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When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
In an unnamed town in what could be the American Southwest or Latin America, seven young adults stand out from the vanilla residents. Each has a secret, but each also has knowledge about someone else's. This work of magical realism provides a thoughtful examination of gender, guilt, fear, and forgiveness, weaving together cultural traditions from Pakistan, Latin America, and the U.S. in unexpected ways.
Review from Booklist Reviews:
Sam and Miel have always been inseparable. Pakistani Samir and his mother moved to town first, painting ornamental moons and carrying secrets, but Miel appeared out of the water tower, with roses growing out of her wrists. As they grow, their friendship deepens into something more; after all, it's Miel who's the keeper of Sam's secret, who realizes he used to be different, and who understands why he is drawn to bacha posh, a Pakistani practice where families without sons allow a daughter to live as a boy. But Sam and Miel have caught the eye of the four Bonner sisters, whom people say are witches, and Miel knows their attention could destroy everything. This is a careful, close look not only at gender identity but at what it is to possess a body-for Sam, of course, but also for Miel (whose roses are viewed with suspicion) and for the almost mythical, red-haired Bonner girls as well. Love, family history, and things unsaid are forces to be reckoned with: Miel's guardian cures lovesickness, and people believe Miel's roses cast a love spell. With luminous prose infused with Latino folklore and magical realism, this mixes fairy-tale ingredients with the elegance of a love story, with all of it rooted in a deeply real sense of humanity. Lovely, necessary, and true.
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