Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

12 reviews

hannahgarstang's review

Glad I read this, it made me cry and laugh. 

I really loved the discourse around coming out and how it should always be on your own terms and that we don't owe other people that info. 

I also thought the conversations around cultural identity were handled really well. 

This book touched on so many difficult issues around race, sexuality and mental health. It did this while also being funny and even quite fluffy at times. I wish I'd been able to read something like this as a young adult/teen.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Outing, Deportation, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying

Minor: Toxic friendship, Violence, and Death

kelsiepixler's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

Once I started this book, I could not put it down. Devoured it in half a day. The character development was just 🤌🏻💋

When her mom ended up supporting her, I bawled. Hysterically. Full on sobs at 1 in the afternoon

The way the author draws you into the narrator’s life leaves you feeling so connected to the events that happen to her and her family members. Hands down one of the best YA novels I’ve read in a long time. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Outing, Racism, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Deportation, and Hate crime

Moderate: Bullying, Police brutality, Sexism, Misogyny, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Classism, Abortion, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

onegalonelife27's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring tense 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

5.0

Okay I know how ironic it is but, Yamilet Flores is the patron saint of anxious gays!

This story is so wonderful-full of sweet moments where Yamilet gets to enjoy herself and then feels burden by family, ex-friend, and society expectations. You want her to succeed in her goals but also learn to love herself. Through her highs and lows, Yamilet continues to fight on, often with sass, sometimes with action, always with heart.


The only thing that would make me love this book more if there would was more of it!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Deportation and Colonisation

cvl_1103's review

emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

First book in a while that I wanted to stay up all night to finish. A love story not just about adorable queer kids navigating their way through catholic school but about a family and how difficult it can be to navigate both.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Racism

Moderate: Colonisation and Suicidal thoughts

queerloras's review

challenging emotional funny inspiring 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Deportation, Homophobia, Biphobia, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Self harm, Colonisation, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

emily_mh's review against another edition

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? No

5.0

I don’t really feel capable of giving a proper, detailed review of this book because I am simply in awe of it. Just know that it is a perfect book about queerness, lesbians pining for each other, a gorgeous sibling relationship, celebrating every part of who you are, complicated families, mental health, the trauma of religious bigotry, being Brown and queer in a majority allocishet white space, forced separation from family, relearning to trust, rebonding with loved ones, simple and massive moments of joy, and ultimately, hope. I loved reading every second of it. 

My favourite quote was: “I can’t make him love himself. The closest I can get is loving myself unapologetically right in front of him.” 

Rep: lesbian Chicana MC, lesbian Chinese-American LI, bisexual Chicano SC, Native American (Navajo) SC, queer Black SC 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Racism

Moderate: Deportation, Vomit, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Outing, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Violence, Grief, Bullying, Sexual content, Blood, Cursing, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Abortion

Moderate: forced separation from family, disownment, suicidal ideation Minor: loss of a loved one, colourism, one use of the Spanish homophobic m-slur, one use of the lesbophobic d-slur

erc2020's review

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism

Moderate: Classism and Colonisation

cecerosa's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Hate crime, Mental illness, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Self harm, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Deportation

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Beautifully heartwarming 

---

Content Warnings

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

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

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

casually_booking's review

challenging 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? Yes

4.25

The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School was so good. The cast of characters was dynamic and the setting of catholic school really brought to the forefront discussions on race, class, immigration status, religion, sexuality, and sexual orientation. Very intersectional. As someone who transferred to Catholic school for a few years, many of Yamilet’s experience rang true for me as a Person of Color. I absolutely loved Bo, and as a transracial adoptee, I see myself reflected in her. The conversations she had about embracing her culture on her terms really resonated and the author wrote these sections very well. My only critique of the book was that it felt a little long, but it had a big pay off in the end. I found myself laughing and crying throughout the book.  There was some gutting parts. Yami, Bo, and Cesar’s experiences as queer teens of Color truly demonstrated the uniqueness of everyone’s journey. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Suicide, Outing, Homophobia, Sexism, Grief, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Bullying, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism