A review by bookaquarius
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

5.0

I finished The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School during a long drive last night. This was such a great YA contemporary! We follow the protagonist, Yamilet, as she navigates home life and starting a new school. 

She's dealing with losing friends, trying to make new ones, living up to all her family expects of her, maintaining a job, hateful comments from her close-minded peers and neighbors, and struggling to come to terms with the right time to come out as a lesbian when she fears the people around her will not be accepting. 

It's a lot for a kid! Even so, there's so many funny and sweet moments as Yami navigates her relationships. 

She always manages to find a bright spot. I think this book did a great job at exploring really deep, emotional topics that a lot of people can relate to, and still choosing to give a hopeful outlook that I think so many people, especially young people, will cling to. I liked that Yami tried so hard at everything she did, most of all at being there for the people around her. I found her so relatable in many ways. It kind of felt like reading a younger version of myself. Her constant internal investigation about how to get her words out right, what people must be thinking, how she is holding herself, etc etc was so spot on for what it's like being an anxious person feeling like you can't quite reconcile your inner world with your outer one! Watching Yami come in to her own was really special and I'm glad I read this.