The way this made me weep should not be allowed!!! But like I loved every single bit of it and I highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book! I know I am late but honestly it took me a while to find the words to say for this. It was beautiful and I really felt lifted when reading this. The couple was gorgeous and the writing was so vivid as well as realistic. It made me enjoy this story even better. Definitely a 5/5! Again thank you Netgalley!

I can’t put into words how perfect this book is. I adored every minute of it, even the minutes I was sobbing. This is the kind of story that needs to be told and read.

This book means so much to me. As a nonbinary Mexican-American person, being able to truly relate and understand a character like Ander - every aspect, every feeling, every single part - it brought me to tears. I don’t think I’ve ever felt truly seen and cared for the way I felt it with Ander.

Jonny really knows how to write a story that will make you smile and laugh one moment, and absolutely break your heart the next. I fell in love with every single one of these characters - their courage, their dedication, their love for one another. Ander’s family made me wish (once again) that mine was as accepting and loving. But it reminded me that there is still hope out there.

I deeply appreciated Jonny’s author note at the beginning of the book, because they are so right. Too often we look past immigrant allies, and the way they perpetuate the model immigrant myth - the way they commodify immigrant bodies, their lives, especially those who are undocumented. This story is not meant to be one to speak for undocumented people. But it is meant to reflect on what allyship for the undocumented community truly means, and that what they can provide for us means nothing if we cannot value them as they are - human beings.

All in all, an incredibly moving, heartfelt story that needs to be read by everyone.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Ander and Santi Were Here follows 19-year-old nonbinary Mexican American artist Ander as they take a gap year between high school and college to focus on their art. Sparks fly when they meet Santi, and things get complicated when ICE agents come for him.

This book was so sweet. I picked it up because of its comps -- Aristotle and Dante, The Hate U Give, and The Sun is Also a Star -- and I knew that, at some point, it would break my heart. It did, eventually, but I was pleasantly surprised when the ending of the book wasn't just sadness. It was a joy to get to see Ander and Santi find happiness.

I will say, this book does move kind of slowly. Once you get attached to the characters, it doesn't matter so much, but it does take awhile for Ander and Santi to have significant interactions, and then even longer to get around to the ICE part. Ultimately I was fine with it, but it did take some time to get through. Additionally, this has to be the first book I have ever read that was very clearly written by someone with a TikTok account. Some of it felt a little cringey -- the use of "unalive" in a non-monitored, non-online context, or referring to false Spring as a game of just the tip -- but overall it was refreshing to read a book that deals with a lot of timely topics star a main character who is very of the time and of the moment.

Anyways, Ander and Santi deserve the world, and I love this book.

Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa

Rating:5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book had ALL👏🏻THE👏🏻FEELS👏🏻 A tragic love story at its finest🤍

It’s that overwhelmingly happy feeling that a new love brings… It’s the fear when you realize how much losing that love will hurt… It’s all the highs and lows in between.

I *highly* recommend this YA to allllllll!

TW: Immigration/ICE

Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc!

I loved almost everything about this book. Santi, Ander, and their friends and family felt like they could waltz right off the page as real people. I loved watching Ander and Santi's romance blossom throughout the book, they were so sweet together, that you couldn't help but root for them. The quick references to Cemetery Boys (which made me want to break out the iPad and try again to conceptualize that same image too) and They Both Die At The End were really fun easter eggs as a reader as well. The last 25% of this book, however, is absolutely brutal emotionally. I didn't love the ending, but I understand why the decision to take the path rooted in optimism was made. Overall, this was a really sweet, fun romance, that I burned through quickly, with some deep themes and darker moments. I didn't love it as much as the author's debut novel, but overall, I really enjoyed this book!

I will always remember Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa because of the feelings it invoked: the love, the tears and the heartbreak; not necessarily in that order; the vibrant culture of San Antonio, the food, the language, the beautiful cover art, the friendships and family. My Spanish to English dictionary got quite the workout. I learned so many swear words that my vocabulary thanks you. I received an ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.

Ander is a non-binary teen living in San Antonio, TX, who has decided to take a gap year after graduation to continue their career as a muralist. Everything seems to be going great until their family lets them go from the taquería they run, so they can focus solely on their art. Ander is instantly attracted to the boy they hire to replace them, Santi. The attraction is mutual and the two begin a beautiful relationship. The only problem, Santi is undocumented.

This book was so beautiful, sweet, and heartbreaking.

I felt the characters were incredibly well developed and their struggles so deeply real. I loved Ander and Sanyo’s relationship and how we really got to grow with them throughout the book.

The world building was also fantastic. I’ve never been to Texas, but I really felt like I was there and living in this neighborhood while reading.

The message behind this book is such an important one and I feel it was delivered in a wonderful way.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys YA love stories, queer novels, or just loves a story that is going to make you feel all the feels!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and statements are my own.

Ander and Santi Were Here is the character-driven story of Ander, and nonbinary Mexican teen who paints murals and is taking a gap year before going to art school, and Santi, a new arrival to town who starts working at Ander's grandma's restaurant, and immediately catches Ander's eye. Santi's undocumented, though, and this puts a big snare in the plans of lovelorn teens.

