Beautiful and emotional story with a main character that is easy to relate to and root for. I got major Ari and Dante vibes (which I loved). Middle grade isn’t my favorite genre but I did appreciate the story and the character development potential that comes with this genre.

I instantly connected with Sia as a character and wanted to know so much more about her. She is complex in her desire to understand the world and to be connected to her ancestors. The pieces of the story that focused on her heritage were so interesting. I loved reading about the importance of fables and fairy tales in her life and how they connected to her situation.

Although the twist and turns regarding her mother’s kidnapping were interesting, I was not particularly interested or disinterested in them — they did not take away from the story, but as a reader, I felt they sometimes led the story astray. The characters introduced by the alien encounter were fair compared to the relationships Sia had with her closest friends.

This is reminiscent of Julia Alvarez’s work Return to Sender, with a sci-fi twist. I enjoyed it.

Couldn't put it down, a great story with a hint of fantasy. An incredible story that touches on current challenges and it was written beautifully.

This was such a fun ride and so original. I didn't know what was coming next and that is key in the YA genre. Too many books are duplicated over and over but not this one. Plus the author is from Alaska so of course I have to buy it for the library (we are in Alaska too).

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great book! I enjoyed this a lot.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything starts off as a contemporary story and quickly switches to science fiction. After her mother was deported by ICE, Sia lost her mother to the desert three years ago. Sia still goes to the edge of the desert and lights a candle in hopes that her mother finds her way home.

This book was a lot. Racism, immigration, sexual assault, parental abuse, coming out, and death of a parent are just a few things that are touched upon in this book. That coupled with aliens, government conspiracies, and superpowers just put it over the edge for me. If the book stayed in the contemporary realm I feel that the message would’ve been a lot stronger. The addition of aliens and superpowers was unexpected and it felt as if I reading two different books that were spliced together.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Wowzers, This is a stunning debut and a much-needed addition to the YA sci-fi/fantasy genre. Gilliland’s writing is poetic, evocative, and absolutely beautiful. She tackles the difficult topics of illegal immigration and racism deftly while also show casing the everyday challenges teens are facing today.

The story revolves around Sia, who is still reeling from the death of her mother, an undocumented immigrant sent back over the border and dies trying to make her way back to her family. Sia is a very relatable teen who is trying to do more than survive in her little town, a town that doesn’t seem to care about her at all. She is vulnerable, she is angry, she is sad, she is loving, she is so very real. Sia uses the stories her grandmother taught her as a child to navigate the difficult circumstances surrounding her life. I loved reading those stories, they’re rich with history and I loved how they brought Sia closer to her culture as well as her family. This book has everything: romance, intrigue, danger, aliens, and plenty of plot twists that keep you on your toes. In conclusion, Sia Martinez is a gorgeous book that is sure to please many.

Fun and interesting concept but not the most well developed. The relationship felt rushed, though I did appreciate the sex positive scene.

While this is an incredibly delayed review on my part, it absolutely had to happen because this one had my head spinning. ⁣
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This is what I get for going into books blind: I start reading it and think, “Man, this has the potential to be my favorite and most moving and educational read of the year,” to me thinking, “Oh my god, what in the world have I gotten myself into?” 🤯⁣
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If I’d read the description, I would have known this book is literally referred to as a “genre-bending” novel and was likely not going to be the moving and emotional story of a teenage girl losing her mother to the evils of deportation that I thought it was, or at least not just that. Because there are definitely some slap-you-in-the-face sci-fi elements that I won’t spoil for you any further, but I would maybe suggest reading the summary if that’s not your thing. 😅⁣
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I love sci-fi, but I feel like this book took on way too much at once and didn’t find its way to many of the proper resolutions it needed. It definitely took me by surprise, and not necessarily in a bad way, but overall, I can’t help but think that the out-of-this-world elements overshadowed the main theme and message of the book.⁣

When most YA novels deal with immigration issues, the word “alien” doesn’t involve UFOs. Gilliand throws that expectation right out the window, creating a powerful first-person narration from the voice of a Latina who still communicates with her dead grandmother (and kitchen spirits). The narrative tackles not only undocumented immigration, human trafficking, and issues of sexual harassment and assault, but also UFOs, alien and government conspiracies, and human experimentation. The mashup of genres is unbelievably smoothly done, considering the disparate tones usually used for each, and the result is an amazing, un-put-downable novel with short chapters that inspire readers to keep going for just one more…

Sia's mom was deported by ICE several years ago. When she couldn't get back legally, she tried to cross the Sonoran Desert, but when she wasn't heard from in the longest time, her death seemed to be the answer. But in the present, Sia and some friends witness these odd blue lights in the desert sky... and the only thing that makes sense is aliens. But aliens aren't real! Or are they?

