{"id":3287,"date":"2025-06-18T15:59:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T15:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3287"},"modified":"2025-06-18T15:59:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T15:59:56","slug":"review-mercury-to-the-moon-by-j-q-gagliastro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3287","title":{"rendered":"Review: Mercury to the Moon by J.Q. Gagliastro"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Synopsis:<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is no secret that planet Earth is home to the notoriously greedy species known as humans. What remains a secret to these humans is the community of aliens who live hidden under invisible force fields across neighboring planets and moons. They eat eat fried butterflies for lunch, travel through interplanetary vortexes, and coexist with giant bees, solar dragons, and hairy one-hundred-legged spiders\u2014peacefully for the most part.<\/p>\n

Eighteen-year-old Truman Howard is not like his classmates. While they roll around in their parents\u2019 riches and travel the globe, Truman takes care of himself, t working part time as a ski instructor and thrifting his clothes. He has no family, no friends, and a roommate who gives donkeys a bad rep.<\/p>\n

But everything changes the day Truman meets a mysterious woman who invites him to an unforgettable place that will make him and anyone who reads his story feel like they belong. For it is there, among the stars, where Truman embarks on a remarkable voyage and finds new friends, fantastic creatures, and a dangerous destiny that\u2019s been brewing for him for many, many moons!<\/p>\n

Favorite Lines:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sun, stubborn and strong-willed, broke through thinning clouds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHands make me, ears love me, but eyes never catch me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut hey, think on the bright side. Some people can be completely heartless!\u201d<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.<\/p>\n

Mercury to the Moon<\/em> is the magical first installment in J.Q. Gagliastro\u2019s Truman\u2019s Space Odyssey<\/em> series. The story follows Truman Howard, an eccentric, kind-hearted teen raised in a prestigious boarding school in the Canadian Rockies. His life is abruptly turned upside down when a supernatural event triggers the discovery that he is not just a regular boy\u2014he is an alien with the ability to manipulate water and emotions. Swept away from Earth and into the fantastical solar system of Aether, Truman joins other \u201cwill-gifted\u201d teens on a dragon-backed space journey led by an eclectic team of interplanetary mentors. Blending contemporary boarding school drama with richly imaginative sci-fi fantasy, this novel is as whimsical as it is poignant.<\/p>\n

Mercury to the Moon<\/em> is an exhilarating cosmic coming-of-age story that thrives on rich world-building and emotional honesty. Truman is instantly likable\u2014an outsider who\u2019s endured both classism and cruelty, yet continues to treat others with patience and grace. Gagliastro brings a fresh voice to YA fantasy by pairing magical realism with real-world issues such as bullying, grief, identity, and socioeconomic disparity. The characters feel fully formed, from the acid-tongued but loyal Esmeralda to the charmingly flirtatious Vedr\u00f2, each carrying their own trauma, secrets, and strength.<\/p>\n

The novel\u2019s greatest achievement lies in its balance: poetic prose pairs seamlessly with interstellar action; laugh-out-loud moments are layered with deeply vulnerable revelations. Gagliastro\u2019s descriptions sing with color and style\u2014lavender sidewalks on Mercury, dragons with hieroglyphic scales, a boarding school dorm with aquarium beds\u2014and the story never shies away from celebrating queer, neurodiverse, and international identities. Truman\u2019s self-discovery is not just about powers\u2014it\u2019s about belonging, family, and courage.<\/p>\n

Gagliastro also smartly structures the plot around a literal and metaphorical journey: Truman and his new cohort will travel planet to planet, learning both academic lessons and emotional truths. Readers will be delighted by the imaginative elements\u2014like Cherry the Blossom Dragon, bleeding-heart alert systems, and invisible domes\u2014but the heart of the story remains in the relationships formed between characters, particularly the reunion between Truman and his long-lost sister. The emotional payoff is tender, surprising, and earned.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for a genre-bending YA adventure that fuses high-concept space fantasy with grounded emotional arcs, Mercury to the Moon<\/em> is a brilliant debut. It\u2019s perfect for fans of Percy Jackson<\/em>, The School for Good and Evil<\/em>, or Heartstopper<\/em>\u2014and for anyone who has ever felt different and dreamed of a world where they finally belong.<\/p>\n

Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Overall, Mercury to the Moon<\/em> is a lyrical, expansive, and deeply human fantasy adventure about identity, family, and the magic of finding your place in the universe. Gagliastro has created a richly layered world full of wonder, wit, and warmth\u2014and this first installment leaves readers eager for Book Two. Happy reading!<\/p>\n

Check out Mercury to the Moon<\/em> here!<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Synopsis: It is no secret that planet Earth is home to the notoriously greedy species known as humans. What remains a secret to these humans is the community of aliens who live hidden under invisible force fields across neighboring planets and moons. They eat eat fried butterflies for lunch, travel through interplanetary vortexes, and coexist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3287"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}