• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2020 August #1
  In her debut novel, poet Gilliland tells a totally genre-bent story about a mother crash-landing an alien spacecraft in the desert in a desperate attempt to reunite with her daughter. For about the first half of the book, Sia is a meditative analysis of the life of a Latinx teenager whose mother was deported by ICE and then lost to the desert, who has PTSD from sexual assault, and who lives in a town where she deals with racism on the regular. But then she finds her mother in a spacecraft and the story expands even more, with tales of abducted immigrants being used for a government-sponsored alien technology program. It's an unexpected, wild ride, combining sf with Latinx mysticism, and, at first, the mix is a bit jarring. But the memorable story, told in short, episodic chapters, features a diverse cast of well-rounded characters with plenty of depth. Amid the surprising plot twists is a thoughtful exploration of humanity, emphasizing that, though no one is perfect, no one is beyond redemption, either. Grades 9-12. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.

Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is a Mexican American poet, novelist, and painter. She received an MFA in poetry from the University of Alaska, Anchorage in 2017. She&;s most inspired by fog and seeds and the lineages of all things. When not writing, Raquel tells stories to her plants and they tell her stories back. She lives in Tennessee with her beloved family and mountains. Raquel has published two books of poetry. She&;s the author of Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything and How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe.