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adrianas65's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation and Confinement
Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Racism
Minor: Grief, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
skudiklier's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
This book was beautiful; I loved nearly everything about it. I loved the characters and their relationships, having a nonbinary main character, all the art, the way the book doesn't shy away from the really hard parts. This so perfectly captured the best version of falling in love for the first time.
This story is such a necessary depiction of how awful the United States's immigration system is, and it accurately and fairly villainizes ICE. It's heartbreaking and amazing and I'd recommend it to anyone. It made me cry but was still so joyful and hopeful in so much of it.
Also I saw a different review talking about how the gen z slang was too much, but I thought it felt pretty natural and realistic. Just to offer a different point of view with regard to that!
My only complaint is sooo small and I'm only bringing it up because I can't find any other reviews mentioning it and I just want anyone looking for this to know if this matters to them (but I'm also spoilering it because it's kind of a spoiler and also I don't want people to see me talking about this lmao):I was a bit confused by how closed door it was? Not that I expected it to be open door from the start, but there were several little comments/lines that pointed towards it being more open door throughout the first third of the book or so. Like usually I feel like there are hints toward what will happen that help manage expectations, and this book kind of did the opposite--hinted at being open door then was closed door in the end. Which again, is fine, but I'd rather just not have had all those little comments at the beginning that made me think that. It was a little annoying. But overall not at all a huge thing in the scope of the book, and I still would absolutely recommend it and rate it 5 stars.
This story is such a necessary depiction of how awful the United States's immigration system is, and it accurately and fairly villainizes ICE. It's heartbreaking and amazing and I'd recommend it to anyone. It made me cry but was still so joyful and hopeful in so much of it.
Also I saw a different review talking about how the gen z slang was too much, but I thought it felt pretty natural and realistic. Just to offer a different point of view with regard to that!
My only complaint is sooo small and I'm only bringing it up because I can't find any other reviews mentioning it and I just want anyone looking for this to know if this matters to them (but I'm also spoilering it because it's kind of a spoiler and also I don't want people to see me talking about this lmao):
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Deportation, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Police brutality, and Kidnapping
Minor: Violence and Transphobia
reviewsandreadathons's review against another edition
challenging
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation
Moderate: Confinement and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit and Murder
beesjess's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Xenophobia, Deportation, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Murder
hobbithopeful's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
5.0
As beautiful as it is heartbreaking, Ander & Santi Were Here is a masterful romance about belonging, immigration, and fighting against a system not built to actually help people.
Ander is fairly content painting murals, and working at their family's' taquería. New waiter Santi immediately catches their eye, and the two become inexplicably close. But Santi is undocumented, and ICE agents aren't just a looming distant threat, they are a very present and very real one.
This is now one of my favorite books of all time. If you ever want to read any books I rec, please make this one of them.
I spent so much of the book on edge, worried about ICE and what would happen. Every happy moment, every bit of love Ander and Santi experience together just made me more nervous for the inevitable. I do think this is intentionally done by Villa, so the reader gets a small idea of the sense of impending doom that Santi experiences every day. All the racism, how ICE treats people, everything is so on the nose, so much so that it was difficult to read a times. Overall this is a very sweet and loving story, but those moments take you by surprise and hurt. I wish the world could read this, or at least every single Texan because there are so many misunderstandings and stereotypes around the immigration experience. Immigrants are truly held to such a higher and insane standard. Just because someone isn't a doctor or a genius doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to live here and thrive. America has been built on the back of immigrants, and continues to thrive off of exploiting their labor.
There is a lot of español in this book and it is written in so seamlessly and I am so happy to see the inclusion of it. Anyone who wants to complain come meet me in a dark alley...I just want to talk. People who always want to complain about español in books or even calling it spanglish never seem to have a problem with any other language or culture doing it. I spent a lot of time in San Antonio growing up, so reading this felt so nostalgic for me. All the little things I enjoyed about visiting all came flooding back and I felt this homesickness.
If you go into reading this on an empty stomach, beware! All the delicious food descriptions and mouth-watering meals had my stomach grumbling the whole time. I had to make a plan to go get pan dulce because this book made me crave it!
Ander's family is supportive, loving, and such a heart-warming and sweet spot in this. Reading all their interactions and genuine love for eachother is so nice to see. While homophobia is incredibly prevalent in the Hispanic community, it's nice to see a family that isn't like that.
Ander loves painting, and their worries and struggle with worrying about being not Mexican enough or too Mexican with their art is such a reality for so many Mexican American artists. The way their adviser was so racist and all his microaggression to Ander UGH! It made me so mad, and brought me back to my college experience.
I absolutely fell in love with this book. It is one of my new top reads of 2023, and I have found a new favorite author in Jonny Garza Villa. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS, READ IT! Now I'm going to go request Villa's entire collection from the library.
The cover for this is phenomenal. I don't often see that style of font on book covers, but it works so perfectly here. There is so much great depth and lighting in the illustration, it conveys such love and yearning. Often when I see book covers depicting BIPOC characters, especially those of a darker complexion, usually they look like a smudge because the artist doesn't understand how to draw them. I am so glad this isn't the case here. (Also obsessed with Santi's cactus crown!)
Ander is fairly content painting murals, and working at their family's' taquería. New waiter Santi immediately catches their eye, and the two become inexplicably close. But Santi is undocumented, and ICE agents aren't just a looming distant threat, they are a very present and very real one.
This is now one of my favorite books of all time. If you ever want to read any books I rec, please make this one of them.