It's definitely not something I'd normally read as speculative fic isn't my favorite, but the chapters are SO short (like, they've got to be less than 2 pages in the print version) and the romantic subplot is really well done, so it keeps me turning on my audiobook app whenever I can.

This book... is A LOT. It's a genre-bending story that is half hard-hitting contemporary, half Roswellian sci-fi, with a smidge of magical realism thrown in. Sia's mother was deported by ICE three years ago, and has been presumed dead after attempting to cross the Sonoran Desert to return to the U.S. Everyday Sia deals with racist and xenophobic assholes in her small Arizona hometown, including the school bully whose dad is the cop that reported Sia's mom's status. But she also has a dad who loves her, a best friend who's more like a sister, and definitely absolutely not-a-crush on the cute new boy at school. At night, Sia drives out into the desert to light candles to guide her mom home. Then one night, strange lights appear in the desert sky and an alien spacecraft crash-lands, depositing... Sia's mother. Soon, Sia's family and friends are swept up into an adventure straight out of The X-Files--extraterrestrial visitors, government conspiracies, secret human experimentation, superhuman abilities--and hiding from forces that are determined to abduct Sia and her mother no matter the cost.

I loved Sia's character; she had a really strong voice and was brought to life beautifully by the audiobook narrator. The book is split into more than 200 very small chapters, which was an interesting format, but some of the scenes were abruptly split by a chapter break for no noticeable reason. Although the juggling of genres was a bit disorienting at times, I really love the idea of mixing alien abductions with, y'know, alien abductions (i.e. immigrant detainment and deportation). I think the concepts were good, but the pacing was definitely off--the spacecraft/alien/conspiracy plot doesn't get started until halfway through the book. The first half reads totally like a YA contemporary with some magical realism elements. If the genres had been blended a bit more and the sci-fi plot had been spread out over the whole book, the story as a whole wouldn't have felt quite so unbalanced. There are also definitely elements that could have been dropped to save page-time: Sia's fight with her best friend Rose was cliché and pointless, and their quirky love of the 1970s was cute but totally unnecessary. I also thought that Omar's character was unneeded, since everything he brought to the story could have been accomplished through Noah (except for the representation).

So, while overall I had a great time with this book and with Sia's character, the uneven pacing did negatively impact my enjoyment.

OH MY GOSH. I honestly didn't know what to expect going into this book (UFO abductions?) but it completely blew me away.

Gilliland's novel covers a lot of heavy stuff - racism, sexual abuse, physical abuse, deportation and the death of a parent. She mixes this with quirky characters, magical realism and Latinx representation, and a wonderful, original coming of age story,

The first two thirds of the book focuses on social and relationship issues. Sia is constantly thrown into situations with the awful son of the racist sheriff who deported her mom, making for some uncomfortable and maddening scenes. She meets the new boy at school, and her friendship with him puts her at odds with her best friend Rose. (Who has her own secrets, but hasn't actually let Sia in on this.) Her grandmother has passed, but Sia constantly feels her spirit around her - her grandmother is a very feisty spirit, and these scenes were really lovely, many incorporating Mexican folklore.

The last third of the book is where the UFO part of the storyline comes in. It's definitely a change of tempo and it suddenly takes on a much more X-files tone. (There are a lot of X-files references thrown in, too.) Admittedly, this felt part of the story becomes infinitely more quirky and out there, and feels a little out of place. The ending of the UFO portion was NOT what I would have predicted at all, either, so brava to Gilliland for continually keeping me on my toes.

The story has some lovely prose, and its characters are colorful and engaging. I can't wait to see what comes next from this author!

Real rating: 2.5 stars | I clearly did not read the synopsis carefully enough when I picked up this book because it took a Roswellian turn I did not see coming at all. Granted, I still would have read it since I love Roswell anyway but I think it's good know ahead of time so you're not surprised like I was. In a nutshell, Sia Martinez's mom was deported and taken in an ICE raid thanks to the bigotry of someone in her tiny (read: small-minded) Arizona town. And three years ago, her mom then disappeared but is presumed dead. That doesn't stop Sia though from driving to their spot in the desert to light candles for her mom, as a way to guide her home. Until one day, a blue-lit spacecraft crashes in front of Sia's car and reveals her very much alive mother. From there, shenanigans, conspiracies, and more ensue as Sia tries to save her mom from the government and aliens, with the help of her dad and their friends. I’m torn because I liked the characters a lot – everyone from Sia, to her best friend, the cute boy introduced (there's always a cute boy!), and the big role family played even if it was only through flashbacks. Not to mention, the themes were super relevant as well. But the execution of the alien aspect got pretty messy, particularly towards the last 25% of the book. I think for that part to have worked, it really needed to be developed a lot more and a lot sooner. And I genuinely wish it had been because it was interesting but the explanations and the ending were just too rushed.

Do I recommend? I'm 50/50 on it. If you're curious, I would highly recommend borrowing it from the library rather than purchasing it.

A YA novel with Roswell vibes about a girl grieving the loss of her mother to ICE, dealing with the fallout of racist and anti-immigrant sentiment in her small town, and falling for the last guy she should be falling for. Sia believes her mother died trying to get home after being deported by ICE--but a part of her has always held out hope. Especially since the ghost of her grandmother insists her mother is still out there.

My only minor complaint with this book is that it takes a long time to get to the alien / government experiment aspect of the story which is billed as being a main part of the plot. And it is, to be sure, but there's an awful lot of prelude that has very little to do with that. The first two thirds of the book are much more YA coming-of-age and dealing with trauma--all of which is very well done and good in its own right--while the last third really digs into the alien aspect. Regardless, a really great read by an author I'm definitely going to be keeping my eye on in the future!

TW for mentions of sexual assault, mentions of abuse, racism, racist slurs, and anti-immigration sentiment.

So, there is a lot going on here. Even if we excise the alien element (and everything else that comes with it) this is a book that deals with a TON of heavy topics: the death of a parent, the loss of said mother through the brutality of ICE, having to live in close proximity to the very people who handed over the mother to ICE, the disintegration of a close friendship, recovering from sexual assault while trying to start a new relationship - and I could probably go on. Any single one of those issues is deserving of in-depth consideration, but unfortunately none of them got it.

The structure of the book is partly to blame for this: it's mainly two or three page chapters, with pretty much every other chapter jumping back to a memory Sia has of her grandmother telling her about spirits/ghosts/the beginning of the universe/etc. Which is...fine, but ends up eating A LOT of space that should have gone to other things, particularly when the alien element is brought in. If this was a contemporary YA, where the focus of the book was Sia recovering from the loss of her mother/trying to reconcile herself to how she died I could have absolutely seen the point and enjoyed those interlude style chapters, but because this a book already jammed full to bursting with plot they really only served to slow things down. And, honestly...this book might have been better off without the alien element because that point of the story felt threadbare to the point of transparency: SO many things are thrown at the reader without allowing them to settle that it's not that surprising Vasquez Gilliland has to constantly reference X-Files just to be sure the reader has their bearings. And yeah...not a good look, that. (Ditto the HP references which were fine when confined to fic discussion; not so much when used as a short-cut to describe the antagonists here.)

Unfortunately, this thinness also stretches into characterization. More care and attention is given to describing the clothes characters are wearing than in developing their personalities. Even Sia, who is so promising in the beginning, is rendered flat by the end - mainly, because the latter half of the book is non-stop action and explanation.

I really, really wanted to like this one. There were so many interesting components here. But the way it was written really didn't bring out the best of what could have been here.

"Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything" was an adventure! This book had equal parts family drama, romance, magical realism, and science fiction. It has a little something for everyone. I enjoyed the beginning of the story, which focused more on friendship and romance than I did the science fiction parts. I loved the presence of the grandmother throughout the whole book and how much of a role she continued to play in Sia's life. This is a solid young adult novel that tackles the current topics and struggles of our youth today.

A fantastic and beautiful book. I throughly enjoyed. Gorgeous poetic language weaves together a complex and unexpected plot. You can read my full review for Culturess at the link below.

https://culturess.com/2020/08/28/sia-martinez-moonlit-beginning-everything-review/

Ooooh, this was soooo fun. It's probably closer to a 4.5 - it's just not *quite* 5 stars. But I think whatever comes next from this author will be a must-read, because her debut was so great.

Sia Martinez is dealing with a really big life-altering event: her mom, who got deported to Mexico by ICE a few years ago, disappeared about 2 years prior to the book's setting trying to cross the desert and come back into the States. She's presumed dead by pretty much everyone - Sia, though, can't always be sure.

