recognize myself. Marco is my amifriend but right now I want Iván to like me more. Want to be invited to the movies again for him to hold my hand again”(pp. 134-135).
.
As you read this beautiful cultural story that truly empowers women (yay book on menstruation) there is the transgender issue with Magda/Marco that I have to applaud for the way that in a few pages you learn so much about acceptance and gender duality throughout history..
“Will you come? I don’t know. It’s for women only right? She said it was okay because you’re a xochihuah with boy and girl energies it’s more sacred and stuff. I guess she’s right.(p. 184).
This was a deceptively complex and important book--I can’t see myself recommending it to boys as there is a lot of period talk but for my middle school girls this book is perfect ...I enjoyed spending time with her and learning about the moon, friendship and gender duality..Great read.
“I dread the ceremony where she will gather all six of my aunts some of my dance teachers a constellation of grown-up women to talk to me about what it means to bleed monthly and worse, I’ll have to openly share my body’s secret my locket’s secret as if on display like a ripe mango on a fruit stand.” (pp. 13-14).
“The thought of having to talk to anyone, especially adults about secrets only meant for my locket makes my insides crumble,(p. 14).
And while the subject of menstruation as the focal point is odd there is a bigger issue as well that is beautifully handled and honestly written with Celi’s best friend Magda and her obvious affinity for male clothes and boyish hair and ways..
“You can’t really be in the girls’ bathroom. Magda chuckles back. Course I can. I’m a girl. She knew what Aurora was hinting at because others often asked her about how much boyness she had versus girlness.(p. 29).
There is the friendship of Celi and Magda and also the budding feelings that Celi is experiencing for Ivan, a Black and Mexican boy that does Capoeira...as she gets all these feelings about a boy and all this upcoming talk about her moon cycle and period she also has an overly communicative doctor mother who tells her all about her vagina or flor and what to expect--
“And this button here is only for you—it’s your happy button. You get to choose when to push it. Our flores are women’s most magical parts, mija. Aren’t we lucky?”(p. 37). Scholastic Inc.. Kindle Edition.
“’ll be damned if MY daughter comes into her womanhood in ignorance of her body and her connection to the universe. But she’s just a little girl, Mima. Yes, a BLOSSOMING little girl who is almost twelve and very soon will be a woman. She is going to need all of her power, all of her self-knowledge, and all of her community when it comes.”(p. 42).
As supportive and open as Celi’s mother is she is not ready to celebrate her private moment with the world as her mother plans a moon cycle to welcome in her first blood and her thoughts on her changing body-
“I close my eyes too heavy with tears now and the words stumble from me: I don’t want to share what happens to my body with the whole world! It’s nobody’s business. You have no right, Mima. It’s my body!”(p. 47).
“I catch my reflection in the mirror and I can’t pretend anymore. There they are: the fuzzy hair, the tulip breasts, my growing thighs. Mima says I’m flowering early and it’s true, my body is on the way to look like hers blooming like a flower I don’t want to be.” (p. 71).
Her mother’s reverence for this moon cycle was admirable and I admit I learned alot about Indigenous culture’s attitudes and honor for women and their time of the month--
“Even though much of our knowledge was taken away from us many cultures honored women’s moons across the millennia, Celi. Both of your lineages grant you that gift.”(p. 85).
“Indigenous ancestors created a space called moon time where women could replenish, create, dream, and rest when they bled. Our ancestors believed it to be supernatural that women could bleed for so many days and not die then give life. And so the community honored and respected these days for every woman.”(pp. 211-212).
But just as big of a part of the story is the moon cycle so is the drama that is created with Celi, Ivan and Magda as Ivan doesn’t know how to deal with a boyish girl and speaks harshly..Celi doesn’t stop him or even stop hanging out with him losing her best friend in the process..Just when Magda needs Celi most as she finally transitions from Magda to Marco..
“I want to tell him that it was a mistake to have gone to the movies with him that I really can’t be friends with a person who totally misunderstood and hurt my best friend no matter how my heart spins. But I don’t. It is as if my mouth shrinks with the truth.”(p. 132).
“I know he did not recognize me. I did not recognize myself. Marco is my amifriend but right now I want Iván to like me more. Want to be invited to the movies again for him to hold my hand again”(pp. 134-135).
.
As you read this beautiful cultural story that truly empowers women (yay book on menstruation) there is the transgender issue with Magda/Marco that I have to applaud for the way that in a few pages you learn so much about acceptance and gender duality throughout history..
“Will you come? I don’t know. It’s for women only right? She said it was okay because you’re a xochihuah with boy and girl energies it’s more sacred and stuff. I guess she’s right.(p. 184).