Two things can be true, as Santi says. This book is sweet and passionate, tells a story that many have lived out, and is filled with joy and pain. This book is also slow, has teenage insta-love (which makes the slowness of getting to it all the more frustrating for me), and the ending feels very perfect and almost too easy and simple.

Overall, it is a good book about an important topic, but it just didn't hit top marks for me like I'd hoped based off other reviews.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the e-ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a vibrantly and wonderfully told story… and a beautiful story, at that. While I need to add my usual disclaimer that I am someone with a lot of feelings who cries easily, this book did absolutely make me tear up a couple of times. But, saying that, the ending was a good one, although maybe not the one you’re expecting.

The chemistry between the two leads, Ander and Santi, was so electric, and is really the backbone of the entire book. Without it, the story would really just fall apart, but is is truly quite believable and beautiful. And seeing queer people being happy and falling in love will never not make me smile, especially when they do it against all the odds and forces working against them. You love to see it, especially in today’s climate.

Ander & Santi Were Here has been high on my most-anticipated list since I read and loved Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun last year, and it absolutely lived up to my expectations. Jonny Garza Villa has once again created a book full of characters and prose that go straight into your heart. I tried to stretch it out so that it didn't have to end, but I also just fell into the story in a way that made it impossible to read only a little bit at a time. It's a quiet story, but one that echoes and takes up space. Highly recommended.

CW: deportation, ICE, racism, marijuana use

ANDER & SANTI WERE HERE by Jonny Garza Villa is a beautiful love story between a non-binary Mexican-American artist and a young man, who's an undocumented immigrant and works at their family's restaurant. While the story develops at a slower pace, it never feels boring. The characters and their relationships are well-drawn and feel authentic. Ander, in particular, leaps off the page with vivid clarity through their dialogue and mannerisms. The romance is just lovely and has the reader rooting for a happy ending for the two souls at the center of it. Overall, the story is a perfect blend of funny, tender, heartbreaking, and hopeful. Abolish ICE.

Thank you to Wednesday Books (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

"Through happiness and destruction." 🥺😭

I spent much of this book with tears leaking out of my eyes. Ander and Santi's romance is sweet and intense, but man do they go through it during the course of this book.

Ander is a Mexican-American muralist, taking a gap year before attending art school in Chicago, who is working with a local group to put murals up all over their town. Santi is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who is hired at Ander's family taqueria. They are instantly drawn to each other, despite Ander's mother warning them not to start anything (at this point Ander doesn't know that Santi is undocumented). Of course, they don't listen 😆

Ander has been struggling to connect and find deeper meaning with their art while also not wanting to be boxed in by stereotypes so often attributed to artists of color by white people. As Ander and Santi grow closer, Santi's appreciation of Ander's art allows them to also gain a new perspective of it. Meanwhile, the threat of Santi being deported lingers in the background of their lives, almost like a tangible thing.

A few things I loved about this book--

-The author's note at the beginning: Garza Villa notes that while they don't personally know what it's like to be an undocumented person, they did grow up, similar to Ander, with undocumented people in their life and the chance that any of them could be taken at any time. They wanted to do their stories justice, and, for however much my opinion counts, I believe this story was very well done. I can see the care and, most of all, the humanity with which Santi's character was handled, and I think that was the author's goal--it is said a few times throughout the book that the reason organizations like ICE exist and the reasons borders are so cruel is that governments forget about the humanity of the undocumented people behind the statistics

-There is absolutely zero homophobia in this book! Ander (they/them/elle) is gay and nonbinary and is already out when the book starts. Their family accepts them completely, and so does everyone else they come across in the book. Ander does not tone down anything about their personality, spending most of the book wearing crop tops and short shorts and just generally being loud. They are never misgendered. I love that with all the other conflict going on in this book, that is one thing that doesn't come up at all ❤️ (except for a very sweet scene where Santi checks in with Ander about using a gendered word as a term of endearment)

-The descriptions of Ander's art. Ander creates multiple murals throughout the book and the descriptions of them were so vivid that I felt like I could actually see them. And now I really do want to see them! Even more so knowing that the cover is based on the last mural that Ander paints in San Antonio before leaving to be with Santi in Mexico 🥺❤️ I have been obsessed with the cover since I first saw it, and it's one of my favorite book covers ever. Someone please turn this book into a movie so I can see all of Ander's murals irl 🙏🏼

I really didn't mean for this review to become so long, but I really loved this book ❤️ It comes out on May 2nd, so go pre-order it or go buy it when it comes out!

"Ander & Santi Were Here" is a breathtaking YA contemporary queer love story that offers readers a timeless message on finding one's place in the world. The author's skilful blending of realities in modern America, including the harsh realities undocumented immigrants face, along with a message of love, hope, and fighting to belong, adds a thrilling and emotional depth to the book.

