There are no spoilers in this review.
Miss Meteor, Tehlor Kay Mejia & Anna-Marie McLemore
Published on September 22nd, 2020 by HarperTeen.
There hasn’t been a winner of the Miss Meteor beauty pageant who looks like Lita Perez or Chicky Quintanilla in all its history. But that’s not the only reason Lita wants to enter the contest, or why her ex-best friend Chicky wants to help her. The road to becoming Miss Meteor isn’t about being perfect; it’s about sharing who you are with the world—and loving the parts of yourself no one else understands. So to pull off the unlikeliest underdog story in pageant history, Lita and Chicky are going to have to forget the past and imagine a future where girls like them are more than enough—they are everything.Witty and heartfelt with characters that leap off the page, Miss Meteor is acclaimed authors Anna-Marie McLemore and Tehlor Kay Mejia’s first book together.
☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS: click here to see them.
homophobic comments (challenged), xenophobia (challenged), bike accident, broken arm, transphobic comments (challenged).
☂️ DIVERSITY: pansexual main character, trans character, latinx main characters, POC characters, Mexican-American characters, chubby main character.
I ENJOYED…
☂️
- I went into Miss Meteor with expectations and this author’s duo threw them all out the window, giving me so much MORE than I ever thought I wanted or needed in a book. So, before you ask: YES, this means I’m going to scream about Miss Meteor from now until the end of times.
- Told in two POV, this story is about two former best friends, Chicky and Lita. They’ve grown apart for reasons both haven’t revealed to each other, and they’re back together, very unlikely, to win a beauty pageant and prove to their small town, their bullies, themselves and the world that girls like them can win these, too.
- I immediately grew fond of the two main characters and found both of their voices unique, different, while fitting in together to create this book wonderfully. Both authors’ writing styles woven in together made such a wonderful story, really.
- Lita, oh I loved Lita. Her storyline gives Miss Meteor this little magical aspect, as she’s literally made of stardust, but it doesn’t feel confusing or overwhelming, at all. It was just, here, in moments, somehow perfectly fitting into this otherwise contemporary book and I loved it. Other than that, Lita was a wonderful main character. She’s struggling with her image, with who she really is, where she belongs and who she belongs with. I loved seeing her grow so much.
- Chicky, I had such a soft spot for Chicky, really. She’s struggling from the start with being in her own skin, with her sexual identity as well that she’s too afraid to reveal. Both main characters were just so wonderful, I wanted them to thrive and embrace their awesome-selves because they deserve it SO much.
- There’s just SO much to love in this book. I loved seeing the frail friendship between Lita and Chicky rebuilding itself slowly as they threw themselves into the beauty pageant competition, their inside jokes coming back, these little secret smiles growing, turning back slowly into this treasured friendship they had lost.
- The siblings relationships were GOLD. It was just so much fun to see Chicky’s sisters in the story and their dynamics all together, from fighting against to fighting for each other just as fiercely.
- I fell for the secondary characters in half a second, as well. I adored Cole, such an adorable sweetheart I felt like hugging (and trans rep!!) and Junior was such a caring, wonderful friend, too. All together, the cast was just amazing.
- I also need to take a moment to talk about the romance, because here you have not only one but TWO friends to lovers romances and my heart was crying OKAY. I loved how both relationships grew slowly, as characters gave each other time, space and distance necessary to accept themselves and gave themselves enough time to be ready, too. THIS, now this feels too rare in any romances and I loved that so much.
- Slowly growing to love yourself, accepting yourself as who you are, tackling racism in beauty pageants and everywhere else, prejudices in a small town, bullying, being a fake ally, fighting back and finding your voice…. Miss Meteor packs a punch and does it beautifully, too, handling all of these incredibly important issues perfectly without making the story feel crowded, at all.
