This is an incredibly inventive and empathetic YA fantasy. And although it is a great book, it took me entirely too long to finish because bad things kept happening and I needed a couple breathers!

Taking place in what appears to be a post apocalyptic world, Xochitl is her village's la cuentista--she swallows the stories of her community and releases them back to the desert so that the villagers can be unburdened... at least for a while until they need her to listen again. After a tragic event, Xochitl leaves the village to learn more about her ability and to perhaps learn how to release herself for her own burden.

Intense and human, Each of Us a Desert explores guilt, humanity, obligation, tradition, trust, and freedom.

Xochitl is the la cuentista of her village, she takes other people’s stories, especially those that cause them pain and swallows them. She then givers them back to Solis to cleanse herself. Xochitl’s whole life is in service to others but it is not the life she wants, she dreams of something different beyond the world of her small town in the desert. The books was a huge departure from Mark Oshiro’s first book qnd it is definitely a slow burn but ultimately worth the wait by the ending.

This is one of those books that will be polarizing for readers. The crux of this lies in Oshiro’s description of the setting and the magical elements. Some may call it atmospheric, while others will say vague. This is a huge shift from his last book, Anger is a Gift. I liked it so much that I bugged my librarian to buy it for the school:) While Each of Us a Desert may not attract a huge following, those who stick with it will experience a powerful speculative latinx story. Be prepared for some beautiful poetry and a good smattering of Spanish to build the world and help readers experience the culture.

I can tell you that I enjoyed much of the book. The unique inner conflict that plagues Xochital, the protagonist, for most of the book pushes the story forward… It’s a thematic or spiritual journey that mirrors the physical journey across the sands of the post-apocalyptic setting. It is this trek that will help Xo, her village, and possible the romance.

Ultimately, this is a challenging read. One that some are comparing to The Deep by Rivers Solomon. I see this, but also I want to write a little about the intended audience. I always think about this when I read any YA novel. If and how would I use this in my classroom? I think this would be more appropriate for upper grade (probably 12th), but not for a core novel that all students would read. My classes have a huge range of reading levels considering that the only other senior class taught at my school is AP. I would definitely put this on my Outside Reading Project list, and my description would be close to what I have written here. Challenging, but with latinx and queer rep. I could see many of my students across my classes choosing this novel.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Teen, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

Thank you to Netgalley and TorTeen for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

THOSE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS WRECKED ME. GOOD BYE

This book slayed me in the best way possible. Xochitl and her story was so immersive. The lore around the cuentistas was fabulous. There was a good amount of Spanish terminology/language, which will sound beautiful on an audiobook! I stopped several times to look things up since my Spanish knowledge is limited to like 5 words, but I actually had a lot of fun doing this, it really expanded my knowledge.

With an amazingly diverse cast and a sapphic love story, I fell in love with Each of us a Desert.

Each of Us a Desert follows Xochital, a 16-year-old cuentiesta who desperately wants to stop living the life her people demand of her. As cuentista, she hears her people's regrets, their shameful stories, and returns them to the Earth, forgetting the stories in the process.

I wanted to love this book. It definitely has its upsides, such as beautiful prose and queer latinx characters. However, it gets so convoluted that I, at times, had no idea what was going on. (Also, it had a little too much gore for my taste.) It was one of those magical worlds where you're just thrown into it, which sometimes works, but in this case didn't. I had no problem with the interspersing of Spanish words - I actually thought it was a nice touch - it was the plot itself that I couldn't quite grasp. There were so many instances that I'm sure were metaphors for something, I just never figured out what that something was.

This novel had beautiful moments, but ultimately it was too slow-moving and meditative for my taste.

This was a good book, not bad or great. I liked the discussion in it and what it made me feel, and I liked the ending. It was just a solid book, but not something that I'll remember ten years in the future as a favorite.

Oshiro blends allegory, fantasy, magic, and the apocalypse together for a truly resonant novel. Xochitl's journey is poetic, representative, and contemplative, and a great existential book for teens and young adults. Amazing queer and Latinx representation here!

Each of Us a Desert is the sophomore novel from Mark Oshiro. If this is any indication, Oshiro is a fine writer that will be around for a long time to come!

