Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Luis Ortega Survival Club

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

I listened to the audiobook on Kobo & absolutely loved that experience. I will say that my reading experience was absolutely biased because I am a survivor. I was raped when I was 16 years old, and I did everything "wrong" in society's eyes. I did everything that people assume when women are raped:

I was drunk out of my mind
I was taking my shirt off, and acting belligerent
I was asking people to kiss me
I was heartbroken and didn't know how to cope with rejection, so I was seeking attention/validation elsewhere
I lied to my parents about what me and my friends were doing that night - we had a party at my friend's house, we did not have a quiet sleepover
It was late at night

And after this, no one believed me. I lost friends. My senior year was the worst year of high school due to the isolation and way I was dismissed by everyone else. I even gaslighted myself into thinking that I did deserve it because of all of the poor decisions my 16-year-old self made that night. The first time anyone ever said they believed me was when I was well into my 20s, probably about a decade later. To see Ariana be believed by her new found family so quickly and so kindly was staggering in contrast to my experience, and it made me so relieved for Ari.

So I will say that my read and my review of this book is fully biased, because I feel seen, heard, and validated every time I read a book like this, about survivors. There is a profound power in being believed, and an incredibly healing aspect of reading about teens experiencing a similar trauma that you did. For others, maybe this book may not work or may not be their favorite. For me, this hit incredibly close to home, and I was continually nodding my head, saying "That's exactly how that felt!" Not every book is for us or about us, I know that.

However, I haven't read many books about teenage survivors of rape, and this book was what I needed at this particular point in my healing journey, so thank you to Sonora Reyes (who I now consider family because we share the surname Reyes hehehe) for writing such an authentic story about rape culture, finding the words to name what happened to you, and for the hope of moving forward and healing.

Ari's selective mutism and autistic experience is another factor of her journey, as Reyes shows how insidiously predators take advantage of those they see are already isolated, not protected, or seeking validation from others. Luis was such a familiar character, because I think we have all met toxic men like him. The way he speaks and behaves -both in front of others and 1:1 with his victims- illustrate how perfectly he has mastered this art of manipulation, guilt, and emotional abuse. Rape culture allows him to succeed in his violence, and I really appreciated how Reyes showed this is not always about the act of rape. Rape culture and toxic masculinity seep into so many parts of daily life, especially for hormone-wild teens who are navigating new feelings without a guidebook! It seeps into other areas because it is enforced by others, while others remain silent and complicit.

I loved that Ari found community in her new friends, and that they were so focused on revenge, and making Luis pay for his crimes. The power of words and sharing your story was a central theme, and Ari's fear of people thinking she was lying was so important to show, because so many victims second-guess themselves already! They are questioning if people will be mad at *them*, when they did nothing wrong. We are so deeply programmed to appease men, and to perform sexuality for men, that our minds automatically revert to, "ugh, I feel bad that I said no to him," or "I feel bad that I wanted this, and then I changed my mind". I need more stories for teens like this, to show them that you're allowed to change your mind, and that consent is REAL and is a REQUIREMENT!

Overall, I'd say that this book was so moving, healing, and a breath of fresh air. Sonora Reyes wrote Ari's voice so authentically - I do not have selective mutism but I am also autistic so I appreciated her voice, and her inner thoughts. This book also made me giggle because of the unrequited love between two side characters/best friends, and because Ari was finally finding her footing in social settings. The side plot of Ari's parents' marital woes were so realistic too! I just think that Sonora Reyes did a phenomenal job with this, and I will continue to read anything they publish!

cw: the main character is raped, but it's not on-page. it's referred to multiple times afterwards; sexism, misogyny, ableism (the main character's selective mutism is used against them and made fun of), toxic relationships/friendships, sexual violence is discussed throughout the book, bullying, infidelity, panic attacks

Content Warnings

maddiemooney's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

leah_dawn's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Content Warnings

gabbyjc's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I absolutely LOVED this book. I love the all the representation in this book. From being a self-diagnosed autistic to

non-binary

representation. When I read this, I could truly see myself in all of the characters and their flaws and their thought processes (not Luis and his gang thought, of course). The way that panic attacks and autistic shut downs are portrayed in this book are so accurate, and the feelings that you go through after being sexually assaulted. All in all, this book just made my little queer autistic heart SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy.

Content Warnings

opalmars's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a very important book. Seeing Ariana slowly coming to the realization that Luis had raped her was truly heart wrenching. There was a lot of slut shaming and victim blaming in this book, and while it was sometimes too heavy-handed (I wish there’d been a bit more nuance), I honestly didn’t mind it that much. It was still a good way to portray these issues, and I do think it might help readers (especially young ones) understand rape culture a little more. Also, on a more personal note: reading a story where a bunch of victims fight back against their abuser, expose his ass and finally get some justice was VERY cathartic!!!!

I really liked Ariana as a main character! She’s so loveable and relatable, + it’s amazing reading about a character who has autism and selective mutism. The side characters were also very nice. I especially liked Angel and Jasmine! I kinda wanted to see more of their relationship haha. <3

I didn’t care much about the romance in this book. The moment Ariana realized she’d been making wrong assumptions about Shawni she immediately started crushing on her. I wish her feelings had grown more slowly. And their “I love you” at the end felt a little unearned. I still thought they were cute, it’s just that I could’ve completely done without the romance in this one.

I also don’t really know how I feel about Ariana’s parents and their divorce. I thought that plotline was interesting, but I kind of wish we’d gotten a bit more of it.
a bit more of it.

Content Warnings

thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

denisepeace's review against another edition

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5.0

Content Warnings

carsreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to check out an ARC of this book through Netgalley!

CW: This book deals with issues of bullying, slut shaming, rape culture, sexual harassment, and the aftermath of an off-page rape.

I absolutely was thrilled to receive an ARC of The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes. The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School was one of my top reads of 2022 and I knew this novel would not disappoint.

This book explores so many tough topics in a sensitive and thoughtful way. The characters and story are diverse and I would find it hard for someone to not see themselves in one of the characters.

I absolutely loved the authentic neurodivergient representation and queer representation! Books like this will really change lives and will make such an impact on those who read. I know if books had been around when I was younger I would have felt so seen by the characters on the page.

Thank you Sonora for writing another beautiful book that shows real people living their real hard lives.

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