I spent so much of the book on edge, worried about ICE and what would happen. Every happy moment, every bit of love Ander and Santi experience together just made me more nervous for the inevitable. I do think this is intentionally done by Villa, so the reader gets a small idea of the sense of impending doom that Santi experiences every day. All the racism, how ICE treats people, everything is so on the nose, so much so that it was difficult to read a times. Overall this is a very sweet and loving story, but those moments take you by surprise and hurt. I wish the world could read this, or at least every single Texan because there are so many misunderstandings and stereotypes around the immigration experience. Immigrants are truly held to such a higher and insane standard. Just because someone isn't a doctor or a genius doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to live here and thrive. America has been built on the back of immigrants, and continues to thrive off of exploiting their labor.
There is a lot of español in this book and it is written in so seamlessly and I am so happy to see the inclusion of it. Anyone who wants to complain come meet me in a dark alley...I just want to talk. People who always want to complain about español in books or even calling it spanglish never seem to have a problem with any other language or culture doing it. I spent a lot of time in San Antonio growing up, so reading this felt so nostalgic for me. All the little things I enjoyed about visiting all came flooding back and I felt this homesickness.
If you go into reading this on an empty stomach, beware! All the delicious food descriptions and mouth-watering meals had my stomach grumbling the whole time. I had to make a plan to go get pan dulce because this book made me crave it!
Ander's family is supportive, loving, and such a heart-warming and sweet spot in this. Reading all their interactions and genuine love for eachother is so nice to see. While homophobia is incredibly prevalent in the Hispanic community, it's nice to see a family that isn't like that.
Ander loves painting, and their worries and struggle with worrying about being not Mexican enough or too Mexican with their art is such a reality for so many Mexican American artists. The way their adviser was so racist and all his microaggression to Ander UGH! It made me so mad, and brought me back to my college experience.
I absolutely fell in love with this book. It is one of my new top reads of 2023, and I have found a new favorite author in Jonny Garza Villa. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS, READ IT! Now I'm going to go request Villa's entire collection from the library.
The cover for this is phenomenal. I don't often see that style of font on book covers, but it works so perfectly here. There is so much great depth and lighting in the illustration, it conveys such love and yearning. Often when I see book covers depicting BIPOC characters, especially those of a darker complexion, usually they look like a smudge because the artist doesn't understand how to draw them. I am so glad this isn't the case here. (Also obsessed with Santi's cactus crown!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Deportation, and Xenophobia
Minor: Homophobia and Death of parent
bookcaptivated's review
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation and Racism
Moderate: Sexual content and Confinement
Minor: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, and Grief
sglance9's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Racism, and Xenophobia
warlocksarecool21's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Ander and Santi Were Here is a beautifully devastating story about family, heartbreak, joy and love. I adored Ander and Santi and I enjoyed every second of watching their relationship develop. At first, it seems like the book is going to be a light-hearted (and a lil raunchy) queer rom-com but it’s so much more than that. The topics of immigration and deportation are explored in such a profound and impactful way. Those moments in the book were heart-wrenching, I won’t lie I cried a lot, but the hope and love that Ander and Santi had despite everything was so beautiful. I also loved how normalized queerness was in this story. It was so refreshing to see all of Ander’s friends and family not only accept them but also celebrate their identity, and to have a character that is not afraid to be bold and take up space. Coming out stories are definitely important, but it made me happy to have queer joy centered so much in this book. The writing in this story was beautiful, I felt so connected to Ander’s art, their family and their relationship with Santi. This is a powerful read and one you won’t want to miss.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation
Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent
andremay's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
I don’t know how coherent I can make this review, considering just how my thoughts are still all over the place, but here it goes, because I just loved this so much, I cannot let it go unreviewed.
This book was like a warm and cozy blanket on a Friday night during the winter. I was hooked just from reading the description on the back and the only reason why it took me days to read it was because I needed time to get my emotions back in check during tumultuous times and preparing myself for the inevitable (which hurt a lot, but thank the universe for the small retrieve during the epilogue), otherwise I would have devoured Ander and Santi’s developing relationship in a couple of hours.
Although I read my (huge) share of romance novels, a lot of the ones that are recommended to me end up being a huge disappointment due to focusing only on the romance and using every plot device to further that relationship without any actual character development, memorable plot lines or chemistry. This one was the complete opposite of what I’ve just described. It provided so much representation through characters without making the reader feel like the author just chose random sexualities and identities to please certain crowds. There were so many insightful quotes that a lot of POC and queer people can relate to, and they bring this sense of belonging and of community which wrapped around me tightly as if this book was my safe haven.
Ander and Santi were flawed teenagers who tried their best to navigate a world that was made to put every possible obstacle in their way and who, in just a few months, had so much personal growth alongside each other.
Gender and sexuality talk was written in such a real way, from Ander’s personal gender expression to Santi’s “I just like pretty people”. They weren’t made to fit usual stereotypes we see so many times in books recommended for having “queer rep”, the characters were simply unapologetically themselves, and a part of them happened not to fit the cishet norms in our society.
I loved the veritable discussions around undocumented immigrants (predominantly from Mexico and mentions of characters from South and Central America), and the characters speaking up against the injustice that kept happening, knowing it may not lead anywhere, but trying nonetheless because they knew they couldn’t be silent no matter what. The reality is as black-and-white as Republicans love to make it seem, and people deserve to live a full life, damned be imaginary borders humans have changed and fought over for centuries. US has been a stolen land for hundreds of years anyways, bold of Americans to feel so righteous when it comes to POC immigrants, with green cards or without.
ICE has been and always will be the real villain in these stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Police brutality, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
happilyhalliwell's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation