This was a deep and beautiful read about a girl struggling to come to terms with who she is and how she fits that into her current life. The style of writing took a while to grow on me but eventually it felt natural and the story flowed well. All characters were well developed and the story kept me guessing as time went on. I liked the ending and felt like it was a great read. I would caution those who are sensitive about certain subjects that there were plenty of different moments. Ultimately, it was a beautiful and realistic look at coming into one’s own self and proudly living that truth. 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for a great read.

This is a book that's just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.

This book is great for a lot of reasons. There are many funny moments, the characters are relatable, and the romance is really cute. But where this book stood out to me was the main character, Yamilet. It's common in YA novels for main characters to be overshadowed by side supporting characters, but this book did not have that problem. Yamilet is a total powerhouse. Most of the plot is driven by her decisions; she's guarded and cares a lot about her family; she tries to think things through, but she also relies heavily on her emotions. Her emotions make her impulsive, and that's what made the story so engaging to me. [ (Like when she instinctively told Bo she was straight, and then immediately after accidentally told Hunter she was gay. That part had me rolling.) (hide spoiler)] While I did know some baseline plot points had to happen to keep the story going [ (i.e. she had to come out) (hide spoiler)] I was never sure what decisions she was going to make next. She's just so utterly human. I felt like I was sixteen again, reading from her point of view. It was impossible not to fall in love with her.

Of course, I still loved all the supporting characters too. I loved Ceasar in particular, and the sibling dynamic between him and Yamilet was spot-on. Bo is a cutie and Jamal is a total sweetheart. The diversity of representation was great to see as well. Reyes definitely took care in how she portrayed the struggles of dealing with racism, homophobia, mental health, having immigrant parents, living in a low-class household, and struggling with religious guilt.

Over the course of reading The Lesbiana's Guide, it's become one of my favorite sapphic books. I will definitely be rereading it at some point, but for now, I'm just going to revel in that post-read high.

As always, check Content Warnings because there are some pretty heavy topics throughout this book. CW: (view spoiler)

Thank you, NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh dear lord, I loved this book so much. I knew I’d relate, being a Catholic School veteran (and reject) as well as bisexual, but it was so much more than that. From page one, Yamilet grabbed my attention and didn’t let go. Her struggle between wanting so badly to be true to herself, and living in this world that doesn’t value what that is, was palpable. This is a beautifully written, incredibly raw, and thought-provoking work that just might stay with you forever.

Even aside from all this, and with many darker subjects (suicide, immigration and deportation, homophobia, and racism are all dealt with and presented thoughtfully by Reyes, in text and in an Author’s note) I had a lot of fun with this book! The homecoming party felt like parties I’ve actually been to, and when Yamilet flattened that creep Connor, I cheered. But I’ve been talking about Yamilet this whole time! Let’s get into side characters. CESAR. Oh, man, my mama bear senses went into overdrive with that one. I loved that boy so much. And Bo. BO. Heart eyes forever.

I feel like I’m very prone to just gushing for the rest of this review, so I’ll wrap this up for now. Books don’t come along like this for me often: the ones that make me cry, laugh, and think. This book hits all three for me and then some. This is a book that my bi Italian/Catholic heart could have sorely used at sixteen, and I’m very happy it’s in the world this year. Suffice it to say, this is 5 stars from me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this fantastic book.
Trigger Warnings: homophobia, suicidal ideation, outing, religious trauma, mental illness (depression), forced hospitilization, xenophobia, deportation, self-harm.
In Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School we begin with Yamilet following her brother Cesar to catholic school to keep him out of trouble. After a her best friend abandons her for being gay and outs her at school she can’t wait to begin with a fresh slate at a school where no one knows she’s gay. Somewhere she can stay safely in the closet until she can afford to move out if her religious mother disowns her. This gets more and more difficult however as she develops a crush on the only out lesbian at her new school, Bo. At first terrified that being friends with the only out queer person will throw suspicion onto her own sexuality she attempts to keep her distance in those first few days. She quickly realizes that Bo and her friends are going to be her best chance at real friends in this school. For a while she walks the line between desperately wanting the people in her life who care about her to know who she is and her fear of what could happen if she does come out. She yearns for safety and support. We watch Bo and Yamilet’s friendship grow closer and stronger as they begin to fall in love. It is such a sweet and loving representation of falling in love for the first time when you’re so unsure about everything else in your life.
Yamilet and Cesar’s relationship especially is fantastically written. The dynamic between the youngest that has the burden of being the ‘gifted one’ placed upon him and the eldest who takes on the problems of everyone around her. There is so much love in their sibling dynamic even in their arguments. Cesar and Yamilet each look out for the other in their own way.
Yamilet is such an amazing character to read from, I loved her so much. I loved seeing her relationship with her mother as she strives both to make her mother proud and to get enough money for an apartment if her mother kicks her out as she believes she will. I loved that the author made it clear that being out is not the only way to be queer, that one does not have to come out in order to be gay and that safety is always the most important thing. This was such an emotional read and I cannot wait to put it in the hands of so many readers.