The latine, queer, and nonbinary representation in the book is commendably diverse. The characters are beautifully portrayed, and the emotional journey they go through is genuine and relatable. The author has a way of wrapping readers in the story, making them feel as though they too are experiencing the same struggles as Ander and Santi. The love story is incredibly heartwarming and touches the soul without feeling heavy-handed or cliche. Yes, I cried a lot.

Overall, “Ander & Santi Were Here” is a must-read for anyone who loves a heartfelt, captivating and moving contemporary love story that offers an inspiring and uplifting message. Jonny Garza Villa's ability to blend life's most pressing realities with storytelling that can uplift and inspire is nothing short of admirable.

- Oh, my heart, this book. ANDER AND SANTI WERE HERE is truly something special. I loved everything about it. The openly welcomed queerness, the love for San Antonio, the grappling with unfair and scary situations.
- Ander and Santi are incredible characters, both still finding the softness and joy in life amid brutality.
- This book also toes the line between YA and NA with some borderline spicy scenes, and I appreciate a book for young people that doesn't shy away from that aspect of life, like teenagers don't experience it.
- I feel like I can't put the beauty of this book into words. It's really a must read if you like YA, queer lit, Latine lit, or any combination of those.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley

This book wrecked me. It's a beautiful, painful, funny, heartbreaking, hopeful story.

CW: this book deals with family separation, loss of a parent, and ICE.

Ander (they/them) has taken a gap year before he plans to attend a prestigious art school. They are using their time to do an artist in residence for a local group called Beautify not Gentrify. They meets Santi when their Tita hires Santi to work in their family taqueria. Ander and Santi try not to fall for each other but they're unable to resist falling in love. Ander paints murals and struggles with the racist 'advice' of their school advisor while they struggles to grow as an artist. Santi is undocumented and in America alone. He was forced to leave his mother and sister behind at the border and continue to America on his own. He can't get a license and he's under constant risk of deportation. Despite all this he's determined to make the most of being with Ander.

Honestly, part of reading this book stressed me out. I could feel Santi's fear when ICE showed up, I could understand the visceral horror of Ander understanding what the reality of Santi's life was. It's very real for so many people, and reading this story really brought it home to me. It was a tough read. But it was SO good.

And there were parts of it that were so funny too! I loved the dialog between Ander and their family and Zeke. Scenes of Ander and Santi painting together were amazing. And I also liked how well accepted Ander was. They wore pink cropped shirts and had pastel painted nails and no one gave hem shit about it. MORE accepting families like this please. I loved the passion you could feel from the characters and how much richer a story it became the more we got to know them.

I think more people should read this story. I don't think a person could read something like this and not come out of it a better more compassionate person. I am very grateful to Jonny Garza Villa for writing and sharing this story.

ander decided to take a gap year before starting art school, and is content filling their time with an art project a month and working in the family taquería. but then, ander is fired so that they can focus more on their art. when they meet their replacement, santi, they want to get to know him better.

i loved that this story was set in san antonio, texas. it’s always cool to read books set in places i’ve been to. though i’ve mainly visited the areas surrounding six flags and seaworld, i could imagine the setting and enjoyed getting to know this other part of a city i love so much.

as for the story itself, i’m still thinking about and tearing up over it days later, and i think that says a lot. santi is undocumented and ICE eventually comes for him. this aspect made me both angry and sad, especially when taking into account that this is not a fictional thing. santi’s own backstory, though not shown much as he is not a POV character, was so heartbreaking.

i also loved ander’s own journey through their art and plans for the future. every meeting they had with their academic advisor made me so angry, so i wasn’t really surprised with what happened in regards to that in the end. i loved the descriptions of ander’s art and creative process.

i highly recommend this book to any YA reader, though be aware there are some more mature themes and the main characters are nineteen.

Absolutely devastating. I couldn't stop crying along with Ander whenever Santi's safety was targeted. The ending surprise me by not being the typical YA contemporary romance ending. I feel like this will resonate with Young Adults way more than cookie cutter endings. When I finished, the first thought that came through was 'I wish them all the best.' The family dynamic was so fun to read. I love family that clap back at each other. Jonny Garza Villa writes characters that are not only fun but incredibly moving as well. I wish there were illustrations of Ander's murals included, I would've love to see the one on his family business.

so incredibly heartfelt and the characters feel so real

I really appreciated the author's note at the beginning and the words which the author chose. It completely sets the vibe for the rest of the novel.

the queer representation!! I felt so deeply connected with both Santi and Ander in their queerness - Santi in his sexuality which he describes as "I like pretty people" (I do not think my sexuality could be described any better and his contentedness in not using a formal label felt freeing for me personally). Similarly in Ander's gender, but especially in the way that everyone accepts their gender and there was a single misuse of pronouns that I noticed. AND their love story felt so indicative of what I've experienced from queer love -- wonderfully done on Garza Villa's part, simply wonderful.

the story is not perfectly wrapped up either, which I appreciated. It felt real compared to so many other romance stories that I have read.

100% would recommend and the short chapters totally make this binge-able as well

thank you so much to Netgalley, which provided me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.