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A review by pastelwriter
Fifteen Hundred Miles From The Sun by Jonny Garza Villa
funny
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
4.0
I have no idea why this is the second book I've read this month that I have had an incredible time reading it yet somehow am struggling to rate it. No rating feels true despite my love for this story. Thus, I settle for four stars because anything less than that is absolute blasphemy.
One of my absolute favorite parts of this book is the humor. Truly, the humor is right up my alley. Jonny Garza Villa had me laughing out loud multiple times. The humor was only heightened by the excellent mix of Spanish and English in here. I have read my handful of books where the Spanish use felt forced, but it felt very natural in this story.
I was also absolutely obsessed with Jules and Mat. The two of them had a super cute relationship. I love that it wasn't perfect because of Jules' trauma, but their love for each other still shone through. Mat was definitely great at being a supportive boyfriend to a boy who (without him knowing) was experiencing a lot of trauma at home. In addition, Mat was such a flirt!!! He made my heart weak. He really was shameless, and I adored it. The conversations between Jules and Mat were absolutely everything.
The friendships here were also a blessing! All of Jules' friends were so protective of him, and it made my heart warm. Jordan especially was one of my favorites. He was so comfortable being physically close to Jules after he came out, and I think this type of friendship between boys is so necessary! Lou also wormed her way into my heart by being so openly herself. She absolutely did not let anyone diminish her light. All in all, Jules' friends were ready to meet anyone in the pit to protect Jules, and I stan that.
This novel is also incredibly emotional. Both painful emotion and just heartwarming emotion. The pain came from Jules' relationship with his father. Jules clearly loved his father, but there was no denying that Jules' father was abusive. The trauma Jules had was so painful to read about at times. You know what was beautiful? Jules being accepted by his Abuelo. The whole conversation Jules had with his Abuelo? Absolutely made me cry because it was so beautiful. It was also beautiful how accepting Jules' friends were and how honest one of them was in particular about how challenging it was for him to be accepting.
My only complaint about this book is how obvious it was to Jules and Mat that they would have sex when they met in person. As someone who is ace, this is incredibly foreign to me. I would say the whole thing was "triggering" for me because I couldn't get it out of my mind. Of course it makes sense to me why these two teen boys would want to have sex, and I don't begrudge them that. I think for me what just made it uncomfortable was how assumed it was. They did not talk about it. They simply knew the other would want that. They did discuss consent once the moment came, but both of them had assumed it was what the other wanted. it should be noted that I have never been in a long distance relationship--much less as a teen--so fuck if I know if even my ace ass would feel like these boys did. But I don't know. I cannot deny how it crawled under my skin in a very unpleasant way.
My other minor qualm is also something more personal. I have a personal vendetta against books that feature characters who desperately want to move to a particular city. Especially when it's LA or NY. I just find it so insufferable I'm not going to lie. But it's not really something I hold against any story. After all, I spent most of my life in Puerto Rico dreaming about anywhere except Puerto Rico...
Naturally, though, I would highly recommend this book! I absolutely look forward to whatever else this author will publish. My two qualms with the book absolutely do not affect at all how I feel about the story in general. It is ultimately a heartwarming and sweet story about two boys falling in love no matter the distance between them.
One of my absolute favorite parts of this book is the humor. Truly, the humor is right up my alley. Jonny Garza Villa had me laughing out loud multiple times. The humor was only heightened by the excellent mix of Spanish and English in here. I have read my handful of books where the Spanish use felt forced, but it felt very natural in this story.
I was also absolutely obsessed with Jules and Mat. The two of them had a super cute relationship. I love that it wasn't perfect because of Jules' trauma, but their love for each other still shone through. Mat was definitely great at being a supportive boyfriend to a boy who (without him knowing) was experiencing a lot of trauma at home. In addition, Mat was such a flirt!!! He made my heart weak. He really was shameless, and I adored it. The conversations between Jules and Mat were absolutely everything.
The friendships here were also a blessing! All of Jules' friends were so protective of him, and it made my heart warm. Jordan especially was one of my favorites. He was so comfortable being physically close to Jules after he came out, and I think this type of friendship between boys is so necessary! Lou also wormed her way into my heart by being so openly herself. She absolutely did not let anyone diminish her light. All in all, Jules' friends were ready to meet anyone in the pit to protect Jules, and I stan that.
This novel is also incredibly emotional. Both painful emotion and just heartwarming emotion. The pain came from Jules' relationship with his father. Jules clearly loved his father, but there was no denying that Jules' father was abusive. The trauma Jules had was so painful to read about at times. You know what was beautiful? Jules being accepted by his Abuelo. The whole conversation Jules had with his Abuelo? Absolutely made me cry because it was so beautiful. It was also beautiful how accepting Jules' friends were and how honest one of them was in particular about how challenging it was for him to be accepting.
My only complaint about this book is how obvious it was to Jules and Mat that they would have sex when they met in person. As someone who is ace, this is incredibly foreign to me. I would say the whole thing was "triggering" for me because I couldn't get it out of my mind. Of course it makes sense to me why these two teen boys would want to have sex, and I don't begrudge them that. I think for me what just made it uncomfortable was how assumed it was. They did not talk about it. They simply knew the other would want that. They did discuss consent once the moment came, but both of them had assumed it was what the other wanted. it should be noted that I have never been in a long distance relationship--much less as a teen--so fuck if I know if even my ace ass would feel like these boys did. But I don't know. I cannot deny how it crawled under my skin in a very unpleasant way.
My other minor qualm is also something more personal. I have a personal vendetta against books that feature characters who desperately want to move to a particular city. Especially when it's LA or NY. I just find it so insufferable I'm not going to lie. But it's not really something I hold against any story. After all, I spent most of my life in Puerto Rico dreaming about anywhere except Puerto Rico...
Naturally, though, I would highly recommend this book! I absolutely look forward to whatever else this author will publish. My two qualms with the book absolutely do not affect at all how I feel about the story in general. It is ultimately a heartwarming and sweet story about two boys falling in love no matter the distance between them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
additional content warnings:
being kicked out after coming out
alcohol consumption