The Book

Title: How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe

Release date: August 10, 2021

Synopsis:

The Hating Game meets I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter in this irresistible romance starring a Mexican American teen who discovers love and profound truths about the universe when she spends her summer on a road trip across the country.

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?

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The Conversation

1. Happy book birthday, Raquel! Thank you for being on the blog. To start off, tell us something about How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe?

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe is my second YA novel, and it features a hate to love romance, a road trip, and a family curse (or is it?). I absolutely love romances and am so excited to have written one.

2. What were some themes you knew you wanted to explore from the start and which snuck up on you in revisions?

I knew right away that I would be exploring colorism in the Latinx community. Moon, who is darker in skin tone, is constantly compared to her white-passing sister. This is drawn from my and my sister's own experiences growing up and having our darker features be compared to our white-passing primas. I also knew that Santiago would be disabled, and I made sure to point out ableist language in the story, since it is something my amazing editor, Jennifer Ung, has helped me to be aware of even in my debut, Sia Martinez. There are a lot of ableist terms that are just so ubiquitous-- things like "dumb" or "deformed." I wanted that to be up front in the text, because disabled people have to deal with ableist language pretty much all the time.

I also knew that I would be writing about the themes of slut-shaming and purity culture, but I suppose what snuck up on me in revisions was how intense they  would be within the story. I didn't know, at first, how physically abusive Moon's mother got over her purity culture ideals, nor did I know that Star would ever question it. The characters developed around these themes in a really organic way.

3.  If Moon's and Santiago's romance had a soundtrack what songs would be in it?

Oh, my goodness. I'm smiling right now because I am so behind the times in what's happening in music. So forgive me for suggesting oldies. 🙂 I think their romance soundtrack would have "Perro Fiel" by Shakira and Nicky Jam, because the lyrics show a lot of hesitancy when you want someone, and I think that reflects their slow-burn a lot. I'd add "Dirty Paws" by Of Monsters and Men, because the imagery draws so much from the natural word, and it features a dragonfly, which is very important in one of Moon and Santiago's scenes. And "Only If For A Night" by Florence and the Machine. I read that this song was based on a dream the artist had of her grandmother who had passed, and the idea of our loved ones keeping in touch, too, is a significant theme in the book.

4. Hate to love romances, especially in YA, are one of the most fun tropes! What made you want to write one? What was the hardest part about writing one?

Hate to love romances may well be my favorite trope-- I love the tension in a character being so unaware they like someone that they convince themselves they hate them. I wanted to capture all that in a book of my own. The most difficult part, I think, is having to create conflict and animosity, but making sure neither character does anything unforgivable. We have to root for both of them the whole while.

5. Rapid fire!

  • Plotter or pantser? Both, but I lean toward plotter.
  • Paperback or hardback? Both! I'm not picky.
  • A book you want everyone to read? Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar.
  • Should books be judged by their covers? No, but at the same time I gravitate toward beautiful books.
  • What's your purpose in life? To help make the world a little better with my work (I hope).

6. Tell us about your upcoming projects!

Right now I am in-between revisions for both a Middle Grade novel and a YA novel. I'm also a Madrina for the Las Musas Collective, volunteering as a mentor. I'm also working very hard in my garden! I know that's not a literary project but this time of year, it takes a lot of time and brings me so much joy. 

Thank you so much for having me, Paola! I'm so honored.

Thank you, Raquel!

Don't forget to check out How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe! Out now!

The Author

Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is a Mexican American poet, novelist and painter. She received her MFA in poetry from the University of Alaska, Anchorage in 2017. She's most inspired by fog and seeds and the lineages of all things. When not writing, Raquel tells stories to her plants and they tell her stories back. She lives in Tennessee with her beloved family and mountains.

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