**Welcome to Weekly Reads! Each Monday I’ll share reviews for my most recent reads. For more reviews, please visit my page, The Reads: From A to Z.**

In light of recent events, I’ve found it difficult to read – between the chaos, non-stop news coverage, and in your face Facebook posts… it’s been hard to concentrate on anything else besides a comforting, heart-warming Hallmark movie.  Luckily, just as I started to run out of new holiday specials, my library came through with some much anticipated releases! There’s nothing like a fast-paced YA thriller/fantasy to take you out of reality. 🙂

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

Inseparable from the very start, Miel and Sam have been best friends since the day Miel was found in the water. Rumors quickly spread of her spilling out from the water tower, how her own mother tried to kill her, and her, a seemingly innocent five-year-old growing the roses of betrayal from her wrists. Of course Sam isn’t a stranger to rumor either, being of Italian-Pakistani descent in a small town. Together, they create a bond of friendship and young love, discovering the power of personal acceptance in the face of blind intolerance.

“One day, they would be no more than that fairytale. They would be two children named Honey and Moon, folded into the stories whispered through this town. But tonight they were not those children. Tonight they were Sam and Miel.“

When the Moon Was Ours is a beautifully written, magical tale of unforgettable characters and immeasurable cultural importance. Sam, not only facing the eyes of racism, is a transgender character, struggling to accept himself and the burden carried by his family and friends to conceal his secret. In the beginning, his transition was as a bacha posh, a Pakistani practice to give more freedom to a daughter in a family without sons, but now, after several years living as a boy, Sam must accept his transition is deeper rooted, a true reflection of the Sam within. Miel, meanwhile, struggles to understand the meaning of their relationship as others in town force the matter – what does it mean for her? How will others see her if his secret is found out? While the plot is hard to follow, feathered behind the author’s ethereal tone and metaphysical allusions, you can’t deny the importance of her message. A telling story of friendship, young love, personal expression, ethnicity, and sexual fluidity, When the Moon Was Ours is a must read, complete with a heartfelt dedication and author’s note at the end.  

Rating: 4 Stars      Goodreads

What have you read lately?