When I tell you this was actually pretty good...

The writing style and chapter titles 100000% reminded me of Wattpad. I love the main character, and her struggle of the situation. I do like that the author added certain favoritism between siblings, but they still bond. It's quite sweet. Yami and her brother are relatable siblings. They have a code together that they both refuse to break, and they support each other no matter what. As other reviewers state, the two have such a realistic bond with each other that not many authors add.

I love the plot, which is something definitely something to enjoy. I don't read eBooks much, but of the ones I have read, this is one that tops the list.

The concept and the idea of a Gay girl being at a Catholic School is pretty good, something I wouldn't have thought of being written, so it's nice to see a change.

Bo and Yami are adorable, and have an actual realistic relationship. They have their times, and even before they were dating, they had realistic kind of goals and such. They flirted with each other at times when they didn't mean to. I love that.

Another reviewer did state that while this is a book that includes romance, it shouldn't really be marked down as romance, and I kind of agree. Of anything, it should be marked as Contemporary.

Overall, this was a really good book, and definitely something I'll be buying in the future.

Literally so good!! This book was immaculate. I love you Sonora Reyes!! The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School was everything it needed to be. It candidly tackled serious topics from homophobia to racism to immigration to suicide. All the while, it was funny and wholesome. The characters were so compelling and I'm so happy it was more than just your typical girl meets girl story. I loved Bo, Cesar, and Yami so much and they really ran the show but they didn't overshadow any of the others!

Thank you so much, Sonora for the ARC!

This was a solid debut! At times the writing felt a little to cutesy/cheesy (especially with some of the pop culture references, like the direct Mean Girls quote), which pulled me out of the story. I also felt like some of the plot lines wrapped up too quickly (her mom accepting her sexuality, her brother dealing with his mental health) and others didn't get wrapped up at all (what was up with Jenna and Bianca, her future at the school). But I thought it dealt with a lot of important topics quite well, and I'd definitely recommend it to teen readers.

Thank you for the ARC, loved this book and can’t wait to recommend it to people! Great characters and plot.

Okay, first off all I wanted to say thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book!

Honestly I really enjoyed this book. I don’t know why it took me so long but it was amazing. I loved the family relationships in this especially Yamilet’s and Cesar’s, theirs was so realistic. They are always there for each other and their banter was so funny. Also, plot wise I liked the premise of this book and I think the author handled different topics well. Topics such as homophobia, racism, mental health, cultural appropriation, etc. Bo and Yamilet’s relationship was cute and I loved them. To add to that, the romance was apart of this story but more like a side plot. The important part though of this though was Yamilet and her journey of just finding/being herself. The emotions each character showed was done so beautifully, and overall this story was a 5/5.

As a lesbian who went to Catholic school...this was so accurate! Jokes aside, this story is so precious and full of love, pain and humor. I enjoyed the pacing of this book. When things slowed down in the main plot, the side plots were powerful and more than just filler. I highly recommend this book if you like YA romance, coming of age, family dynamics and school settings. Read this book!