Following sixteen year old Xochitl, a cuentista in the village of Empalme, Each of Us a Desert is a story about stories. Given these special powers at just eight years old, Xo listens to stories of the villagers, then leaves them to Solís, the sun god, scattering them back to the earth. These stories are confessions that they will no longer need to bear the weight of, purging secrets from their lives, their bodies during the prayer ritual. The cuentista takes on the sin, yet once they return the story to Solís, it is forgotten.

Except one day, Xo decides she doesn’t want to give up a particular story. Rather, she ventures out of her village on a quest to save her people, her only companions are her thoughts & the magical lines of poetry she finds hidden amongst the dunes.

For the first time in her young life, Xochitl is following her heart, her desires. But will the story consume her?

Each of Us a Desert is a post-apocalyptic fantasy coming-of-age story that is exquisitely queer, subverting the genre & the western gaze. The worldbuilding is vivid & atmospheric, taking place in a queernorm desert society with a diverse cast of characters, including nonbinary & Latinx rep, as well as a sapphic main relationship. I swear my little queer heart grew ten sizes while reading this!

This was such a huge switch from Mark Oshiro's first novel Anger is a Gift and it was pretty jarring for me. I absolutely loved Anger is a Gift and I think is jaded me from really fully getting into this novel. The writing is still very beautiful and I enjoyed his story telling, but the overall plot line just lost me. This book is very long and it took longer than I would have liked for the plot to pick up. I am definitely bummed this book didn't fully do it for me, but it will not dissuade me from picking up Mark Oshiro's future books.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
A fascinating and well crafted story which gives the reader the feeling of being told a story by Xo herself. The writing is excellent and unusual.
At the beginning, it took me a while to get into the cadence of the story but when I did, I thoroughly enjoyed. The use of Spanish throughout the book gives it greater depth and each word of the book demonstrated the authors clear love for their heritsge
A pleasure to read.

This is a truly stunning novel. I ached with the narrator and ached to absorb all the stories.
What a truly original story. Oshiro has pulled off an ambitious commentary on the power of stories and the power of our own personal narratives.

I loved Xo's journey in this book. The writing and pacing were great, and I loved the character development and plot!

3.5

While the writing in this book is beautiful, I had such a hard time getting into it because I wasn't sure what was going on for the longest time. And even after finishing it, there's still things I don't quite understand. Sometimes it works in books, and sometimes it doesn't, and this is one instance where it didn't really work for me. If it hadn't been for the writing itself, I probably would have DNF'd it instead of pushing through. I think this book would work well for people who love good writing styles and don't mind a little confusion in the story; otherwise I can see many people getting frustrated and not finishing it.

I’m behind on reading the ARCs I have, but I wanted to make sure I finished them all before the year is over. I truly enjoyed this book. I thought the choice to make the main character’s whole narrative a prayer was very creative. I loved Xichotl’s struggle with her faith as she made this journey. I also felt like the author didn’t pull any punches with the various plot points. Everything felt like it mattered and impacted the plot. Overall a great and creative read!

This book follows Xochital, a cuentista who is destined to bear the burden of her people's stories within her community. She longs to escape this destiny and wants to be free to pursue her own life's dreams. In an effort to escape, she makes the difficult journey across the desert to find answers. Along the way, she encounters Emilia, with whom she has a complicated history, but the two of them unite against the terrors they face alone in the desert. Their companionship grows as the two learn to understand one another and to find the strength to face the harsh realities that surround them.

Thank you to Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. Each of Us a Desert is a YA fantasy which follows Xochital on her search for home and finding herself. The book shines a light on the themes of identity and belonging as Xochital leaves her village to save herself and her people's future. It's a beautifully written story with wonderful prose, and characters who feel authentic. Wonderful read!

This is a beautifully written novel that follows a girl named Xochitl on a journey of self discovery. I loved the slow burn hate-to-love relationship arc between Xochitl and Emilia. Highly recommend!

Loved this one! I will be submitting this to my committee for review as well as putting it in classroom libraries and our school library.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The character development was subtle in a myriad of ways, and the plot moves along quickly enough to keep interest. I could have used a little more expansion around the ending of the book, but on the whole found the experience very enjoyable.