Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun

4.9/5

I can’t even put into words how good this was. It was so well written, and the relationships between characters were explained so well, and the plot was good, and the characters were likeable, and neither the main character or the love interest were white (finally!), and- it’s just everything I want in a book. It was so good.

The representation is amazing; a Latinx main character, a Vietnamese love interest, multiple language are spoken within the book, a lot of the side characters are also poc, both positive and negative family relationships are shown, and so much more. It was so inclusive and made me so happy to read.

I also loved the fact that online relationships were portrayed so well. Like, yes, it’s probably difficult to date someone you’ve never physically met, and those problems are addressed, but they also end up together and happy in the end. A lot of older adults make fun of online relationships because they think they “aren’t real”, so this was a really good way of explaining how they are real.

Overall this was an amazing read, and I highly recommend it.

TW’s in the book: homophobia, homophobic language/slurs, unsupportive parent, forced coming out, abusive language, physical/mental abuse

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

Okay, I loved this. There were some absolutely great characters in here, and if you're looking for YA m/m romance, I would absolutely recommend this. Jules' journey tugs on your heart, but it's about him learning to accept himself and that he has more courage than he knows. His little found family always has his back, and all of the characters were fully fleshed out, making you want to be a part of their little group.

The romance in this was also sweet, starting online and moving on from there. I loved how supportive they both were of each other, and you were rooting for them to work it out throughout the whole book. This might be one I have to own and file it away as one to read when I just want a good romance. Can't wait to see what else Villa writes!

Content Warnings

paperbrownies's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.75

- lgbtqiap+, ya contemporary, romance, boys in love, friendship, family
- m|m
- latinx-american gay mc, vietnamese-american gay li, and other queer side characters (gay, lesbian, bisexual and pansexual characters)

" a life fifteen hundred miles away from what’s felt like continual gray and where i can finally be in the sun "

this book was so good??!!!!
idk how to write this review so i'll just make a list of everything that i enjoyed in the book (even though there's not much that i did not enjoy in the book (': )
i. the writing: it's not poetic, it's not fancy it's conversational in such a beautiful way that each sentence presents to us exactly what the character is feeling and i think the compactness yet the fluidity of it is what caught my eye the most!! also the blend of spanish and english was so seamlessly placed into the story, it never posed a problem for non-spanish speakers (like me)!!

ii. exploration of love and joy: there was so much love and joy, there is the platonic love shared by jules' friends (the friendship is. SO. well. written), the love shared between siblings (xo and jules had me sobbing), the joy shared over making a simple meal, the joy that comes when people come together, the joy that comes with owning your life, and being able to live your truth, it was beautiful!!

iii. the simplicity of the story!! we see jules and his friends hitting the beach after school or indulge in activities that were fun yet did not cost much and i think i related to that a lot bc when i was in school me and my friends would always look out for those little adventures, moments that i still treasure and i think that was something the author once again beautifully captured!!

iv. i was a bit skeptical about the twitter crush and how everything would play out since the relationship had to be mostly long distanced but god was i wrong. mat and jules share something that is so precious and tender, i loved reading about them!!!

v. the stan culture mentioned in the pages of the book was absolutely spot on!!

the book deals with some heavy topics and important discussions surrounding what it means to be both queer and latinx, to belong to a community that is so prejudiced against homophobia, the author does an excellent job at deftly handling all of it without leaving space for even a minor slip up!!
a coming-of-age novel written with so much emotion, love and healing, i 100% recommend this book to you!!
lastly the author's note was something that made me very emotional; it ends saying, "so, as the writer of the words that form this journey, i ask you to do me a favor and check in with yourself before starting. and i want you to know that it’s okay if you’re not ready for this book yet. it’s okay if you never are. no hard feelings. te lo prometo y te quiero." *sobs* i cant wait to read more of their work!!

Content Warnings

caidyn's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

3.0

Queer brown boys! It was cute and angry. Didn't love it, but I did enjoy the read.

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