Like so many lesbians, Yami fell for her best friend. The same “best friend” who then outed her to everyone and flipped her world upside down. Yami is starting at a new school where no one knows her or that she’s gay. Plus, it’s a Catholic school. Her plan is to lay low, stay out of relationships, and just finish school.

Too bad the only out queer girl is super cute, and Yami is falling for her. Told in first person, this debut novel is full of love and finding yourself. Will recommend.

A book about a gay girl trying to fly under the radar at her new Catholic school, trying to keep her sexuality under wraps while she tries not to fall for one of the girls she meets there, and tries to deal with her familial relationships. It sounded like it was going to be an incredible book, and I was eager to see what I thought of it. Trigger warnings: mentions of suicide ideation, homophobia

I ended up really, really liking this book. It is brilliantly emotional, and is a coming of age and romance wrapped into one in the best possible way.

I adore Yami; I completely adore her. She tries so hard to be straight, but she is so, so gay. It was honestly kind of hilarious to watch her try to fit into this persona of a straight girl, because it's so just far off from what she really is. There's this honesty about her, and she doesn't believe she's brave, but she feels like such a brave character. You watch her navigate the situations she finds herself in, and you can't help but think she's brave. She's there and she's trying to do what is best for her, while trying to figure out what her life is going to look like. She's messy and emotional, but she's so caring, and she loves so deeply. She's wonderful.

I fell completely in love with basically every single character (expect the ones that suck). I adored Bo, and her confidence and how she calls out bullshit when she sees it. I loved Cesar and how he embodied the annoying little brother role, but he also had his own storyline, and his own struggles. I adored him and Jamal, because they're both weirdos, and I loved seeing them be weirdos. I even loved the other minor characters. Hunter is such a himbo, but that's why I love him, and Amber and David were such good friends.

Speaking of characters, one of my favorite things about this book was how teenage it felt. It felt like authentic teenage experiences, like being inside of a teenager's brain. I absolutely love when books are able to capture this, and this book does it so well.

Another thing I loved was the familial relationships. They aren't always easy, and sometimes they're strained and painful. But there is also so much love in the ones that are supportive. Family is messy and weird, but finding the true family is worth it.

I also loved how this book discussed queerness. There are many different queer experiences across characters, and I loved seeing how they all differed. Because everybody has a different relationship to it. There are struggles and happinesses and inner turmoils that need to be worked through that are unique to specific people. Being queer will look different for everybody, and there is no one way better than the other.

This book is about what it is like to be a person of color, grappling with trying to connect with your culture, and trying to exist in a predominantly white school. I can't comment on it, but it is a major part of the book, and I wanted to mention that it is there.

Overall, I really, really loved this book. It's bright and hilarious, while also being achingly emotional. It is full of yearning, and a girl who is so gay that the gayness just seems to seep out of her. Truly, a very amazing book.

An interesting novel about a young Latina lesbian attending her first year of private Catholic high school while navigating familial pressures (her father has been deported, her mother expects her to take an unreasonable level of responsibility over her younger brother), being one of very few BIPOC at a PWI, and coming to terms with her own identity as a gay woman. There isn't much of a central plot, instead the novel functions as a sort of 'year in the life,' albeit a year with some significant milestones. I found the brother's story arc to be a little obvious, but really enjoyed the growth and role change of the parents' arc. Yami's new classmates are likeable secondary companions and her former best friend is a compelling minor villain. I would have preferred a more distinct and streamlined plot line I think, but this does leave the door open for a possible second novel set in Yami's senior year. The author's note discusses trigger warnings, but these come way too late as they appear after the novel has concluded. Strong TW for: homophobia, racism, suicide, and child abuse.

I loved this! I wish this had existed when so was in high school! I loved Yami and Bo and Cesar so much. This is a perfect coming of age story. It has such good family representation. It deals with immigration and religion and suicidal ideation (CW) and sexuality and class and race, and it does it all with thoughtfulness and respect. It was really, really good.

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School follows Yamilet, a closeted lesbian Mexican-American girl who follows her brother in transferring schools after her best friend (and crush) outs her to her friend group. She is determined to hide her identity from everybody there, but that soon becomes difficult when she becomes friends with Bo, the only out lesbian (or queer person at all) at the school and falls for her.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about this book; I absolutely loved it. Every aspect of it is done so well, I love all of the characters so much, and I have essentially no criticisms.

