Reviews with content warning for Racism - Canto Contigo

An absolutely beautiful book, so beyond what I expected. The subject of grief was woven throughout and felt so real. It hurt hard and I think honestly helped me through my own grief. Timing was slightly confusing sometimes but that could be how quickly I was listening to the audiobook. The narrator did a perfect job. I truly loved this book and highly highly recommend it.

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elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was supposed to be a light, fluffy read based on its incredibly cute premise, but now I’m crying. Like, Jonny Garza Villa outdoes himself with Canto Contigo. It is sweet and beautifully written and so emotional and, quite frankly, I cannot do it justice even if I had all the adjectives from all the languages in the world at my disposal. Gorgeous.

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lettuce_read's review

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Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Thanks to Wednesday Books for the free copy of this book.

- Jonny Garza Villa has another winner with CANTO CONTIGO. I adore their characters, these boys with soft hearts working through big events and bigger feelings.
- Rafie seems so prickly and hardheaded and first, but as we dig deeper into his experiences and feelings with him, we grow to love him just as much as Rey does.
- I loved the queering of mariachi in this book, too. I didn’t know much about the genre, but the book had me looking up songs and cheering for this super queer group of kids to live their dreams out loud.

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adrianas65's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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litoreads's review against another edition

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Canto Contigo is a YA, queer, coming-of-age, enemies-to-lovers romance centered around two queer Mexican-American boys with a shared passion for mariachi. Regrettably, I had to discontinue reading this book after reaching 57%, an unusual decision for me as I rarely DNF books. It marks the second book I've ever set aside.

Amidst my reservations about certain elements, there was one aspect of the book that genuinely resonated with me: the exploration of the spiritual context and the significance we attribute to our departed loved ones. Family holds a paramount role in Latin culture, and even after their passing, we carry forward the love and reverence for their legacy, beautifully manifested in the magical tradition of Dia de Los Muertos, adorned with calavera imagery. The inclusion of the calavera mariachi, serving as Rafie's confidant and potentially embodying his grandfather's energy or spirit, struck me as a poignant and inventive concept within the narrative.

1.5 Stars.

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girlreading's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Jonny Garza Villa has done it again. This was marvellous.

A beautiful coming-of-age story that's part lovers-to-rivals-to-lovers romance and part love letter to Mariachi and the may ways in which the people we love shape us.
It's a story of the need to make your family proud and to live up to the expectations you place upon yourself. It's a story of queerness, first love, community and family. It's a story of both grief and joy in their rawest forms. It's a story about two boys falling in love to the soundtrack of Mariachi and it's simply gorgeous. With a cast of wonderful characters and a story that's heart-wrenching, adorable, funny and filled with music, passion, Jonny Garza Villa has once again highlighted why they are one of my top auto-buy and auto-recommend authors.

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careinthelibrary's review

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emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I support the St. Martin's Press boycott. It is in response to a few major issues the publisher has yet to act on, like the ongoing apparent favoritism of white reviewers for ARCs over BIPOC reviewers and, more recently, their inaction towards a marketing employee's support of the escalation in violence against Palestine including posting Islamophobic comments online.

https://r4a.carrd.co/?fbclid=PAAabVQ1bAHLVenzYwgXY3m0hJ9UwJCCJqd0ZTfj3k1gKE9TPDYPR-UBzIpqM_aem_ASuQIh1_kP39TR3Xp6RHF58ZtO7CnBKjCiwC-n4NwX6mSK_YhKKmlzmb8zqBOBLkRfg#boycottoutline

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