Book Tour [Review] Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore

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Title: Miss Meteor
Author: Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore
Publisher: HarperTeen/EpicReads [320 pages]
Publication Date: September 22, 2020
Genres: Young Adult Magical Realism

*Thank you HarperTeen/EpicReads and AFire Pages for providing me this awesome opportunity. *

Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Book Depository

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Synopsis

There hasn’t been a winner of the Miss Meteor beauty pageant who looks like Lita Perez or Chicky Quintanilla in all its history. But that’s not the only reason Lita wants to enter the contest, or why her ex-best friend Chicky wants to help her. The road to becoming Miss Meteor isn’t about being perfect; it’s about sharing who you are with the world—and loving the parts of yourself no one else understands. So to pull off the unlikeliest underdog story in pageant history, Lita and Chicky are going to have to forget the past and imagine a future where girls like them are more than enough—they are everything.

Witty and heartfelt with characters that leap off the page, Miss Meteor is acclaimed authors Anna-Marie McLemore and Tehlor Kay Mejia’s first book together.

Review

Content/Trigger warning: Xenophobia, Transphobic and Homophobic comments

This story was such a delightful read! When I first heard of its’ synopsis I knew I had to get into this pageant shenanigans filled story. Did it have enough shenanigans? Not, really. But it did have a lot of good friendships and character development. Lita and Chicky are characters you grow to root for and appreciate. However, the superstars in certain parts of the story end up being the supporting characters and fiends of Lita and Chicky. This was the first novel I have read form each author and now I want to continue to read more.

There were a couple of things I enjoyed about this book, but the friendships were the driving point for me. Both Lita and Chicky are not in good terms at the beginning but throughout it all, rebuild a friendship all while genuinely caring if the other is doing okay. The friendship felt like any real friendship many of us in the real world have. We all have our disagreements and fights, but we always care about each other through the madness and hurt feelings. Lita is such a superstar in this story. At times, she feels just as divine as the name of her town Meteor, New Mexico. Although she is seen as someone who doesn’t fit with the town crowd, she still has love and pride for it. She also has her eyes set on becoming Miss Meteor. Chicky, the youngest of 4 girls and a person so used to being behind the scenes is also Lita’s ex-friend. After being bullied for liking a girl, Chicky tries to live her best life without letting others wear her down. The two main characters together compliment each other so well and seeing their development in themselves and being their truest selves was empowering.

Now, the main characters were cool, but we can’t forget about the supporting characters. Cole and Junior were so supportive. Chicky’s sisters are the perfect cheerleaders. Cole’s sister can just exit out of the story for being homophobic even though she is Cole’s sisters, who is a trans male. Did I mention Cole is such a caring sweetheart. What a pure soul.

The writing felt so cohesive that at times I was unable to realize there were two separate people who created this story. Although the writing was *chef’s kiss* good, the pacing felt a bit off to me. The beginning started great and the end was star quality. However, the middle did feel a bit leisurely for my taste. Overall, if you like a book with really good friendships, characters challenging a traditional pageant platform and just really awesome characters in general, pick up this book today!

About the Authors

Tehlor Kay Mejia is a YA author and poet at home in the wild woods and alpine meadows of Southern Oregon. When she’s not writing, you can find her plucking at her guitar, stealing rosemary sprigs from overgrown gardens, or trying to make the perfect vegan tamale. She is active in the Latinx lit community, and passionate about representation for marginalized teens in media. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @tehlorkay.

Her short fiction appears in the ALL OUT and TOIL & TROUBLE anthologies from Harlequin Teen. Her debut YA fantasy, WE SET THE DARK ON FIRE, is out 2/26/2019 from Katherine Tegen/Harper Collins, with a sequel to follow. Her debut middle grade, PAOLA SANTIAGO AND THE DROWNED PALACE, releases from Disney-Hyperion/Rick Riordan Presents in 2020, with a sequel to follow in 2021. METEOR, co-written with Anna-Marie McLemore, is out summer 2020 from HarperTeen.

Anna-Marie McLemore was born in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and taught by their family to hear la llorona in the Santa Ana winds. They are the author of THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS, a finalist for the 2016 William C. Morris Debut Award; 2017 Stonewall Honor Book WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS, which was longlisted for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature; WILD BEAUTY, a Kirkus Best Book of 2017; and BLANCA & ROJA, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. DARK AND DEEPEST RED, a reimagining of The Red Shoes based on true medieval events, is forthcoming in January 2020.

It’s Giveaway Time

Click the rafflecopter picture below to win a copy of Miss Meteor! This giveaway is open internationally and sponsored by HarperCollins International. And will end on October 30, 2020.

Graphic Novel Review: Moonstruck Vol. 1

Title: Moonstruck, Volume 1: Magic to Brew
Writer: Grace Ellis
Artist [s]: Shae Beagle, Kate Leth, Caitlin Quirk, Clayton Cowles
Designer: Laurenn McCubbin
Pages: 120
Genre[s]: Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Image Comics

Synopsis

In the little college town of Blitheton, fantasy creatures live cozy, normal lives right alongside humans, and werewolf barista Julie strives to be the most normal of all. But all heck breaks loose when she and her new girlfriend Selena go on a disastrous first date that ends with a magician casting a horrible spell on their friend Chet. Now it’s up to the team of mythical pals to stop the illicit illusionist before it’s too late!

Review

Moonstruck is a vivid story of a bad date gone wrong that leads to a mystery adventure and adventure of discovery. It is filled with friendship and cute interactions. Julie and her girlfriend, Selena go into mission mode to help Selena’s friend Chat get what was taken from them.

There was an array of characters in the story, and I couldn’t help but enjoy a couple of them. Julie is such a gentle soul and I understood her shyness. I also loved the genuine care she has for people, especially her friends. Selena compliments Julie’s shyness with her extroversion, while also loving her true self in all her forms. Chet, a centaur barista, is lively and animated and probably would be fun to be around. They [identifies as non-binary] become a focal point in the story and their loss brings together people for a larger mission. The three main characters all possesses unique traits that make them special together. Aside from Chet being one of characters, Cass, a barista who has visions had a small role overall but it was enough to make me want to know more about.

Without spoilers, I have to say I loved the plot through and through. Julie and Selena’s first date is at a magic show and Chet tags along. During this magic show, Chet becomes a volunteer and ultimately loses something that makes them who they are. After that event, they go on a search and find mission to retrieve what was taken. When they find the foxy magician, there is a period were a lot of eery things occur and true natures are shown. It is a wild ride, but ultimately, the fox magician is unmasked and Chet gets back what was taken. Two points of the plot I enjoyed the most were the fact that most, if not all the characters were not human and that friendship is a main theme throughout the story.

One point I was concerned about or rather wanted to understand more of was Julie’s resistance towards showing her werewolf self. Selena is much more comfortable with herself, but we never get a backstory about Julie. I hope with feature issues that’s something we can get a little bit more insight on.

Overall, the coffee shop to magic show to coffee shop again setting was probably my favorite part of the story. It felt like all the characters were college students working a part time job and making connections daily. The diverse set of characters and beautifully illustrated panels made this story all the more enjoyable.