OVERALL
☂️
I just don’t know what else to say except: READ THIS BOOK as soon as you can. Miss Meteor is such an incredible contemporary written with heart, talent and love and giving life to incredible characters I’m going to keep with me for a long, long, very long time.
Final rating: 5 drops, it’s a hurricane!
A million thanks to HarperCollins International for sending me an e-ARC of this book via Edelweiss. This did not, in any way, influence my thoughts and rating.
Did you read Miss Meteor? Do you want to?
Okay so honestly, which book by Anna-Marie McLemore should I start reading now? Let me know in comments!
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Great review! I’m convinced. Will be adding this to my tbr 🙂
Ahh thank you so much Christina, this makes my day! I hope you will love it 🙂
Wow this sounds like a great coming of age book! I’m not usually a fan of YA contemporary, but I love the growth that seems displayed here!
It really was a stunning read, I hope you’ll give it a try! <3
This book sounds wonderfully diverse and character based! Friends to lovers, sibling dynamics, and just friendship in general are all in here?! YAY!!!!! I haven’t read any of Anna-Marie McLemore’s books yet, but When the Moon Was Ours and now, thanks to this lovely review, Miss Meteor is on my TBR!
It is such an INCREDIBLE read, really, I adore it. I hope you will too, and thank you so much!! <3
Great review, Marie! I haven’t read any Tehlor Kay Mejia yet, and yet I’m so still so excited about she and Anna-Marie McLemore writing a book together. It sounds like such a lovely read–definitely one I need to add to my TBR!
Thank you so much! I hope you’ll give this one a try, it was amazing! <3
I’ve been wanting to read this since you first mentioned it on here, and your review has just convinced me to prioritize it when I’ll get my hands on it! I love everything you mentioned – friends to lovers (and two of those, wow!), family, and friendships being rebuilt. So excited! Fantastic review, Marie!
AHH thank you!! this makes me so, so happy. I really hope you’ll love it <3 <3
This book sounds incredibly good, I have to read it asap!! Excellent review, Marie <3
Thank you so, so much, so happy you enjoyed it <3
Oh my GOSH, I absolutely love this review. It sounds like an incredible book! Anna-Marie McLemore is easily one of my favorite YA authors currently working, and I’m currently reading Tehlor Kay Mejia’s first book. YAY, I cannot wait.
AH thank you SO much, this makes me so happy! I hope you’ll love this one <3
I am SO excited for this book and your glowing review only makes me more eager! Omg double friends to lovers??? I really can’t wait to read this one ?
I am so, so so very excited for you to read this!! <3
This sounds fun based on your review!! And ooh I have Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore (which I still need to read somebody please yell at me) and I’ve heard lots of good things about their books!!
Ahh thank you! I hope you’ll read this and will love it 😀
Great review of Miss Meteor, Marie! It sounds so good and I love the book cover so much. <3
Thank you so, so much! This was SO good, I hope you’ll love it 🙂
omg, such high praise for this book, and all I gotta say is that I’m excited. I didn’t realize it til now, but I don’t actually read many books where the main characters are hispanic? So that’s kinda exciting. I’m also glad that you said both perspectives were enjoyable, cause don’t you hate when you love one person so much more than the other, and then you’re rushing to get back to the perspective you love?! great review marie! Can’t wait to give it a read 🙂 x
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
Ahhh yay! I’m so happy I could put this book on your radar and I hope you’ll love it <3
Stunning review, as always Marie. I’m so excited to read from this author, need to find their books in my country, but I know I shall love them xoxo
Ahh thank you so much! I hope you will love this one!! <3
I’m glad to see that you enjoyed this book so much, especially as it had siblings vibes that made you smile – I know how much you look out for those. My first book by Anna-Marie McLemore is probably going to be Blanca & Roja as that’s the only one I have so far. They all sound fascinating though so I hope you adore whatever book of theirs you read next
Ahhh yay! I hope you’ll get a chance to read this one, too, it’s so stunning I adore it. <3
Thank you 💗