Silver, A. (2019). Two Dark Moons. Molewhale Press.
The dreaded sãoni prowl the jungle below, so Sohmeng Par and the rest of her hmun village live high in the caves of the mountains. The stubborn streak so common in those born under her phase of the moons is amplified as she’s repeatedly denied the rite to transition into adulthood. Her birth moons also carry a shameful secret, and when she finally takes a step towards adulthood, she find herself cast down into the jungle feeling like her fate has finally caught up with her. But an unlikely meeting in the world below shows her that fate is malleable, family can be found in the most unlikely of places, and that lizards can be cute, actually. A clash of worlds reminiscent of Mononoke Hime, this book will keep you turning pages.
For me, encountering this book was an example of how the intersectionality of different book traits can lead to a variety of reader experiences, and a reminder of how limited genres can be as a tool for reading advisory. Because there are so many ways to get a heart pumping, readers may be looking for other characteristics to narrow down their selection. This book is a fantasy adventure, but it’s also young adult fiction and features a “romantic” queerplatonic relationship dynamic. Trying to find this book in any of those genres would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but their intersection is specific enough to yield similar titles. Most of the big book recommendation sites and publishers will have curated sections for two-genre intersections like “queer adventure,” and there are plenty of queer reading spaces providing community recommendations like Queer Book Club.
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