Blog Tour: Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro {review}

Hi everyone! Today is my stop at the blog tour of Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro. This is the first book I've read by Oshiro and I definitely want to read more. Thanks to Colored Pages Bookish Tours for having me in this tour. 

Book title: Each of Us a Desert

Publication date: September 15th, 2020

Author: Mark Oshiro
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ+

Publisher: Tor Teen

Pages: 432

How I got the book: Sent for Review; the publisher provided me an ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Star rating:

Synopsis

From award-winning author Mark Oshiro comes a powerful coming-of-age fantasy novel about finding home and falling in love amidst the dangers of a desert where stories come to life.

Xochitl is destined to wander the desert alone, speaking her troubled village's stories into its arid winds. Her only companions are the blessed stars above and enigmatic lines of poetry magically strewn across dusty dunes.

Her one desire: to share her heart with a kindred spirit.

One night, Xo's wish is granted—in the form of Emilia, the cold and beautiful daughter of the town's murderous conqueror. But when the two set out on a magical journey across the desert, they find their hearts could be a match... if only they can survive the nightmare-like terrors that arise when the sun goes down.

Review

Wow... I'm obsessed with this book! The author takes you to a journey through a desert and self-discovery. I love that this book talks the way I do. Does that makes sense? I've said this before; I'm a fan of books where a character speaks another language (besides English), and the word or phrase is just thrown right there in the text, without any explanation, no italics or quotation marks. It makes me feel like I'm seen. Yes, I love the occasional Spanglish! With the bilingualism in this book, I felt represented. :) I enjoyed the stories as a cuentista; I felt it was a way of releasing stuff accumulated inside. Also, I like the way faith was approached in the story. One of the things I love the most about this book is the poetry. Can we please get a poetry collection by Mark Oshiro?

Each of Us a Desert was a rollercoaster of emotions, I got goosebumps, I cried... The romance was there, yes, but this book was more about healing. Mark Oshiro's writing style is beautiful! The dynamic between Xochitl and Emilia was good but kind of heavy. I don't want to give any spoilers but there was a lot going on. I had to take some reading breaks because of this, so I think you should consider this content/trigger warning for emotional abuse, violence, and death. Even though I felt there were some things that could've been left out of the story, and at the beginning it was kind of slow paced, this is honestly one of my all-time favorite books and I highly recommend it. 

If this book sounds like something you would enjoy, be sure to add it to you TBR!

Have you read it yet? Let me know so we can talk about it ;)

About the author

Website | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter

Mark Oshiro is the author of Anger is a Gift (Tor Teen), winner of the 2019 Schneider Family Book Award and nominated for a 2019 Lammy Award (in the LGBTQ Children’s/Young Adult category). Upcoming novels include Each of Us a Desert (Tor Teen), a YA Fantasy novel out September 15, 2020, and The Insiders (Harper Collins), an MG Contemporary with magical elements out Fall 2021. When they are not writing, crying on camera about fictional characters for their online Mark Does Stuff universe, or traveling, Mark is busy trying to fulfill their lifelong goal: to pet every dog in the world.