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Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing
Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Police brutality, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, Deportation
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Colonisation
For readers who enjoy stories about siblings, this is a really good one.
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Classism, Deportation
Moderate: Cursing, Racial slurs, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Car accident, Abortion
As for the story, it’s a pretty standard rom-com. It was hard for me to keep track of some of the side characters (especially Bo’s friends and the girls at Slayton) but I love Yami and Cesar’s dynamic. Her and Bo are so freaking cute I CRY
Graphic: Biphobia, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Deportation
Minor: Hate crime
Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Deportation
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Blood, Toxic friendship, Deportation
Minor: Police brutality, Classism
i'll probably start with this: we often forget that the world is still not queer-friendly outside of social media, and sometimes not even here. yet we continue to love, be ourselves, live as a community, and live as this incredibly huge family despite not knowing every queer person out here. that, i believe, is one of my favorite parts of being queer.
the book is the journey of Yamilet (Yami) Flores when she joins a catholic school to keep an eye on her brother Cesar who always seemed to be getting into fights in their previous school and run away from Bianca, her ex-bestfriend who outed her and made her first coming-out experience living hell
Yami's only goal in the new school is to stay closeted and never make the same mistake of coming out again, until she meets Bo. Bo who stands up for herself, is charming, compassionate, friendly, kind and gorgeous.
she's the only openly gay person at school and Yami finds herself getting drawn towards her. but mission stay closeted remember??😭
this book has everything you expect from a queer YA book: the messy teen characters as well as the queer joy from using the word “lesbian” for the first time. it's the freedom that comes with wearing rainbow socks and putting pride pins on your schoolbag.
i have a younger brother and every Yami-Cesar scene made me think of my love for him; their duo was so beautiful and their love was written so intricately like they were the only two jigsaw pieces that made up a puzzle and nothing else mattered and no other pattern fit other than them, beside each other always, making a whole together. it is very rare to see familial bond being given a greater importance in front of romantic love in YA books, but reading about Yami and Cesar brought tears to my eyes.
it was my favourite part <3
the book depicts the life of a Mexican person at white-dominated spaces, the unconditional love of a parent for their children, the power that comes with putting your feelings first, the first love that comes with butterflies and looks like a field full of roses as well as the accurately portrayed importance of mental health and well-being.
in conclusion, i highly recommend this book but please check tws before reading please!!
Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Deportation
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol
For a lot of this book, Yami is struggling with the fact that she's a lesbian, which doesn't fit into the version of Catholocism that she grew up with. It certainly doesn't fit with her family's views. I think her relationship with her brother, Cesar, was one of the best parts of the book. They support each other, through everything their family has been through. Oh my god, I just loved them so much. Always a sucker for strong sibling relationships, and this book has it.
Yami and Bo! They are coompletely adorable, and I loved every moment of their friends-to-lovers realtionship. The way it unfolds is adorable, especially with Yami getting to know Bo's family. Their transforming relationship also parallels Yami's own journey in accepting her queerness and it was so well done.
Seriously, everyone read this book! I loved it from beginning to end, and I think it deserves way more hype than it's getting. Now go find a copy and read it!!
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Cursing, Suicide attempt, Outing
Minor: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship
Minor: Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Abortion, Abandonment, Alcohol