This is a story about acceptance.  It is 2020.  Luis Gonzalez largely has enjoyed his experience at his "progressive" high school, where he is a student leader and always pushing the school for more inclusion.  His latest project is to convince the school to allow students to abandon its longstanding requirement that prom dates must be opposite sex couples, not least of all so he can attend prom with his boyfriend.  But the generally supportive principal rejects his effort.  And Luis does not get much support from his mom, who was a student at the same high school in the 1980s and always remind Luis of the experience of Chaz Wilson, her closeted classmate who met a tragic end.

When Luis is knocked on the head, he somehow wakes up in 1985 and is able to convince the school to let him enroll.  Luis soon realizes that his classmates include his mom, Chaz, and his estranged father, who is the ringleader of the homophopic students that torture Chaz and all other students they perceive as different.  Now Luis has two missions -- first, to give Chaz his first real kiss and two, to somehow find his way back to the future, all while navigating life in the strange world of 1985, where there are no iPhones, no Instagram, no Spotify, and much less acceptance of LGBTQ students.    

I loved this touching and insightful book.  It combines a great, well executed premise with strong character development.
I typically enjoy stories about people from the present traveling to the past, and this was no exception.  It was fun to see how Luis reflected on all the elements of life in 2020 -- from the experiences of LGBTQ students and adults and people of color to the centrality of technology to modern life to fashion -- through the prism of his experience in 1985.  The "Back to the Future" premise, where Luis gains new and unexpected insights into each of his parents and their relationships, as well as Chaz whose experiences loomed large in his life decades later, all while seeking not to change the past too much, was very well executed.  Most of all, Luis is a terrific character and it was a delight to spend the time with him.  (I also really appreciated the author’s note, where the author shares how seeing his daughter’s reaction to the 1980s while watching Stranger Things helped prompt him to write this story.)

Very strongly recommended!

DNF @ 30%- I loved the premise of this book, with time travel and queer characters facing real-world challenges and homophobia. However, the main character just felt so poorly written to me- didn't act, speak, or make decisions like any teenagers I know (or was, not that long ago!). Ultimately, I felt like this was a good idea that was poorly executed, which is too bad considering the high hopes I had for the book.

What a book! I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this one or not, it started out really strong and sometimes that puts me off, but I ended up really getting into the story and vibing with the main character. The story follows our main character Luis who goes back in time and tries to uncover the secrets about the hate crime of a gay man that his mother talks so scarcely about. I loved that the time travel of the book was so real feeling, there were definitely moments where I thought Luis would be found out, but overall I love his journey through the novel and his exploration of the differences of being gay in the 80’s versus in the 2020’s. I would definitely recommend this book to others, though it does have some homophobia and hate crime in the writing so those would be something to watch out for when reading if you’re needing a trigger warning, but if you’re ok reading about these then it’s a wonderful book!

2021 is the year of selfish protagonists who don't develop, it seems, given how this book has gone for me. I get it, I shouldn't have expected much more given the premise, but. But. Is it too much to ask that Luis realises that he's been selfish? That the only reason he bothered to help Chaz (arguably putting him in MORE danger than he had been before—I point I will expand on later) was for his own benefit? There's a brief nod at the end to that, but nothing more. And this, I feel, goes beyond the "well he's just a teen" excuse.

As I said, also, the way he goes about "helping" Chaz puts him in more danger than he was in originally. Yes to being out and open, sure, but a big no to the failure of this book to recognise that there's more to it than that here. There are bullies in this book who are shown to be violently homophobic, to the extent that they almost kill Luis at one point. Luis even goes back in time thinking that Chaz had been killed by said bullies. And he thinks the solution is for Chaz to be out? Has he no braincells?

And I mentioned the gay bashing here, but what really stuck in my craw over this one is that Luis's dad was the principal instigator of it all. Luis's dad beat him up. Almost killed him. As a teen. And yet Luis's mum, who does break up with him over this, takes him back because he's "sorry" (before knowing that Luis ends up being her son). At which point, they have Luis together and she later realises this Luis is the one she knew briefly in the 80s. But then. How do you get past the fact that you took back the man who tried to kill your son? How can I feel sympathy for her? Why not make it so that she's already pregnant at this stage?

Finally, and possibly my biggest issue, everything comes up smelling of roses for Luis. No matter what he does, no matter how selfish he is, how much danger he puts others in, no matter how much he flat out fucks up, it all works out in the end for him. And let me just say here, I do not think he did a single bit of good when he travelled back in time. I do not think that the message this sent—you can fuck everything up and put people in danger, but it's okay because it all works out! You magically made the town more progressive!—was a good one.

I am all for wishful thinking ownvoices stories, but this was not it.

