Character Knowledge
This character is a talented artist who makes and hangs models of the moon and who works on a farm.
Sam
How did Miel and Sam originally meet?
Miel and Sam originally meet when the people in Sam's town bring the old water tower down in a field, and Miel falls out of the water that was in it. Sam is the only child to approach Miel, as all the others are afraid of her.
What metaphor is used throughout the novel to represent Miel’s emotional and personal growth?
Miel's roses
Who's the author?
Anna-Marie McLemore
“The moon was always trying to steal my secrets, and I was always trying to make them mine”?
Sam
What does the word "miel" mean in Spanish?
Honey
This character is the youngest and shortest of four sisters.
Peyton Bonner
This characters grows roses from the wrist and wears clothes that always have a damp hem.
Miel
What is Sam's deep secret that only a very few people in his life know?
Sam's deep secret that only a very few people in his life know is that he was born with a girl's reproductive system but that he now identifies as a boy.
What do Sam's moons symbolize?
Sam's moons represent love, affection, and protection.
Which literary genre best describes When the Moon Was Ours?
Magical Realism
You're not going to kill your roses anymore.... When you grow one , you're going to bring it to us."
Ivy Bonner
Why are the Bonner sisters so determined to take Miel's roses?
The Bonner sisters want Miel's roses because they believe the flowers have magical powers that can help them control others and restore their influence. They see the roses as a way to make people fall in love with them and protect their status.
This character is one of four siblings who becomes the ringleader in stealing something precious from a neighbor.
Ivy Bonner
This character is known as a healer who has a deep connection to nature and magic. They are also the caregiver for another character.
Aracely
What are the Bonner sisters known for?
The Bonner sisters are known for their beauty and mysterious nature, and there are whispers about town that they might be witches.
These objects represent fear and entrapment to a main character.
Pumpkins
What is the point of view in which the story is narrated?
Third-person limited point of view
"No you can't have this part of me... I am not your garden..."
Miel
The term "magical realism" can be considered an ______________ because it combines two seemingly contradictory ideas.
Oxymoron
What does Miel witness that is embarrassing to Ivy?
Ivy being rejected by a boy.
This character is a single parent to a teenager
Yasmin
How do the townspeople treat Aracely?
The townspeople go to Aracely for her lovesickness cures, but behind her back, they gossip about her and make fun of her in a mean-spirited way.
What type of imagery does the author use?
"Miel startled, searching the sky and listening for the wind. When the wind came, she listened for her mother's voice, hope she wouldn't hear her cry."
Auditory (sound) Imagery
Which character's struggle to fit into societal gender norms is portrayed through their family’s rejection and the threat of being seen as "other"?
Sam
Sam
What tense is the book written?
This book is written in the past tense
Which character appeared one summer, seemingly out of nowhere, covered with a hundred thousand butterflies?
Aracely
This character is a teenager who is forced to leave town and give up a baby.
Chloe Bonner
Why does Miel drown her flowers?
Miel’s act of drowning her flowers is not just an attempt to suppress her emotions, but also a way to protect herself from the overwhelming power that her mother feared.
What symbol most closely represents Aracely?
Butterfly
What is the old tradition that Sam tells himself and his mother he is following until he gets older?
Bacha Posh
"I heard a story from a woman... This old lady who talked about a woman who tried to kill her children and killed herself."
Chloe Bonner
To which legend is Miel's mother connected and what is the legend about?
Miel's mother is associated with the legend of La Llorona. La Llorona is a figure from Latin American folklore known as "The Weeping Woman," who mourns her children, whom she drowned in the river. Her spirit is believed to wander rivers, crying for her lost children.
Who was Miel's brother?
Leandro