This was a deceptively complex and important book--I can’t see myself recommending it to boys as there is a lot of period talk but for my middle school girls this book is perfect ...I enjoyed spending time with her and learning about the moon, friendship and gender duality..Great read.
December 5, 2019
This is really a diverse "Are you there God, it's me, Margaret" type of book. I can totally feel for the main character that she was mortified at her mother's insistance on a moon ceremony. This book was pretty true to life.
October 15, 2019
Some readers will see this sparkling verse novel which honors menstruation as empowering while some others (censors) may try to apply their inevitable label, “pornographic.” Celi Rivera is a multi-racial Latina pre-pubescent (at first) girl whose mother, who is active in a feminist group, is determined to prepare for Celi’s inevitable, “first moon,” with a vibrant Moon Ceremony. The event is to be based on Mexica and other indigineous traditions. Celi is (at first) mortified by the idea of this public parading of her first period, but she grows more interested as her friend Magda comes out as transgender. Plans for the ceremony shift to include Magda, now known as Marco, as Mesoamerican ceremonial traditions include both celebration of menstruation (the moon within) and of people who encompass both male and female spirits (xochihuah, pronounced “sho-chee-wah”). A light romantic subplot involves Celi’s conflicted interest in a queerphobic boy and how that relationship affects her loyalty to Marco. Along with the squeamishness that might arise with the ample use of the word, “blood,” there is a potentially controversial scene in which Celi recalls examining her own female anatomy, her “flor,” using terms that parallel flower nomenclature. At the Moon Ceremony, Celi uses the blood from her first period, which her mom preserved by snipping the blood soaked material of Celi’s underwear. Celi rinses the cloth in a bowl of floral scented water and pours the water into the earth. The vivid poetic details which make the story so powerful will also make it a target for censors. The Moon Ceremony may be attacked as pagan. But the bottom line for this glorious book, and for any modern book for young people that looks squarely and honestly at puberty and transgender identity, is that it is LONG OVERDUE. The Moon Within leaps, with vibrant color and music, bravely into a 21st century in which female bodies and gender identities remain taboo. It has been almost 50 years since Judy Blume’s Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret was published, and the treatment of puberty in young people’s literature has barely evolved and when addressed is always attacked. Without all the books we’ve needed in between 1970 and today to help readers learn to be comfortable with this subject matter, this one seems alarmingly frank. The lucky readers of this book will have the opportunity to learn to bleed with acceptance and even pride and/or know that their trans selves can not only be SEEN but can be celebrated. Just as Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give and its honest examination of racial injustice predictably joined To Kill a Mockingbird as it remains on the banned books list after over 50 years for much the same reason, Salazar is likely to join Blume on the list next year. Praise to all these authors for telling the truth to young people.
October 24, 2020
Novel in Verse - yes please. Diverse coming of age with first crush, first period, (with ethnic moon ceremony planned - insert 12 yr old eye roll) and your BFF becoming gender-fluid, all really important topics - triple win. Just wanted to preview first for our K-5 library - and I think in the right hands this book could really help so many young kiddos with questions about their body.
Fastest description is a Lantinx modern retake on Are you There God it's Me Margaret?
But with Covid and building bags of library books for unknown students - I want to make sure this book goes to the student ready or curious and not just any student. Dang I sound old. Maybe I just don't want a parent to come after me...
Fastest description is a Lantinx modern retake on Are you There God it's Me Margaret?
But with Covid and building bags of library books for unknown students - I want to make sure this book goes to the student ready or curious and not just any student. Dang I sound old. Maybe I just don't want a parent to come after me...
April 30, 2019
I cannot wait for my 12 yr old to begin this middle grade novel in verse authored by a fellow homeschooling mother! “THE MOON WITHIN” is a gorgeous and empowering debut about family and friends, puberty and periods, and cultural and sexual identity. I am so happy to find historically taboo topics being normalized in middle grade literature. Thank you Aida Salazar for this beautiful book and message to children.
“May you find comfort, healing, understanding, and curiosity about your body, your gender, your art, your ancestry, your community, your beauty... may this courage help you to be proud and to speak your truth... ring out into the world for the strengthening of us all.”
“May you find comfort, healing, understanding, and curiosity about your body, your gender, your art, your ancestry, your community, your beauty... may this courage help you to be proud and to speak your truth... ring out into the world for the strengthening of us all.”
August 11, 2020
Such a moving story for middle-grade readers! I loved the challenges that Ceci had to make and the empowerment she felt by the end of the book. I love the beautiful way her story is told, through verse, and also the way that different cultures are represented throughout the story. I recommend to many readers ages 10 and up. Perfect for the LGBTQ community and those of a latino / latina heritage. I loved the character of Mar and the self-acceptance he grows into throughout the story. Definitely a 5 star for me!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 298 reviews