Pros: diverse cast of POC characters, good premise, good writing. The writing is the main reason I was able to read the whole thing despite not liking the book overall

Cons: Has this author ever met a teenager??? cause I can say 2021 teens don’t act this way. The amount of trying to throw in slang and media references made me cringe.
The MC is so annoying I couldn’t stand reading his perspective
The MC was such a stereotype which isn’t always a bad thing, but he felt unrealistic. Maybe its just because I don’t hang around cis gays but I have never met a queer person who behaved this way. He seems like how cishets think queer people act.
The conclusion felt lazy, like oh everything is perfect now and homophobia is dead HURRAY
Really? a harry potter reference?? in a 2021 queer ya? I thought we were done with that. As a trans reader it left a sour taste in my mouth and made me immediately turned off of this book

This book was honestly a whole mood. Like, if you're one who needs a book with a relatable character who even though is (kinda) self-centered you can't help but love because he just so happens to be thinking everything you're also thinking? This one's for you. Also, to all my contemporary lovers who want more than the high school romance, we've got time travel so, exciting! (It honestly is making me want to find a book that's completely set in the 80s [or such] with a really radical MC best friend, because how interesting would that be? Having that mindset and stuff.)

We're doing a character paragraph and worldbuilding in this one, just so you're aware (I wish I could sound formal in these reviews and not like I'm literally talking, so annoying). Anyway, Luis Gonzalez (literally had to check the summary for his last name, did they ever say it in the book…? They probably did, my memory sucks). Describe him in three words you ask? Cuban, queer, confident (there are better adjectives, say "loud" or "this dude talks too much", but it didn't vibe the same and we know I'm all about the vibe [if I was extra enough an *eye roll emoji* would be here right now]). But seriously, just about everything our boy Luis uttered was a huge mood, and a better type of MC that was traveling into the future could not be asked for. What more could you need than someone who absolutely does not fit into the 80s to be thrown into the 80s, of course.

Chaz Wilson. The gay boy in the 80s that definitely was not born is the right family as far as acceptance, and definitely was born in the wrong century (or at least place). He's super charismatic and seriously the type of guy that if he was alive now, all those jock dudes would be like "Oh, but I'd be gay for him."

Okay, one word explanation of four random characters, go. Gordo (aka Luis' homophobic dad) — barf. Maria Elena (aka Luis' mother) — magnificent. Ms Silverthorn (aka Luis' English teacher) — radical (af). Mrs. Somboon-Fox (aka Luis' principal and top-tier flower lady) — (try-hard) rebel. That's all. The struggle it was to only write one word that I really went out of my way to add parenthesis to make it look like I did *eye roll emoji again*.

Worldbuilding, whoop dee doo. Good. I liked it. That's all that needs to be said. David Valdes really captured how a school made certain changes as time went on, showed how horrible those conditions were back in time, and then showed how much more changes were possible (with a little help from Luis, obviously). I think Valdes actually showed it really well in the short time that Luis was in his previous actual time, and in the even less time that he was in his new actual time (that sounds very confusing but I don't know how to reword it, oops).

(Searches up "In Conclusion" synonyms…) In closing, Spin Me Right Round is the gay Back to the Future book we all didn't realize we needed, but are definitely glad we now have. So read it. Now. Well, I guess not now, but in a month!

Fantastic, well-thought-out LGBTQIA+ inclusive YA Contemporary with time travel and nods to several of the greats, including 'Back to the Future' and 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.'

Luis' narrating was top-notch; fun and easy to follow. It's also really easy to root for him and his friends, both in present-day and 1985. Cannot recommend highly enough!

This is the time travel book I didn't know I needed! When Luis is hit in the head in 2021, he is transported back in time to 1985, when his parents were in high school. Oh, and Luis is gay, so if you were around in 1985, you remember what it was like (and he's not used to everyone being so closed-minded). Although he loves some of the clothes of the 80's, the homophobic attitudes really start to get to Luis after a while. Will he ever get home? I loved every single minute of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC of Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes. I love a good time travel book and a fearless protagonist who gets to learn more about getting deeper in his recognition of the hardships of others. I struggled however with a big reveal in the past that doesn't violently alter the future like it should have, with the character of Gordo never getting his true just desserts for what he clearly must have done in the original timeline. FRUSTRATING.

Spin Me Right Round is heartfelt, witty and charming. Luis Gonzalez wants to go prom with his boyfriend but his school that claims to be inclusive and progressive will not allow him too. There was an incident in the past that the school will not let go of. It's because of this incident that they won't allow same sex couples at the dance. Luis hits his head and magically lands back in 1985. Not the best time for a gay kid. Luis tries to fix the incident while not ruining the present day. I had a blast reading this story. It's an inclusive story with lots of heart and charm.

This is the funny and heartfelt story of Luis, a student who wants to take his boyfriend to prom at his conservative school.. When he is denied this request and reminded of what happened to a student named Chaz in the 80s, he randomly time travels back to that time. There, he meet Chaz and his parents, and he vows to help Chaz come to terms with his sexuality and get his first kiss, and maybe even save Chaz if it's possible. I LOVED that there was conversation around the mysterious mechanics of time travel in this book. Does it make sense? No, but the book knows that and flaunts it.