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careinthelibrary's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
4.0
When I read Ander and Santi Were Here this summer, I was so captivated. This one is not quite as charming and engrossing, but I still loved it. Really fantastic characters, sweet queer romance, heavy themes (see content warnings), happy endings. Can't wait for their upcoming release in 2024, I'm jumping on it immediately when it's released.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Racism, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Violence, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Bullying
cecireads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Alcohol, Outing, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
lim's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Outing
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, and Physical abuse
lauravreads's review
dark
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? It's complicated
4.5
This book is a YA contemporary romance that follows Julian, a high school senior with the hopes of leaving his hometown in Texas to attend school at UCLA. While partying with his close friends he drunkenly tweets and finds himself out of the closest. Julian has to navigate his last year of high school while living with his homophobic and abusive father. Julian finds companionship and support from a Twitter follower in LA, 17-year-old Mat. Which soon turns into a budding romance.
This book is fast-paced, hilarious, inspiring, and heartwarming. While Julian’s relationship with Mat is a major focal point in the novel, so is his relationship with his friends and his family. I love it when romance includes a well-rounded support system rather than the protagonist relying solely on the love interest. Julian is an easy protagonist to love, I was rooting for him the entire novel.
This novel hit a lot of heavy topics, in particular, abusive parents. Graza Villa did a great job in his portrayal of the relationship a child/young adult has with an emotionally and physically abusive parent. I love that Julian was able to stand up for himself and that his facility members who were bystanders to the abuse took accountability and made an effort to change and provide a safe space for Julian.
This book is fast-paced, hilarious, inspiring, and heartwarming. While Julian’s relationship with Mat is a major focal point in the novel, so is his relationship with his friends and his family. I love it when romance includes a well-rounded support system rather than the protagonist relying solely on the love interest. Julian is an easy protagonist to love, I was rooting for him the entire novel.
This novel hit a lot of heavy topics, in particular, abusive parents. Graza Villa did a great job in his portrayal of the relationship a child/young adult has with an emotionally and physically abusive parent. I love that Julian was able to stand up for himself and that his facility members who were bystanders to the abuse took accountability and made an effort to change and provide a safe space for Julian.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Alcohol, Bullying, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
ladysmartypants's review
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Outing, Physical abuse, Violence, and Alcohol
parkyparkpark's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual content and Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts
cheybrary's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent
elenamarmiroli's review
emotional
inspiring
tense
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? N/A
2.5
La storia non ha nulla di sbagliato di per sé, ma non è riuscita a prendermi abbastanza da farmi appassionare ai personaggi e perciò a condividerne gioie o dolori.
Inoltre, essendo ambientata durante l'ultimo di un high school americana, parte delle esperienze narrate non riescono neanche a portare una mia nostalgia riguardo ad esse.
Cosa positiva è come la lingua spagnola sia integrata e mescolata a quella inglese in maniera organica, pretendo di mostrare un po' di più il background culturale del protagonista.
Inoltre, essendo ambientata durante l'ultimo di un high school americana, parte delle esperienze narrate non riescono neanche a portare una mia nostalgia riguardo ad esse.
Cosa positiva è come la lingua spagnola sia integrata e mescolata a quella inglese in maniera organica, pretendo di mostrare un po' di più il background culturale del protagonista.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Racial slurs, Outing, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying and Racism
paperbrownies's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
- lgbtqiap+, ya contemporary, romance, boys in love, friendship, family
- m|m
- latinx-american gay mc, vietnamese-american gay li, and other queer side characters (gay, lesbian, bisexual and pansexual characters)
" a life fifteen hundred miles away from what’s felt like continual gray and where i can finally be in the sun "
this book was so good??!!!!
idk how to write this review so i'll just make a list of everything that i enjoyed in the book (even though there's not much that i did not enjoy in the book (': )
i. the writing: it's not poetic, it's not fancy it's conversational in such a beautiful way that each sentence presents to us exactly what the character is feeling and i think the compactness yet the fluidity of it is what caught my eye the most!! also the blend of spanish and english was so seamlessly placed into the story, it never posed a problem for non-spanish speakers (like me)!!
