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mezzano's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun is emblematic of the of the excellent diverse LGBT representation that 2021 is offering the Young Adult literature scene. With praises from other up and coming authors such as Aiden Thomas, I am delighted to report that the praise for Jonny Garza Villa's debut is well-deserved. Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun is emotionally gripping and still manages to tell the joyful and optimistic story of two boys across the United States who love each other.
In this novel, we focus on a Latino boy named Julian (or "Jules" for short) who is an excellent student, friend, and is coming to terms with his gay identity as someone who is also Latino. Jules father, following traditional views of masculinity from Hispanic culture, believes that being gay is a personal weakness rather than something to accept or celebrate. When Jules accidently comes out via Twitter, he struggles to remain in the closet with his father. This becomes especially true after Jules online crush, Mat reaches out to him. Mat and Jules begin to grow closer and closer, and Jules must decide who he is and what he wants from his life.
This novel handles LGBT and cultural identities with nuance and care. Other than Jules and his family members, there are other people of color represented proudly in the novel. For instance, Mat is a Vietnamese-American boy living in California. Languages (both Spanish and Vietnamese) are interwoven into the narrative, and food is also central to many cultural indicators throughout the narrative. I loved how culture was casually shared with the reader. I'm sure this narrative could reach any audience, but especially students who are criminally underrepresented in YA LGBT literature. When I realized how diverse this book was (and how respectful and nuanced it was) I smiled.
The message of this novel (separate from the romantic love story) is a very poignant one for young readers today. With colleges growing more expensive and more competitive, students have to think more and more about where they're going to end up attending university. Jules' dream school is UCLA, and he longs for the days he can leave Texas behind and attend a prestigious university. This novel takes you down Jules worries and joys, and then poses a question for young readers. What happens if your plans don't go exactly as planned? What is it that you truly need from a university? I'm overjoyed to share that this book ends very happily, but I also appreciated the honest college conversations which made a formidable aspect of the book.
Overall, this book is a must-read for 2021 releases. The fact this book is Villa's debut means that I'm excited to have a new favorite YA novelist join my bookshelf. While I'm waiting for new books from Villa to release, I'll be glancing at some of my favorite lines from Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun over and over again. I'm not expecting to tire from reading it anytime soon.
In this novel, we focus on a Latino boy named Julian (or "Jules" for short) who is an excellent student, friend, and is coming to terms with his gay identity as someone who is also Latino. Jules father, following traditional views of masculinity from Hispanic culture, believes that being gay is a personal weakness rather than something to accept or celebrate. When Jules accidently comes out via Twitter, he struggles to remain in the closet with his father. This becomes especially true after Jules online crush, Mat reaches out to him. Mat and Jules begin to grow closer and closer, and Jules must decide who he is and what he wants from his life.
This novel handles LGBT and cultural identities with nuance and care. Other than Jules and his family members, there are other people of color represented proudly in the novel. For instance, Mat is a Vietnamese-American boy living in California. Languages (both Spanish and Vietnamese) are interwoven into the narrative, and food is also central to many cultural indicators throughout the narrative. I loved how culture was casually shared with the reader. I'm sure this narrative could reach any audience, but especially students who are criminally underrepresented in YA LGBT literature. When I realized how diverse this book was (and how respectful and nuanced it was) I smiled.
The message of this novel (separate from the romantic love story) is a very poignant one for young readers today. With colleges growing more expensive and more competitive, students have to think more and more about where they're going to end up attending university. Jules' dream school is UCLA, and he longs for the days he can leave Texas behind and attend a prestigious university. This novel takes you down Jules worries and joys, and then poses a question for young readers. What happens if your plans don't go exactly as planned? What is it that you truly need from a university? I'm overjoyed to share that this book ends very happily, but I also appreciated the honest college conversations which made a formidable aspect of the book.
Overall, this book is a must-read for 2021 releases. The fact this book is Villa's debut means that I'm excited to have a new favorite YA novelist join my bookshelf. While I'm waiting for new books from Villa to release, I'll be glancing at some of my favorite lines from Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun over and over again. I'm not expecting to tire from reading it anytime soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Vomit
Drug use/abuse is from a scene involving underage drinking.
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