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

i have literally fallen in love with this book

like im not even kidding, im in love with it

although i think the whole idea of dating online and then long distance is not very smart, but then again i’m aroace as hell so i just don’t understand romantic love ig

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lauravreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

This book is a YA contemporary romance that follows Julian, a high school senior with the hopes of leaving his hometown in Texas to attend school at UCLA. While partying with his close friends he drunkenly tweets and finds himself out of the closest. Julian has to navigate his last year of high school while living with his homophobic and abusive father. Julian finds companionship and support from a Twitter follower in LA, 17-year-old Mat. Which soon turns into a budding romance.

This book is fast-paced, hilarious, inspiring, and heartwarming. While Julian’s relationship with Mat is a major focal point in the novel, so is his relationship with his friends and his family. I love it when romance includes a well-rounded support system rather than the protagonist relying solely on the love interest. Julian is an easy protagonist to love, I was rooting for him the entire novel.

This novel hit a lot of heavy topics, in particular, abusive parents. Graza Villa did a great job in his portrayal of the relationship a child/young adult has with an emotionally and physically abusive parent. I love that Julian was able to stand up for himself and that his facility members who were bystanders to the abuse took accountability and made an effort to change and provide a safe space for Julian.

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selysrivera's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

I know the dedication to this book is to queer brown boys, but this book meant a lot to this queer Latinx girl. I didn’t have books with diverse characters Jk terms of ethnicity and sexuality growing up.

This book has trigger warnings. Don’t get me wrong. But these are all serious realities that still exist in the ultra conservative Latinx world.

I was impressed with how the book covers nuances related to religion and language. It’s also sex positive, and portrays a healthy romantic relationship along issues of friendship and growing up.

I’m in love with Jules and Mat. I want to hang out with their friends. And I cannot tell you the amount of times my stomach growled at the different descriptions of food, whether it was Mexican or Vietnamese or American.

My heart swelled with affection and my eyes watered as I read the sweetest of scenes, the saddest of scenes. I gasped in shock when certain characters acted the way they did. And the only reason I ended the book unsatisfied wasn’t because the ending happened too quickly for me. I wasn’t ready to leave.

If you can handle the triggers, read this book. You won’t regret it.

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