This was SO FREAKING CUTE. Basically: young lesbian Yamilet transfers to a Catholic school to keep an eye on her brother, who's been getting into trouble. There, she struggles with her gay identity (and a burgeoning crush on her friend Bo) while also dealing with how the mostly white populace treats her Mexican identity. This is just so wholesome and sweet throughout and reads smooth and quickly.

Thank you so much, Balzer + Bray, for allowing me to read The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School ​early!

Oh, what a roller-coaster of emotions this debut was. Hats off to Sonora Reyes and their incredible first novel and I am sure, it won't be the last! Their writing style and their voice was simply splendid and I loved every second I spent reading this book. The way they balanced religion, culture and queerness impressed me particularly and I can say with certainty that this book will have a special place in a lot of young people's hearts.

I always am looking out for book that look to balance queerness and religion, or just have religion surrounded by it- both in a good or bad sense. Because while I'm not specifically religious anymore I connect with narratives like that so well. So when I heard about this book about surviving as a Latina lesbian in Catholic school, naturally I was excited for it. And while I expected to enjoy this book it went on to surpass my expectations. I loved it. Sonora Reyes gave us a gem.

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School follows Yamilet Flores, who after being outed by her former best friend decides to transfer with her brother Cesar to a private Catholic and very white school. And being one of the only Latina girls at that kind of school would be hard enough if she didn't have to work so hard to stay closeted out of fear of how her mom would react. But when Yami starts school and meets Bo everything changes. Bo is out and not afraid to be herself in any circumstance. And as Yami and Bo grow closer she might be changing Yami's mind about that too.

As Reyes mentioned in their dedication, this book is about love. And there is romantic love in this book, and I do love Bo and Yami together. They're extremely adorable. But this book is also about familial love and that is definitely my favorite part of this book. Yami and Cesar have such a wonderful (and realistic) sibling dynamic together. And how both of their relationships with their mom changes and develops through the book is so compelling and powerful. I honestly love their mom so much. This was a story that hit on love in every definition of the word.

I think this is the first queer book that I can remember reading that is set in my hometown of Phoenix, AZ. There are a couple I can think of that visited or partially based, but they didn't really get it right. But this book so did. And honestly this might sound cheesy to bring up in a review but I absolutely loved it. Is this what it feels like when you live in a costal state and read lesfic? Although I grew up in one part and now live in another part of Phoenix that are both different from where this was primarily located, I could still vividly picture the area and the rich culture that goes with that. As well as I'm familiar with the Catholic school that I think this is loosely based on so that was cool too. I just really enjoyed having a book set in my city.

The book also covers many other topics such as cultural appropriation, both unconscious and conscious racism, coming out, mental health issues, and disowning by a parent. I could dedicate a paragraph to each on how well and sensitively the book handled each of these topics, but that would take forever to write. Suffice to say, this book handles a lot of serious issues and does it truly well and is both powerful and touching at the same time.

While this book has a romance, I wouldn't label it as a romance novel, because it is so much more. It isn't short, but I downed it in a day because I was so into it. I loved the descriptions of the culture, the characters, and the real emotions it brought up. 5/5

cws: outing, suicide, homophobia, racism

Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

The next time I pick up a YA book that practically screams "this book is about being a closeted queer girl and dealing with internalized homophobia and religious trauma in high school and then coming out," please remind me that while I am so excited for young queer people (and especially queer kids) to be able to see themselves in YA, I personally still have a hard time reading these stories as a whole grown up? Because this book is exactly what I thought it was going to be from the look of the (beautiful) cover and (incredible) title and yet, I still had a hard time getting through it without sobbing.

Because this book was also a lot heavier than I was expecting. There is some real psychic pain written into these pages, and I do think that it was beautifully done. On that note - I really think the Author's note, which lists the CWs, should be at the front of the book (though it's likely this will change in the finished copy).

The story itself unfurled rather slow for me, dragging in parts and speeding by in others, and the romantic subplot was a little more "sub" than I usually look for. I loved the chapter titles and the exploration of what it means to engage with your own cultural identity as a teenager. I am white, but I read it as a really beautiful conversation of Mexican-Americanism and I loved the way Yami and Cesar's cultural identity was infused in every page. It felt really honest and vibrant. The author writes that this book is a love story of "radical self-love" and I felt that every moment of reading it.

If you like Leah Johnson, give this one a shot.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC.

CW: racism, homophobia, immigration/deportation, suicidal ideation/hospitalization, adoption, familial rejection

Wonderfully snarky and heartwarming. Written to be relatable and insightful. My only qualm is that at times the protagonist comes across as overbearingly edgy.