Name: The Moon Within
ISBN: 9781338283372

Aida Salazar

The dazzling story of a girl navigating friendship, family, and growing up, an Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? for the modern day, from debut author Aida Salazar.

The Moon Within

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

This middle grade Novel in Verse is a celebration of women’s bodies and gender inclusivity. Celi Rivera comes from a bicultural Puerto Rican/Mexican family and her life in Oakland, California is becoming more complex. Her body is changing. She has a crush on a boy. And her best friend since forever, Magda, is exploring her gender-fluidity. Celi’s mom, Mima, wants to give Celi a moon ceremony when her first period arrives, a celebratory affirmation of women’s bodies and a rite of passage based on an ancestral Mexica ritual that Mima and her community are reclaiming. However, Celi is mortified by this and feels like her mom isn’t doing this for Celi, but for herself. Meanwhile, Magda is growing more certain in her developing identity.

What is striking about this novel is the full-bodied singing, dancing, drumming love of music, family, and respect for women’s bodies and cycles that will help all girls celebrate the powerful moon within herself. Equally powerful is Salazar’s advocacy for gender-expansive people via the complex history of Mesoamerican gender identities and the dual feminine and masculine energies of xochihuah that she incorporates into the story and develops through Magda’s character.

An excellent discussion guide is available with classroom activities, “Resources on Moon Ceremonies, Menstruation, and Connecting with Your Body” and “Resources on Gender Expansiveness” written by Dr. Carla España, who is a Bilingual Education Clinical Doctor Lecturer at Hunter College, The City University of New York.

The Moon Within

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