"Everything would tilt and stick for as long as that crucial piece of the moon was missing. But the archer would help find her. Together they would return to the sky."

isbn: 978-0316464055 | pages: 391
      publication date: April 12, 2022 | source: physical-own/ebook-tour
     genre: young adult, mythology, retelling, contemporary fantasy
     rating: 7.8/10 
     Writing: 8 | Atmosphere: 8 | World-Building: 8 | Plot: 7 |  Characters: 8 | Impact: 8

     A M A Z O N    |    G O O D R E A D S    |    B O O K S H O P * 
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the classic story of love and misfortune
An Arrow the Moon was hands down one of my most anticipated releases for this year and honestly, Emily X.R. Pan did not disappoint with her sophomore novel. A gorgeously lyrical story, we follow Luna and Hunter in their senior year of high school as a crack in their town grows wider, parental secrets are unearthed, and fireflies reveal the magic that binds them together. This is a story with layers that, with each changing POV, takes all the loose threads to create a love story that's as magical and timeless as its inspiration material. Luna and Hunter's relationship starts and ends like a classic and leaves you feeling changed and unable to go back to where you were before reading their story.

There was a point around the halfway mark where I felt a little lost in the world of Fairbridge, like there were so many introduced threads and it would be difficult to tie everything together. But Emily X.R. Pan manages to do just that because it all works out in the end. There's a simplicity to the everyday routines of our characters that is mixed in with the smallest sliver of magical possibility that elevates the atmosphere to another level. I can't help but leave this story knowing that I'll come back to it again and again in the future and it will always leave its mark on me.

the constellations of relationships
There's always something comforting about a story that just gets little nuanced aspects of your life. Luna and Hunter are mirrors of each other and their relationship is one that's been written in the stars of the universe for ages. While I'm not the biggest fan of instant chemistry in love stories, theirs works because of how in tune they are with each other - they literally breathe together, it's the most precious thing.

On top of that, there's also the exploration of familial relationships and pressures that made the story more personal even when I was struggling with elements of the plot. It is just ingrained in every Asian American household that love is something expressed in different ways and that is spotlighted with the juxtaposition of the Yees and the Changs. Each family has made sacrifices for their child and has internalized that choice in contrasting ways. No matter what lines were crossed by the parents, there's a part of me that understands and hurts for them and that probably made the ending all the more impactful.

It's probably fitting that I finished this novel around midnight and the first thing I did was look out my window to the moon. This is truly a story that leaves its such a strong impression and simply put, to take the words straight from the story, the next time the moon is full, look up.

thank you so much to TBR AND BEYOND, Little Brown, and Emily X.R. Pan for providing an e-arc for this book tour - all thoughts are 100% my own. please click on the banner to check out the other amazing stops!

j o u r n a l     s p r e a d

i'm super excited to share my journal spread for an arrow to the moon as well! if you'd like to journal with me and see how i created this spread, click here!

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