Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa

12 reviews

terranstorm's review

emotional hopeful sad tense slow-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

Ander and Santi are precious. It’s hard to feel like it really works out like that in the end (was the ending too optimistic to be realistic?) but I think it walked that line of Ander making the big choice, their risk-it-all optimism, without being to saccharine or magicking away the injustice of the immigration system and everything they fought for. A really heartfelt story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation

Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Police brutality, and Death of parent

avisreadsandreads's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Deportation

Minor: Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

corsetedfeminist's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

The way this book made my heart pound and then just shattered it into a million pieces and then put it all back together again…. 
This book combines two basic concepts at the same time: a very sweet gay romance between a pair of Mexican kids, one of them nonbinary. And a very pointed discussion of immigration racism, and the intersection between queerness and our main character’s Mexican culture. It manages to carry both sides of the plot extremely well- the romance is very soft and tender and believable, the main characters act like real teenagers, and the discussion on race is piercing. And as it should be, ICE is the actual worst and the ongoing fear of Santi being arrested by them is genuinely heartrending. 
Ander is the best. They’re deeply queer and deeply Mexican, with a profound love for their family and art. The journey of trying to work out for themself what it means to be queer and Mexican and an artist is profoundly well handled- there’s a delightful moment where they essentially flip off their racist advisor for fancy art school that made me want to cheer. 
Santi is deeply human in a way that is crucial for an undocumented worker. His trauma is clearly there, but it isn’t fetishized. He’s allowed to just be a teenage boy who loves his boyfriend and loves to read and eats a terrifying amount of food and just wants to help his family. 
I think this is an incredibly important book in the current cultural landscape, because while the romance is firmly YA, the issues of race and immigration are handled expertly in a way that destroys political talking points to focus on the humanity of the people involved. It would be fantastic to start a conversation with a teenager on these subjects while still challenging adults and our preconceived notions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Deportation

robinks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I enjoyed Ander & Santi’s love story, though some moments felt too predictable and perfect. I love Roque’s voice acting! Also, amerikkka sucks.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Racism, and Deportation

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Police brutality, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation

scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

A beautifully written love story with gut-wrenching commentary about xenophobia and deportation with an unexpected ending. I loved and cherished everyone in the book (except for the ICE agents of course).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Deportation

Moderate: Confinement and Sexual content

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Deportation

Moderate: Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death of parent

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation

Moderate: Confinement and Xenophobia

Minor: Vomit and Murder

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Deportation

Moderate: Confinement and Sexual content

Minor: Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

 I loved this one. The characters leapt off the page and the romance is really cute. It didn't just do the cute and warm well, it also discussed dark topics and themes in a realistic and empathetic way. I love the callouts to very real and important movements, I hope this inspires research in those who haven't encountered them before. It's very readable; I finished very quickly and can't wait for a new release from this author. For fans of <i>Cafe Con Lychee, Felix Ever After, and The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School</i>. Contemporary YA romance with a good sense of humour and its heart in the right place. I won't soon forget these characters and their intense sense of loyalty, love, and friendship. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Deportation

Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Police brutality, and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

michelle_my_belle's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Deportation