Miss Meteor

Lita Perez and Chicky Quintanilla are outcasts in the small town of Meteor, New Mexico. When Lita decides to enter the Miss Meteor beauty pageant, Chicky joins forces with her former best friend to help transform her into a contestant who could win the crown. The story features themes of friendship, identity, and small-town dynamics as the two girls work to challenge the status quo. Their quest intersects with family relationships, high school social hierarchies, and questions about belonging in their conservative community. Magic runs beneath the surface of this contemporary young adult novel, connecting to both cosmic forces and personal transformation. The narrative alternates between Lita and Chicky's perspectives as they navigate romance, family expectations, and their own changing relationship. The authors explore concepts of gender expression, cultural identity, and authenticity while celebrating those who exist outside society's narrow definitions of normal. Through magical realism and beauty pageant drama, the novel examines how courage and self-acceptance can reshape rigid social boundaries.

Readers describe Miss Meteor as a sweet, character-driven story about friendship and self-acceptance. Many found the paranormal elements took a backseat to the relationship dynamics between the main characters. Readers appreciated: - The authentic Mexican-American representation - LGBTQ+ themes handled with care - The focus on friendship over romance - Small-town setting details Common criticisms: - Pacing felt slow in the middle - Magic/supernatural elements weren't developed enough - Some found the pageant plot predictable Ratings: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (3,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (180+ ratings) Reader quotes: "The friendship between Lita and Chicky felt real and messy in the best way" - Goodreads reviewer "Expected more development of the magical elements" - Amazon reviewer "Finally a YA book where friendship is the main focus" - StoryGraph reviewer

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✨ The manuscript for Miss Meteor was written entirely during video chat sessions between co-authors Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore, who had never met in person. 🌟 The book draws inspiration from real small-town beauty pageants in New Mexico, where such events remain important cultural traditions that often blend Hispanic and American customs. 🌠 Both authors identify as queer Latinas and have been vocal advocates for increased LGBTQ+ and Latinx representation in young adult literature. 🌵 The magical realism elements in the story connect to the rich tradition of this literary style in Latin American literature, particularly in works dealing with identity and belonging. 💫 The book's setting was influenced by the real meteor crater near Winslow, Arizona, one of the best-preserved meteor impact sites on Earth.