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A review by clockworkstars
The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I have ended my review of the author's debut, “The lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School”, saying how I hoped that I would like the author's other books as much as their first one, and well let me just say that Sonora Reyes has done it again. In “The Luis Ortega Survival Club”, we are following Ari, an autistic selectively mute teenage girl, as she flees away from a party. And something is wrong, something is off. The subjects of this book are not easy ones, and this book isn't necessarily an easy book either, but it managed to address its themes in a way that is suitable for young readers and that is incredibly powerful. In this book, we are gonna be talking about rape, rape culture, bullying, but also about finding a community, a family, friendship and trusting back people after living through traumas.
Because community is what the cast of this book was. With a cast of mostly POC, queer and/or neurodivergent people, Sonora Reyes writes as Ari founds back her community, people who listen to her, and who understand her. The author did an incredible job depicting those characters, making all of them deeply human, with lovable things as well as flaws. I adored reading about their friendships, as they formed that survival club and tried to make Luis pay for what he did. Of the “main cast”, I think that my favourites were Angel and Shawny, but I truly believe that Ari is an amazing main character, and I adored following her point of view across this novel. I really wished that we had seen a bit more of Nina though, as I liked that character a lot! As for the relationship, I adored their friend group and how much they were all supportive of one another, and I have found the queer romance adorable.
As for the author's first book, the pacing and the writing style of this one were really good, and it was a pure wonder to get into this book and spend a few hours next to the cast. So I would say that this has heavy subjects, but it treats them well, giving a really lovely book in the end, which I definitely recommend.
CW: rape (off-page); rape culture; bullying; victim blaming; slut shaming; sexual assault (a slap on the butt, on-page)
Because community is what the cast of this book was. With a cast of mostly POC, queer and/or neurodivergent people, Sonora Reyes writes as Ari founds back her community, people who listen to her, and who understand her. The author did an incredible job depicting those characters, making all of them deeply human, with lovable things as well as flaws. I adored reading about their friendships, as they formed that survival club and tried to make Luis pay for what he did. Of the “main cast”, I think that my favourites were Angel and Shawny, but I truly believe that Ari is an amazing main character, and I adored following her point of view across this novel. I really wished that we had seen a bit more of Nina though, as I liked that character a lot! As for the relationship, I adored their friend group and how much they were all supportive of one another, and I have found the queer romance adorable.
As for the author's first book, the pacing and the writing style of this one were really good, and it was a pure wonder to get into this book and spend a few hours next to the cast. So I would say that this has heavy subjects, but it treats them well, giving a really lovely book in the end, which I definitely recommend.
CW: rape (off-page); rape culture; bullying; victim blaming; slut shaming; sexual assault (a slap on the butt, on-page)