Yamilet is such a lovable protagonist. She's just trying her best for the entire book in every aspect, be that protecting her brother, trying to conceal her sexuality, or trying to help her mother with their rocky financial situation. She is forced to be so strong and try to hold everything together, and I absolutely adore her. She's determined and a little broken and trying to survive and handle life as best as she can.

Yamilet's relationship with her brother, Cesar, is one of the strongest elements in a book filled with well-written plot lines. Cesar is also queer, and he and Yamilet come out to each other near the start of the book, which causes Yamilet to immediately start trying to figure out how she can protect him in addition to herself if they're ever outed to their mother. This is also the place where her character is most evident as the pair's differing personalities and religious views cause them to have very different perceptions of sexuality and morality. They also clash a bit over Yamilet's tendency to try and control things and provide help that others don't ask for.

Yamilet's relationship with the rest of her family is also done very well. She constantly feels like her mother prefers Cesar to her, which leads to some conflict there, particularly in relation to how she believes her mother would react if Yamilet was outed to her. However, the two do slowly become closer over the course of the book as Yamilet gets more involved with helping her mother with selling traditional beaded jewelry on her Etsy store. Meanwhile, Yamilet feels very close to her father, who was deported when she was 10 but whom she calls often. The dynamic between the two parents, who are barely seen interacting in the book, and how Yamilet's perceptions of them differ from their actual actions, are written superbly. There is no character in the book who does not feel like an actual person; they all feel real and multidimensional and human.

Yamilet's relationship with her culture doesn't appear that frequently, but it is a key part of her character. Her family is Mayan, but, since her father was always the one who cared more about preserving their culture and related activism, she feels that she lost some amount of connection with her past when her father was deported, in addition to losing him.

Yamilet's relationship with Bo is so adorable, but also felt deep and well-developed. Bo's probably my favorite character; she's a Chinese-American girl who was adopted by white parents, and she and Yamilet talk about how they both don't feel very connected to their cultural identities due to their individual parental circumstances: Bo's adoption and Yamilet's father's deportation. Bo is so cute and confident and I loved her so much. She's definitely my favorite character in the book, and their relationship development and romance are so believable and well-done.

As a semi-closeted (not out to my family, but out everywhere else) bisexual girl, I loved the way that the book handled talking about Yamilet's experiences. The book never treated her coming out as something that needed to happen for her to be true to herself or anything; it always treated being closeted as something that Yamilet has to do for her own safety, and never acts like there is anything wrong with that or like she is living a lie for protecting herself. I really appreciate that narrative, especially since that isn't the way that coming out is usually treated in YA novels. Even if everything else about the book had been horrible, I still would have adored it for how it handled this topic.

The book does deal with a lot of heavier topics, so I'd definitely recommend looking at the content/trigger warnings; off the top of my head I can think of homophobia, racism, xenophobia, deportation, depression, self-harm, suicidal ideation and hospitalization, but there are likely more, so look into that if you think there's even the slightest possibility that you might need to.

Overall, I absolutely love everything about this book, and am giving it a very enthusiastic 5/5 stars. Every single character and plot line is written extremely well; I honestly have no critiques to give. Yamilet is a wonderful main character whose development feels natural and well-developed, as are her relationships with those around her. Every character is well-fleshed-out and multidimensional. The romance is adorable, but Yamilet's growth takes center stage in this book, creating a character-driven story that only elevates all of the individual plotlines.

I am completely in love with this book and everything it stands for. It follows a Mexican-American lesbian girl while she adjusts to her new Catholic school. There’s gay romance, found family, sibling love and everything we love about diverse stories, while also dealing with more heavy topics like suicidal thoughts and religious trauma. I loved every character and saw myself in them, and as a Latinx person, this book made me so happy! I wanna see more books like this one! Everyone should read this. Every single person.

