To read a story about stories, their power, their strength, and the changes they motion within and outside us, is to read about the essence of words, of communication.

Each of Us a Desert is a wonderful post-apocalyptic book dealing with what makes us humans beyond our purposes and our places in society. It is a wonderful novel about finding love for yourself in aridest places. I also love a good character-driven fantasy that completely immerses us and lulls us in its magic, its lyricism, and its voices.

Our main character, Xochitl, is a cuentista, a person to whom others come to and tell her their stories in order to be absolved of their truths and their sins. Her duty is one that asks a lot from her since she has to give the stories to the desert, to the You the vengeful god, and forget about them in the process. It was really beautiful to see how her role, how these expectations weigh on her as the story goes on almost as much as the stories she received do. I am passioned about how Oshiro describes individuals and highlights their flaws, their corruptions, the rotten and dark parts in them, and how it is all striking in the way that Xochitl engages with those who are supposed to be her people.

The romance left me gasping. It is a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers and it owns my heart. Through the lines, you can see how much the romance means to the author, and through the novel’s structure you can see how it elevates the whole story. Xochitl and Emilia are pulled toward each other and it is a wonderful journey, as long as the one they take through the desert, to see them come to the understanding of each other, to the love of each other and to see feelings blossom and nourish a place of traumas, and of misunderstandings. I love them.

I deeply, deeply, love characters who fight for themselves, for the right to figure out what they want from life, for their own agency. Xochitl and Emilia are these kinds of characters who have been molded and defined by other people, by their own communities, by this world with its incertaintities and its truths who may be lies and lies who may be truth, and yet in themselves and each other, they manage to find a way. Something to hold on to. Something to walk forward.

The world created by Mark Oshiro is wonderful, it is filled with brown characters, queer characters, people who suffer and who love furiously. I will let you read the beautiful essay that the author wrote about the unfair expectations and burdens that are put on authors of color writing fantasy, here, because this book is not here to educate white people on a singular, monolithic Latinx culture. It is a fantasy world written by an author of color that is existing and thriving. The bilingualism in Each of Us A Desert is not intended to educate white people. It just is because this is the way Oshiro intended to build their creation, and it is where their imagination is thriving.

I loved how normalized queerness is in this world. How refreshing it was to read about these fleeting characters, their queerness assimilated in the span of two lines. And, I should not be amazed by it. It should be the norm. We are everywhere.

At this point in time, I'm going to have to DNF this read. Additionally, the author using words in a different language every three sentences gets VERY annoying.

tw: graphic violence, blood, alcoholism, body horror, abuse, death, animal attacks, vomit/emetophobia warning all around

Oh how I loved this!

We follow Xochitl, the young cuentista of a small desert village called Empalme. It is her responsibility alone to hear the dark personal stories of her community whenever they might need her, and to return these stories to the deity Solís in a ritual that leaves Xochitl dazed, exhausted, and without any memory of the stories she has heard.

Xo's world is harsh and unforgiving. the climate itself is brutal, water is scarce, there is a threatening foreign presence in Empalme, and the burden of being cuentista wears heavily on her shoulders. She yearns to be free, to be seen, and to be accepted. When she begins to discover mysterious poems buried in the sand, she finds a voice that seems to understand her more deeply than she'd hoped possible.

Through a life-altering chain of events, Xochitl finds herself leaving everything she's ever known to embark on a harrowing journey across the desert with only an unlikely travelling companion and a desire for a better life to guide her.

This novel really shines in the exploration of its own mythology and how multiple truths can be held at once without there needing to be a determined right or wrong. I also loved the natural and unchallenged queerness of its world, frank depictions of menstruation and bodily functions, and the way that Spanish was woven so seamlessly in with English, translated only sparsely and trusting the reader to understand.

The parallels to Rivers Solomon's The Deep (a recent favourite of mine) were impossible to ignore, but in no way took away from this novel's own strength. Both reflect on storytelling, connection, identity, and the weight of bearing a heavy burden alone, and both do so in their own beautifully compelling way. i also can't help but find it fitting that stories that centre storytelling would evoke thoughts of each other in reading. what better way to emphasise how universal and vital the practice is?

Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for providing this e-arc

If I’m being completely honest, this isn’t a book I would normally choose for myself. I’m glad I did though! Our protagonist is simply trying to find her place in the world with a desire to find love and share her heart. It’s a completely relatable desire. While there are some potential triggers for those who are sensitive to discussions related to abuse, death, and violence; Mark Oshiro has a beautiful writing style that I think many people can enjoy. I love that the writing style is so unique. This book also has a lot of culture and discussions on the LGBTQ+ community, which I feel is not written about enough.
I highly encourage people to pick this up and give a read even if you think it’s not for you. Trust me, I didn’t either, but I ended up really enjoying it and while the writing style does take some time to get used to, it truly is beautiful.

yes i stayed up all night to read this. this book was incredible, i love the diversity of characters, of queer found families, platonic love, romantic love. oshiro has such an incredible writing style and it's obvious how much they care for the stories they create. i loved every second of this book so much.

* I received this as a free ebook from Netgalley*

This was absolutely beautiful! The writing style is much more poetic than what I normally prefer to read but I really enjoyed it. The role of cuentista reminded me so much of the concept of sin eaters but a very cool scifi/dystopian twist. My only issue was that the initial plot line with Julio seemed to be overstated in how important he would be later in the story, but the part at the very end about his sabueso broke my heart! I did cheat a little bit and read Oshiro's commentary on the allegory of his story but I'm glad I did, it really too the meaning of all this to another level.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. Everyone should read it. The characters, the narration, the plot, the world building. It’s an exquisite read. I definitely recommend this book!

This book is so incredibly beautiful. It has poetic prose that is unapologetically bilingual. It has fascinating world building. It has complicated characters. I love this book so much! This is a great book about dealing with the world's expectations of you and finding yourself.

TW: Descriptions of graphic violence, injury, death, and decomposition; descriptions of throwing up; allusions to animal deaths; instances of emotional abuse and domestic abuse.
EACH OF US A DESERT is about Xochital, a 16 year old cuentista, or storyteller, but in her world, she doesn’t tell stories, she takes stories from the people in her village who need relief, and then she returns them to Solis, the god of this world. When her perception of her world is turned upside down, she realizes she must travel outside of her small village with an unlikely companion to get her answers.
Would it really be one of my fantasy book reviews if I didn’t gush about the world building? No, so here I go again. I really enjoyed learning about this world that is mostly desert and living in constant fear of the sun, Solis, who punished humanity before. It was great to learn about the world through Xo’s eyes, someone who had never left her village and had only heard stories about what was beyond her village.
A major part of the worldbuilding was Solis, the sun and essentially this world’s god who punished humanity long ago for mistreating the Earth. This book explores how Solis is viewed on Xochital’s journey. I’ve never seen a YA fantasy make religion less than a single, accepted rigid truth, but that’s what this book did.
I feel like the summary makes it seem like the f/f romance is more central to the story than it actually is. There is a f/f romance and the main character is sapphic, but the romance is very much in the backburner. This is very much a coming of age book, as it centers Xo’s journey to discover the truth about herself and her role in life as a cuentista.
The writing was very lyrical in places, especially in the poems. I think this would make an amazing audiobook.
I rated this 3.5 stars. It was good and I really appreciated what it did with the ideas of "truth” and challenging ideas given to you since birth.

Each of Us a Desert is certainly a beautiful book. Oshiro's prose borders on poetry and free verse at times, and their language is measured and lyrical throughout. But this also gives moments in the story that should be tense too much distance, as though someone is describing them from far away - an odd feeling and at odds with the fact that the story is told in first person, present tense. Xochitl, our protagonist, is a bit too much of a cypher, partially by design - her role is to take on the stories of others and return them to the earth, cleansing the storyteller - but eventually it becomes hard to pin her down and connect with her. The story is a familiar one, protagonist goes on a journey to discover herself, but the worldbuilding and liberal sprinkling of Hispanic language and folklore make it unique. There's a lot to love about this book, but it doesn't come easy, and the reader needs to be willing to do some work to get it. It's worth it in the end.

This is hands down one of most beautiful books I've read this year. It was thought-provoking, honest, heart-wrenching, and I am so in love with the prose and the writing style of the author. (Also, I'm not gonna lie, I definitely could not hold back the tears anymore as I read the final pages of the book.)

Highly recommended! Full review will be posted soon on my blog!

Each of Us a Desert comes out on September 15th and I need everyone who loves YA fantasy to put this book on their radar because it is SO GOOD.

Each of Us a Desert is the story of Xochitl, la cuentista of Empalme. As la cuentista, it is her duty to bear witness to the stories of the townspeople - like a priest taking confessions - and absorb their pain, grief, and guilt (literally) in order to absolve them of their sins.

Xo isn’t sure if her duty is a gift or a curse, and she dreams of life beyond the confines of her village… so when evil comes to Empalme, Xochitl strikes out on a journey to discover the truth about la cuentistas and her own destiny.

My favorite part of Each of Us a Desert was the magic - the mythology of Solís and las cuentistas, the magical creatures, and even the desert itself - its all just so fully-realized and elegantly (though sometimes also terrifyingly) crafted!

While this story is set a dystopian-esque fantasy world of Oshiro’s invention, it is not otherworldly. In creating Xo’s world, Oshiro pulls from Mexican geography and culture, and uses Spanish throughout the book, which results in a profoundly atmospheric and immersive reading experience.

As a whole, Oshiro’s writing is incredibly beautiful and the driving force of Each of Us a Desert. I was so captivated by the lyrical nature of their storytelling and the profound emotional depths of this tale - I am truly in awe of Oshiro’s imagination and talent.

Each of Us a Desert is truly one of a kind and I have a feeling that it will be one of my favorite YA books of 2020. I can’t wait to chat about it with everyone when it comes out!

I highly recommend this book to lovers of YA fantasy and LGBTQIA+ and Latinx own voices stories, as well as fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Gods of Jade and Shadow and Isabel Ibañez’s Woven in Moonlight.

"Each of us a desert. Weren’t we all? Weren’t we all so vast and solitary inside?"
- Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro
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The beginning of the book was confusing for me, I wasn't sure what was going on and what to watch out for. But soon enough, everything was explained. The story follows Xochitl, who's a cuentista. She has a special ability which allows her to retain people's stories for a brief period to then deliver them to the god Solís. It's a form of confession or bringing solace. It's a privilege to be a cuentista, but also a duty and a very draining process. Soon, Xochitl begins to see it as a curse, as she had no say in whether she wants to do it or not. And all she longs for is a friend. The real adventure starts when she discovers the secret of the man who's been terrorizing the community.
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It's a beautiful book, and at times, very gruesome. The violence depicted in the book weaves seamlessly into the story so that it doesn't stand out. It may be thanks to the language, which is both poetic and accessible. The style of narration is unique in that Xochitl speaks directly to the god Solís.
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The ending was a bit too long for me. It was very introspective, uneventful and comprised too much walking.
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The book also involves a very slow-burn enemies-to-girlfriends romance. Both parties involved are super cute and I'm not entirely sure where the initial animosity came from.
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As a person who doesn't speak Spanish, I was glad that even though it was used a lot across the book, it was always put in context and therefore, easy to understand.
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Yet again, I realize we need more diversity in the way fantasy books are set. It can't all be castles and dragons and muscly manly men.

4.75* This is a book unlike any I've read before. It's also quite difficult to properly describe and review this book. I don't think I have words to do it justice. Mark Oshiro's writing conveys an atmospheric, beautiful, lyrical, magical post-apocalyptic desert world that had been burned by Solis (the sun god) in an event called "La Quema". Xochitl is a 16 year old cuentista of her village., who was given her powers when she was 8 years old. A cuentista is a storyteller, but instead of telling tales, they take people's stories of wrongdoings or sins, to basically absolve them. Xochitl takes the tale into herself, then goes out into the desert, and gives the stories back to the earth to go back to Solis.
Certainly, I did not find this a very easy book to get through. There were times when I felt like I'm also stuck in the desert, with the heat oppressive and heavy. That's definitely a compliment to the author's skill. This is also a book that explores faith and fate. The power of words is shown, as the stories la cuentista take in are alive and can cause pain. There's also the power of the poemas that draws Xochitl. They're spread out in the desert written by an unknown poet. They gave shape and form to what she's feeling and thinking.
Written as a long prayer from Xochitl to the silent Solis, we see the world open up to Xo as she ventures out of her village on a personal quest to escape the bound confines of her role as cuentista. From Xo's small village to a sprawling city to burned-out ruins, where arid deserts and steep mountains cross, this harsh but beautiful world is deftly painted by Oshiro's very talented pen.

**Huge thank you to Tor Teen for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into romance stories and literary fiction however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for  opening up my mind to something totally different.

This is not a bad book, and I wanted so badly to love it, but I just don't. The writing style feels very blunt, and though I'm ashamed to admit it I really struggled with how much Spanish was integrated into the text - when I've seen this done before, context always made the meaning clear, but Each of Us a Desert left me stranded. And though I really liked the main character, I didn't understand what she was doing or why, and I actively disliked almost all the secondary characters.

It's not a bad book. I can see that. I and Desert just didn't get along.

Each of Us a Desert is a story about sacrifice, responsibility, and stories themselves. Xochital is a cuentista, responsible for hearing people's stories and confessions and giving them back to Solis. Each of Us a Desert explores questions of our responsibility to our community as well as the confines of our own destiny. It's a story told not only in stories, but the confessions of characters and asking us if their confessions purge themselves of guilt? If their performances of regret or the act of speaking their stories into existence change their behaviors and future.

