Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

52 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

4.5

Beautifully heartwarming 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, and Colonisation

eni_iilorak's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.0

I wish there had been more books like this one when I was at school. I have outgrown the target group but I would recommend it to teens or to anyone who wants a fluffy story that doesn't leave its more serious themes unexplored. 

For readers who enjoy stories about siblings, this is a really good one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Cursing, Racial slurs, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Car accident, and Abortion

mehunold's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Self harm

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Outing

ashcats's review

emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

Loved this. Was cute for the most part. Found the end really rushed though. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Deportation

stevia333k's review

adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

So um, there's trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, take those seriously.

The book was fun because they didn't get trapped, and the plotline of coming out slowly & getting your own money is cool. I will say catholic school tuition money is a bit off-putting, but it seemed good at showing how jobs are connected to family connections. i don't know enough about mexican culture to know how homophobia is normalized. the thing i got from that is that the legalism comes second to the habits.

it was a fun book. like the siblings have a much better relationship than i ever had. that being said, i'm giving this review a more guidebook lens than i was expected, because i talked with a woman who's stranded in a very conservative/anti-lgbt+ area about this book who was looking to this book for praxis. like she didn't even know how to screen for allies etc. like in this book, rainbow pins are a thing... i described how this book shows guidance, but it's fiction, so if it showed like actual probabilities of building a safety net, then it would've gotten stuck.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

hannahjreidel's review

challenging emotional inspiring 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

4.25

While I may never personally relate to all aspects of Yami’s character and life, many aspects of this book resonated much more deeply with me than I expected. Main plots within this book highlight the expectations enshrined in religious households, particularly relating to the queer community. Throughout the book, we see Yami as the older sibling held responsible for her brother’s actions, as one of the only Latina students in her white, wealthy catholic school, as the closeted lesbian, once-outed by “friends”, and as a daughter, trying to maintain a relationship with her parents, while her next steps depend on her parents’ reaction to who she is. I think this piece of YA literature is so so necessary for all youth and young adults to read, but even for those who are older readers. It perfectly encapsulates the experience of knowing your queer identity in high school, and how every decision you make is focused on how it will out you or make others uncomfortable, intertwined with how heavy a burden living your life this way can be. I am so grateful that the generations after us will have these books to read and role models to admire, so we can one day read these books and ask “how could a parent not love their children unconditionally?” because it will be second nature to love first.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Deportation

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation

careinthelibrary's review

emotional funny inspiring 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

5.0

My most recent read is a new favourite. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It's funny and hopeful despite dealing with really difficult subject matter. Yamilet, Cesar, Bo, and Jamal are the heart and soul of this story. Yami will make so many lesbians feel seen, especially those experiencing religious shame and bigotry. 

There's gay, bi, and lesbian rep and discussions around coming out forced outings, homophobia. There's Mexican, Black, and Chinese transracial adoptee rep but also scenes with racism, slurs, and ignorance. Characters struggle with mental illness, self-harm, and suicidal ideation and institutionalization is also discussed. But I found myself laughing and smiling through the tears and the tension. The joy peeks through the troubles. 

I love the portions on beading and how it connects Yami to her Indigenous roots. She has a complicated relationship with her father and beading keeps her grounded, pays the bills, and allows her to bond with her brother and mom during their make sessions. 

Bo also has a well-rounded character arc and is complex in her understanding of herself, her queerness, her culture, her family. I love how Bo and Yami learn together and don't assume things about one another's upbringing and experiences. 

This was just a giant hug of queer coming-of-age, sibling supportiveness, and standing up for each other and yourself. And I shared it with friends. 
@janeanthereadingqueen (on IG) and I read it pretty much back to back and she loved it just like I did. So glad we share so many good reads together, my friend. 
I know @nativeladybookwarrior also loved this book, so go check out her review of it on IG and Booktube.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Outing

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Deportation

tinytrashqueen's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion

studiouspoppy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad 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? No

4.5

I loved it! My expectations were high and somehow this book exceeded them. The way Yami talks about her roots and her culture, the fear and the homophobia in the latinx community, the sexist culture that favores the boys and gives responsibility without trust to girls… somehow while having a very different experience, i felt really seen. I would have liked if there were at least one latinx character with light skin since somehow we still are kind of invisible to the rest of the world, but i’ll forgive it since the topic of colorism was considered and that’s huge in the latin community. 
enjoyed so much the way their indigenous culture was so beautifully written into the plot, the way Yami talks about colonization so casually, and she seed the impact of colonization in everyday things, I try to do that and I think people should do it more too.

I loved the plot, the gay panic, I loved the bi representation through a boy, because it feels like bisexuality is mostly female in mainstream culture. I also loved that there were queer siblings, like that’s common, why is it so rare in books?
Finally, that ending had me tearing up. I loved Bo so much. The whole fake girlfriend thing was kind of predictable and hilarious, also the gay panicking and overthinking everything? so relatable! made me go back to my baby gay memories

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Colonisation