This book was pretty good for a newer author. Reyes writes with a crystal clear voice that makes the story easy to read. I could hear the narration perfectly in my head and wished I could have been listening to the audiobook. The plot and subplots are solid, but they don't come together in that magical way that truly exceptional books do. This book is very worth reading, and I think it is deserving of praise, likely even a must-read for fans of queer YA books.

My favorite 2022 release I've read now, by far.

When Yamilet Flores is outed by her best friend, Bianca, after revealing her interest in her, she decides to transfer to the only other school in the area, Slayton Catholic, for her junior year. Her brother was already planning on attending, after being harassed by the other guys at his public school, and neither of them particularly want to attend Slayton, but they know it's their only second chance.
As she expected, Yamilet soon figures out that she's one of only a few people of color in the school, and most of her classmates and teachers aren't at all accepting of anyone who isn't white, straight and strictly religious. Same-sex marriage is even an in-class "debate" topic. Even so, Yamilet does manage to find a small circle of friends: David, a Navajo boy who Cesar constantly gets mistaken for, Amber, who's always wanted to challenge the school's ways and is not-so-secretly in love with David, and Bo, a Chinese-American girl adopted by white parents who's known for not only being unafraid to speak her mind about the school, but for being the only openly gay student there.
When Cesar comes out to Yamilet as bisexual, she realizes that she finally has someone she can turn to for support, as their strictly-Catholic mother seemingly could never be supportive. Yamilet and her mom aren't very close-- in fact, Yamilet seems to take care of her, run her traditional beadwork business, and act as a parent. Her dad, who was deported to Mexico several years ago, seems to understand her more, and Yamilet figures that he'll be accepting of her, but the results are the opposite of what she expected.

It was so refreshing to see this book's attitudes on coming out. No character ever tried to force another to come out, no one ever implied that you were "living a lie" if you were in the closet, and nobody broke up with someone because they were closeted. In fact, Yamilet constantly talks about how much she hates the "living a lie" idea when all she wants to do is survive and not get kicked out of her house. I went into this book worried that Bo would be all about coming out no matter what, but she wasn't like that at all. She completely understood that not everyone feels safe enough to do it.
Also, there's no third-act breakup. Or misunderstandings. Or cheating. I hate that it's hard to find a romance without any of those, but if you're like me and want it drama-free, this book is for you. Conflict primarily comes from the characters vs. themselves, as well as the racism and homophobia perpetuated against them. Another good thing was that Yamilet never felt like she had to forgive the racist/homophobic girls (Karen and Jenna) that targeted her in the beginning. Some people don't need to be redeemed.

This book 100% lives up to the beautiful cover. I hope it gets all the hype it can get once it's released.

Let me say, I was blown away. OK, that is a little strong, but I loved this debut novel, which started as a NaNoWriMo exercise.

Yamilet is closeted, even more so since she came out to her best friend at her old school, and her best friend reacted by letting others know, even though she wasn’t ready. Fortunately, she is going to go to a new school, and she figures she can be closeted there, until she meet Bo, who is outspoken, and very out, and proud, and all those things.

Everyone has to come out at their own pace, of course, and Yami figures that she will come out, and if her mother disowns her, she has saved enough money to rent an apartment.

On top of young love, we also have keenly observative comments on rich white people, and how different they are, and how they try so hard, such as Bo’s parents who adopted her when her birth mother, who was Chinese ancestry, died. They have all these Chinese ornaments on the walls, even though they dont’ mean anything to them, and not much to Bo, as she was not raised in her birth culture.

Heart wrenching at times, such as where she pretends to have a boyfriend, who is actually her brother’s boyfriend, who is also closeted, to throw her mother off her tracks.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

oh my fucking god i am in. wow.

Thank you for NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books/Balzer + Bray for the arc!

Yamilet owned so much of my heart during this book. I would absolutely recommend reading the content warnings provided in the book, because it gets heavy.
The first chapter title drew me and I couldn't stop turning pages, lost in the love and care this book had. Yamilet was everything: smart and protective and cynical and hopeful and hurting and helping and incredible, and her family was *everything*.

This book covers so much, holds so much, and hopefully one day I can word things out better to properly talk. But I am so, so thrilled that kids will have the chance to read this.