Throughout Each of Us a Desert it feels like Xochital is speaking directly to us, not only because she's speaking to Solis, but also because of the way the stories she hears are passed onto her. Each of Us a Desert is intensely character driven, even though there is plenty of action, because it's focused on Xochital's quest to figure out her responsibility to her community and to Solis. Is she in charge of her own destiny? In the book, she figures out the truth behind not only the stories she takes on from others, but also the stories about her own powers.

Not only is queerness normalized in the world, but the main character is also queer (and there's a sapphic relationship)! Each of Us a Desert is thought provoking, while delivering a story of discovery. It examines the ideas of religion, truth, and sacrifice. The writing style is stunning as Oshiro leads us through deserts, up mountains, and into the depths of the earth. Asking us if we are just all solitary deserts spread out among miles. It's also a book that emphasizes the importance of stories being told, our responsibility as a community to never forget, and the burden of carrying these weights alone. The stories that change us. Without which we become someone who doesn't understand the weight of regret.

Written as a single poem uttered by the storyteller Xochital, Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro was a book I wanted to take my time with. Xochital is the storyteller for her village. She takes the confessions of her neighbors and returns them to Solis and forgets them. It is a life, though not one that she chose for herself. She found poems in the desert, and these poems keep her going. Then she takes a story that changes the way she sees everything—her village and other villagers. Xo begins a journey to have someone take her power away so she will no longer have to accept stories. Along the way, she is joined by Emilia, the daughter of the town’s horrible mayor.
There isn’t much I don’t love about this book. The setting is breathtaking, the writing poetic. With the exception of Julio, characters were well-developed. My favorite aspect of the story was the Spanish words and phrases used throughout. I was glad I read it digitally because it made it easy to look up words I didn’t know.
Thank you to Tor Teens and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Each of Us a Desert is Oshiro’s second book, set to be published September 15. The cover drew me in and the summary intrigued me. I got a chance to read it early thanks to Netgalley!

Xochitl is a lonely, troubled character. For a good portion of the book, she feels alone, understood only by a mysterious poet. Her love interest, Emilia, is similarly alone, though she comes across more icy at first. This story is about stories and what weight they can carry. For half of her life, Xochitl has been taking on the stories of others, burdening herself with their weight.

In this journey, Xochitl goes to seek the truth: about storytellers like herself, about Solís, their god, about this world. This story is about stories and what weight they can carry. For half of her life, Xochitl has been taking on the stories of others, burdening herself with their weight. This book was a wonderful slowburn, as we learn more about the world along with Xochitl, we experience guilt, betrayal, and love through her eyes. The romance was also a beautiful slowburn, one that progressed slowly and naturally.

Oshiro’s writing style is lyrical, their prose lush. I was instantly hooked when I read the first few pages. I needed to inhale this book and sing its praises. Xochitl was deeply relatable and a captivating character. I wanted to cheer her on the whole way. Now, more than ever, is a lonely time of my life. The magic of stories was caught within these pages and has comforted me greatly.

I consumed this book as if it were part of a fever dream, or a landscape seen only through a heat haze. It took me two days.

The world building is a work of art. It is set in a desert landscape where people worship the sun, Solis, as a god. Each small village, scattered throughout the landscape, is struggling to survive years after horrible fires ripped through the land. Those fires were seen as the wrath of Solis, and to appease the sun god, the people of each village would tell the truth of their guilt to la cuentista, the storyteller who would hear the story and then give it back to the desert and Solis. Guilt that is not expunged in this way festers and causes phantasmic nightmares to come to life to terrorize the people. Xochital, our protagonist, is one of those cuentistas, and the weight of her conflicting responsibilities to her home, her people, her family, and herself weigh heavily upon her.

This book features some truly delightful and poetic prose, though it did inspire me to download a Spanish-English dictionary on my phone (Apparently, languages you never use are easily forgotten. I feel guilty. I should speak to my grandma more. I’m losing a heritage I should cling to.)

On a very tangentially related note, I strongly suspect that people who enjoy this book would also enjoy the Rusty Quill podcast, The Magnus Archives. On the surface it may seem strange to recommend a horror anthology when this book is more of a magical realism/cultural coming of age story, but anyone who is familiar with both may see where I am coming from. The cuentistas ability to take and consume stories feels akin to the archivist’s collection of statement in the Magnus Archives. Both feature vividly imagined and well-crafted worlds.

I am extremely grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a review copy of this book.