Sia also has normal problems, like struggling to share her best friend with her best friend's new love interest, being assigned to a school project with the new boy who gets on her nerves, and introducing said new boy who maybe possibly she might have a little crush on to her over-protective, self-defense knowing dad.

She ALSO has problems like: she keeps getting in trouble for finishing altercations her racist bully starts (did I mention his dad is the sheriff that helped deport her mom?), her dead bruja grandma constantly making her presence known and telling her that her mom is still alive, and the fact that a UFO keeps flying by her favorite thinking and praying spot in the desert.

There was just so much to love about this story. Sia is so unapologetically herself, even the times when she probably should apologize. Her voice as the narrator really takes the story up a notch - she is an open book and is also just really funny. (Here is a good spot for me to say that the Harry Potter references were not only present but veered on the heavy side, and it bummed me out because we know how I feel about this in the year of our Lord 2020)

The social issues covered in this book are done really well. There's discussion of immigration and deportation, of course, but also of border cages and racism against Middle Eastern and Black people. There's also a cop who physically abuses his wife and kids - the book doesn't directly discuss the high percentage of this occurrence, but just the representation of it is important, too.

This book is really sex-positive, but in an interesting way. Sia was sexually assaulted prior to the book taking place, and it left her pretty adverse to sexual experiences. The love interest, Noah, is so understanding and gentle with her boundaries, and makes sure to get consent on anything that happens. He asks in such a way that is very natural to the situation, and I think this is such a good example of sexual consent for teens to read. There's also a lot of focus on female pleasure in this story, because what Sia is really left with after her assault is a fear of, well, penises.

Sia has a really healthy relationship with her dad, there seems to be a really open line of communication there and that's also great to see. Her best friend, Rose, is questioning her sexuality but thinks she's leaning towards identifying as lesbian. She has a female love interest, but she spends a lot of the book acting like they're just friends, and I think their storyline is realistic. Sia and Rose are so used to being each other's one and only that when they both start to be interested in people romantically at the same time, it forms a rift between them that is addressed throughout and I think their friendship is just really special.

All this great stuff about the story and I haven't even touched on the sci-fi plot. I will say that I didn't read the synopsis and the big UFO storyline was a complete shock to me - so I recommend going in blind, but if you've read the synopsis you know what happens. Still, there's a lot that happens once contact is made with the UFO, and even though sci-fi isn't always my favorite, I think it's light enough to understand while still being both exciting and allegorical.

The way the sci-fi plot wrapped up was definitely unexpected and a little underwhelming; I think it made sense with the story, though. The ACTUAL ending, like the last paragraph, was that little rush of adrenaline you get in certain endings where everything isn't quite what you expected. It very much gave me Stranger Things season 1 vibes - where it's wrapped up nice and tight but with that one loose thread keeping things open for a continuation of the story. I don't know if it will ever get a sequel, but I would be THRILLED to see one.

Overall, I clearly highly recommend this story and hope you get a chance to read it soon :')

Book Review for “Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything” by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland. I read this book as an ARC through NetGalley. Thank you to Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, NetGalley, and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I first read the synopsis of this book on NetGalley I was excited because there was a strong sci-fi element. The book itself has been deemed “genre-bending”, which I agree with.

“Sia Martinez…” starts off as YA fiction. Sia is dealing with the recent deportation of her mom to Mexico by ICE agents. Sia is very in turn with her Mexican heritage, but at school she faces a lot of racism by students because of who she is. She’s also angry because her mom has most likely died in the Sonoran desert trying to get back to her family, and people tend to blame Sia’s mom for her deportation, etc. Sia finds strength in her father, her friends, and her abuela’s ghost.

The first half of the book was awesome. I was really into the story, and I loved how the author brought Mexican folktales and traditions into the story. Sia also was dealing with some PTSD from a sexual assault, and she starts to overcome that in the first half of the book too when she meets a boy who accepts her for who she is.

Then when I was 50% through the book, things got weird. There were aliens, government conspiracies and cover ups, UFOs, super powers, people on the run, murder, kidnapping, chaos. I wanted to be into it, but I just was not. The second half of the book almost felt like a different book from the first half, which was disappointing. I think this book could have been great without the alien, sci-fi angle. Overall, I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

This book brings up a lot of contemporary issues like deportation, racism, religion, culture, immigration, etc. I think Ms. Vasquez Gilliland did a great job with all of those, and as a white woman, I really appreciate her insight into these topics. This book was eye opening in that respect. I do recommend this book for that reason. This book is important because it doesn’t sugar coat these topics.