ii. exploration of love and joy: there was so much love and joy, there is the platonic love shared by jules' friends (the friendship is. SO. well. written), the love shared between siblings (xo and jules had me sobbing), the joy shared over making a simple meal, the joy that comes when people come together, the joy that comes with owning your life, and being able to live your truth, it was beautiful!!
iii. the simplicity of the story!! we see jules and his friends hitting the beach after school or indulge in activities that were fun yet did not cost much and i think i related to that a lot bc when i was in school me and my friends would always look out for those little adventures, moments that i still treasure and i think that was something the author once again beautifully captured!!
iv. i was a bit skeptical about the twitter crush and how everything would play out since the relationship had to be mostly long distanced but god was i wrong. mat and jules share something that is so precious and tender, i loved reading about them!!!
v. the stan culture mentioned in the pages of the book was absolutely spot on!!
the book deals with some heavy topics and important discussions surrounding what it means to be both queer and latinx, to belong to a community that is so prejudiced against homophobia, the author does an excellent job at deftly handling all of it without leaving space for even a minor slip up!!
a coming-of-age novel written with so much emotion, love and healing, i 100% recommend this book to you!!
lastly the author's note was something that made me very emotional; it ends saying, "so, as the writer of the words that form this journey, i ask you to do me a favor and check in with yourself before starting. and i want you to know that it’s okay if you’re not ready for this book yet. it’s okay if you never are. no hard feelings. te lo prometo y te quiero." *sobs* i cant wait to read more of their work!!
- m|m
- latinx-american gay mc, vietnamese-american gay li, and other queer side characters (gay, lesbian, bisexual and pansexual characters)
" a life fifteen hundred miles away from what’s felt like continual gray and where i can finally be in the sun "
this book was so good??!!!!
idk how to write this review so i'll just make a list of everything that i enjoyed in the book (even though there's not much that i did not enjoy in the book (': )
i. the writing: it's not poetic, it's not fancy it's conversational in such a beautiful way that each sentence presents to us exactly what the character is feeling and i think the compactness yet the fluidity of it is what caught my eye the most!! also the blend of spanish and english was so seamlessly placed into the story, it never posed a problem for non-spanish speakers (like me)!!
ii. exploration of love and joy: there was so much love and joy, there is the platonic love shared by jules' friends (the friendship is. SO. well. written), the love shared between siblings (xo and jules had me sobbing), the joy shared over making a simple meal, the joy that comes when people come together, the joy that comes with owning your life, and being able to live your truth, it was beautiful!!
iii. the simplicity of the story!! we see jules and his friends hitting the beach after school or indulge in activities that were fun yet did not cost much and i think i related to that a lot bc when i was in school me and my friends would always look out for those little adventures, moments that i still treasure and i think that was something the author once again beautifully captured!!
iv. i was a bit skeptical about the twitter crush and how everything would play out since the relationship had to be mostly long distanced but god was i wrong. mat and jules share something that is so precious and tender, i loved reading about them!!!
v. the stan culture mentioned in the pages of the book was absolutely spot on!!
the book deals with some heavy topics and important discussions surrounding what it means to be both queer and latinx, to belong to a community that is so prejudiced against homophobia, the author does an excellent job at deftly handling all of it without leaving space for even a minor slip up!!
a coming-of-age novel written with so much emotion, love and healing, i 100% recommend this book to you!!
lastly the author's note was something that made me very emotional; it ends saying, "so, as the writer of the words that form this journey, i ask you to do me a favor and check in with yourself before starting. and i want you to know that it’s okay if you’re not ready for this book yet. it’s okay if you never are. no hard feelings. te lo prometo y te quiero." *sobs* i cant wait to read more of their work!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Outing, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Outing, and Physical abuse
caidyn's review
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? Yes
3.0
Queer brown boys! It was cute and angry. Didn't love it, but I did enjoy the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Outing, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent