How do I even begin to talk about this book? This story was such a complete joy for me to consume! First of all, before you even open the book to start reading it, that freaking cover! This has to be one of my all time favorite covers, I loved it so much that I made a point to find out who illustrated it (which I don’t do often enough!), and lo, of course Isabel Ibanez illustrated it HERSELF! What a queen! Ibanez has poured SO much of her heart and soul into this book, including in the cover, and it truly shines through the whole story. (Plus, all of those little animals on the cover are significant to the story as well!)
Woven in Moonlight is about a girl named Ximena, an Illustrian who serves as the decoy condesa for the real condesa, Catalina. Ximena has grown up as a decoy for her friend and has spent her whole life acting the part of someone she is not. When the false king proposes marriage to the condesa, Ximena and Catalina see this as their chance to infiltrate the court and attempt to find a deadly artifact the king possesses which may help their people take control of the country again. With the help of her magical ability to weave moonlight into tapestries, Ximena believes she will be able to send secret messages back to Catalina once she locates the artifact. However, within the palace walls, Ximena begins to slowly realize that things are not always as they seem when she learns that the Llacsans (the king’s people) were oppressed by the Illustrians just as fiercely as they themselves are now oppressed. Ximena struggles with this knowledge and the new feelings of empathy it beings to evoke in her, as well as the knowledge that just because the king is a tyrannical and cruel Llacsan, does not mean all Llacsans are similar. As her story continues, Ximena begins to question whether it is more important to avoid bringing another fierce and devastating war down upon the country she loves, or continue being loyal to her condesa and their promise of revenge for their people.
I loved this book so much and the slice of Bolivia with a touch of fantasy that it brought me. I steeped myself in this story for two days and was sad to see it end, but so happy to have experienced it. Isabel Ibanez writes with so much feeling and it truly comes through in her characters and story. She has accomplished so many things with Woven in Moonlight. She has created representation for people who might be looking for themselves in fantasy stories and not finding enough of it. And for people who are not a part of Bolivian culture, she has given us the opportunity to appreciate it and learn more. As someone who knew far too little about Bolivia before reading this story, Isabel’s writing has made me seek out the real world parallels and learn more about Bolivia’s history.
In our country, where immigrants are repeatedly shown a horribly unwelcoming image by some of the most powerful people, stories like this are so important. Not only for the representation, but also for the love, curiosity, and openness that they inspire in readers to be open to other cultures.
This book was such a magical 5 star read for me and I can’t wait to see more from this author!
Woven in Moonlight is about a girl named Ximena, an Illustrian who serves as the decoy condesa for the real condesa, Catalina. Ximena has grown up as a decoy for her friend and has spent her whole life acting the part of someone she is not. When the false king proposes marriage to the condesa, Ximena and Catalina see this as their chance to infiltrate the court and attempt to find a deadly artifact the king possesses which may help their people take control of the country again. With the help of her magical ability to weave moonlight into tapestries, Ximena believes she will be able to send secret messages back to Catalina once she locates the artifact. However, within the palace walls, Ximena begins to slowly realize that things are not always as they seem when she learns that the Llacsans (the king’s people) were oppressed by the Illustrians just as fiercely as they themselves are now oppressed. Ximena struggles with this knowledge and the new feelings of empathy it beings to evoke in her, as well as the knowledge that just because the king is a tyrannical and cruel Llacsan, does not mean all Llacsans are similar. As her story continues, Ximena begins to question whether it is more important to avoid bringing another fierce and devastating war down upon the country she loves, or continue being loyal to her condesa and their promise of revenge for their people.
I loved this book so much and the slice of Bolivia with a touch of fantasy that it brought me. I steeped myself in this story for two days and was sad to see it end, but so happy to have experienced it. Isabel Ibanez writes with so much feeling and it truly comes through in her characters and story. She has accomplished so many things with Woven in Moonlight. She has created representation for people who might be looking for themselves in fantasy stories and not finding enough of it. And for people who are not a part of Bolivian culture, she has given us the opportunity to appreciate it and learn more. As someone who knew far too little about Bolivia before reading this story, Isabel’s writing has made me seek out the real world parallels and learn more about Bolivia’s history.
In our country, where immigrants are repeatedly shown a horribly unwelcoming image by some of the most powerful people, stories like this are so important. Not only for the representation, but also for the love, curiosity, and openness that they inspire in readers to be open to other cultures.
This book was such a magical 5 star read for me and I can’t wait to see more from this author!