Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

47 reviews

megbert581's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

😭😭😍😍

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Bullying

Minor: Domestic abuse and Abandonment

filipa_maia's review

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.0

I had high hopes for this book, but it disappointed me. Don't take me the wrong way: this is a very important book about a very important topic. How many teenagers (and adults) suffer in silence, trying to hyde who they are? When the rejection comes from your own house, what can you expect form everyone else?

I felt sorry for Yammi many times throughout this book: trying to be straight, feeling the catholic guilt... The part where she starts saving money waiting to be kicked out of her house broke my heart.

Now let's get to the negative points: this is the slowest of slow paced if I've ever read - we spend half the book just getting to know Yammi and then everything is rushed towards the end; the lack of communications between that family just was a deal breaker for me; her mother constantly showing love and affection towards Cesar and never Yammi; the mother being a complete homophobic and then, by the end, everything is reversed; the father (I don't need to say more); the way things turn out to be at the end... was just 'meh'...

Anyway, maybe this book was written for a different target audience, maybe I'm just not the right age. Despite all this, I think this book can help someone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Abandonment, Biphobia, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Deportation

Minor: Alcohol and Police brutality

mamacalidad's review

emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Deportation

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, and Classism

whiteflowerose's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Bullying, Biphobia, Cultural appropriation, Homophobia, Outing, Racism, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

elliereadsthings's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

"Mijo, if the Bible tells me I shouldn't love my kids, then the Bible is wrong."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Grief, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, and Deportation

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Alcohol, Police brutality, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Outing, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Abortion, Forced institutionalization, Classism, and Medical content

queerafictionado's review

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Racism, Mental illness, Bullying, and Cursing

Moderate: Deportation, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship

thenextbookdilemma's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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? No

5.0

Y’all, I sometimes think maybe I’ve moved on from YA only to get sucked back in—because I am a sucker for coming of age stories. Something everyone can relate to is the absolute agony and euphoria of being a teenager—all your feelings are SO BIG and so many important discoveries about ourselves are made during this time. I just love being brought back into those feelings, to feel angsty and unsure and read inner (and outer) monologues of kids who haven’t fully learned to filter themselves. It’s always just so refreshing for me. And I almost always cry. 

I loved A Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School. The voice of Yamilet was so strong, her turbulent teenage feelings and identity just dripped off the page (or my headphones, as I listed to the audiobook and it was spectacular). She deals with so much in this book, from hiding her queerness from family and friends, betrayals from people she trusts most, the deportation of a parent, and finally, to having an agonizing crush. 

She grapples with not knowing how the people in her life will react to her queerness, and whether she will lose everything important to her if she…comes out. This was devastating to experience with Yamilet because unfortunately, not everyone in this book is *a good human being* and….

While Yami struggles with keeping herself closeted, she is also forced to deal with her fractured family, and the classism, homophobia, and racism that run rampant at her new private catholic school. All in all, it’s a lot. 

This book forces the reader to consider the reality of possible homelessness in the face of coming out to your parents, an ongoing fear for Yamilet throughout the book. We know this is a reality for far too many queer teens and I held so much anger and fear for Yamilet and she worked to provide herself with a plan if she were to be kicked out of her home. 

This book isn’t all turmoil and at the center is a sweet budding crush and Yamilet’s internal monologues made me laugh out loud, she is funny y’all. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I loved her relationship with her brother. 

If you like YA then I could not recommend this more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Police brutality and Deportation

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Outing, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Bullying

Moderate: Deportation

yourbookishbff'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? No

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this coming-of-age story and am grateful, again, that stories like this exist for today's teens. The short chapters and first-person narration make this a fast-paced read, and I enjoyed the irreverent, sincere and self-deprecating voice of our main character, Yamilet. Reyes explores the complex intersections in identity for Yamilet, who comes out as a lesbian, and her younger brother, Cesar, who comes out as bisexual, within their deeply Catholic, Mexican-American household. We can see the layered obstacles for this family as they fight to stay afloat independently years after the deportation of their father (leaving their mother as the family's sole source of income) and thrive in a world that feels fractured along too many religious, cultural and familial fault lines. 

Most compelling in this story is Reyes' look at mental health crises for queer teens. We know statistically that queer teens face disproportionately high rates of bullying and harassment, physical and sexual abuse, depression, and suicidal ideation, and we see these themes explicitly played out in Yamilet and Cesar's storylines. Readers who like to see on-page discussions of mental health care and intervention (akin to Heartstopper) will appreciate how these conflicts are managed by Reyes - particularly how they evidence the ways in which racism and classism within healthcare further complicate crisis care and long-term support for marginalized youth.

I found myself more drawn to the family dynamics and interpersonal relationships (outside of the romances) in this story (the sibling dynamic between Yami + Cesar meant the world to me), so I was only disappointed that the final 20% centered romance to the degree that it did for Yamilet - that said, this was just personal preference. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Racism, Biphobia, Outing, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Blood and Cursing

tmchopra's review

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Biphobia, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Outing, Racism, Bullying, Abandonment, Alcohol, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Deportation