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A review by corsetedfeminist
Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The way this book made my heart pound and then just shattered it into a million pieces and then put it all back together again….
This book combines two basic concepts at the same time: a very sweet gay romance between a pair of Mexican kids, one of them nonbinary. And a very pointed discussion of immigration racism, and the intersection between queerness and our main character’s Mexican culture. It manages to carry both sides of the plot extremely well- the romance is very soft and tender and believable, the main characters act like real teenagers, and the discussion on race is piercing. And as it should be, ICE is the actual worst and the ongoing fear of Santi being arrested by them is genuinely heartrending.
Ander is the best. They’re deeply queer and deeply Mexican, with a profound love for their family and art. The journey of trying to work out for themself what it means to be queer and Mexican and an artist is profoundly well handled- there’s a delightful moment where they essentially flip off their racist advisor for fancy art school that made me want to cheer.
Santi is deeply human in a way that is crucial for an undocumented worker. His trauma is clearly there, but it isn’t fetishized. He’s allowed to just be a teenage boy who loves his boyfriend and loves to read and eats a terrifying amount of food and just wants to help his family.
I think this is an incredibly important book in the current cultural landscape, because while the romance is firmly YA, the issues of race and immigration are handled expertly in a way that destroys political talking points to focus on the humanity of the people involved. It would be fantastic to start a conversation with a teenager on these subjects while still challenging adults and our preconceived notions.
This book combines two basic concepts at the same time: a very sweet gay romance between a pair of Mexican kids, one of them nonbinary. And a very pointed discussion of immigration racism, and the intersection between queerness and our main character’s Mexican culture. It manages to carry both sides of the plot extremely well- the romance is very soft and tender and believable, the main characters act like real teenagers, and the discussion on race is piercing. And as it should be, ICE is the actual worst and the ongoing fear of Santi being arrested by them is genuinely heartrending.
Ander is the best. They’re deeply queer and deeply Mexican, with a profound love for their family and art. The journey of trying to work out for themself what it means to be queer and Mexican and an artist is profoundly well handled- there’s a delightful moment where they essentially flip off their racist advisor for fancy art school that made me want to cheer.
Santi is deeply human in a way that is crucial for an undocumented worker. His trauma is clearly there, but it isn’t fetishized. He’s allowed to just be a teenage boy who loves his boyfriend and loves to read and eats a terrifying amount of food and just wants to help his family.
I think this is an incredibly important book in the current cultural landscape, because while the romance is firmly YA, the issues of race and immigration are handled expertly in a way that destroys political talking points to focus on the humanity of the people involved. It would be fantastic to start a conversation with a teenager on these subjects while still challenging adults and our preconceived notions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Deportation