edd tello’s newest release follows the story of two teen cousins, azul & yuriel as they navigate the trials of being the queer people in their families and teaching their loved ones how to show up for them. ⁣
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azul is a trans teen who desperately wants to have a quinceañera to mark her transition into womanhood, and yuriel makes every effort to make this happen for her despite many obstacles along the way. ⁣
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this story will make you cry. it’s emotional and moving and exactly what i needed to read as my state passes more anti-trans legislation by the day. ⁣
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(as a content warning, there is some homophobic language used, some blatant transphobia and deadnaming that happens during the book. but this is largely a story about queer resilience.)

This is a wonderful verse (yes a poem) rendition about young LGBTQ teenagers who are neighbors in Mexico. Members of their families struggle with acceptance in various ways. Plus teenage crushes, parties, rebellion, etc. It's a VERY short read, so pull this one out as a palate cleanser between two thicker tomes ane rejoice in the simple joy of being accepted during an awkward age..

Like the first @eddstello book, this one also is written in verse. Here we have yuriel a gay teen and azul his trans girl cousin who wanna celebrate her quince like every other girl. But not everybody in the pueblo will accept that event. Yuriel and their friends will gather every resources to make it happen no matter that they don't have money, bad influence around them and family member who are against it.

I know I have teachers on this page, please make your kids read it !! It's beautiful written and hopeful. Not to long but still amazing description of places and feelings. Beautiful story for every ages.

Written in prose, this novella is a quick story integrating Spanish and English together while also highlighting transphobia and homophobia in a diverse community. By providing descriptions of specific Spanish words and foods, English readers can easily understand the story even with the unfamiliar words. As it is short, this novella could easily be read in class, and it has a very diverse cast of characters that are underrepresented in modern fiction.

Omg, this was such a cute and heart warming read. First time reading a book in verse and didn’t know what to expect but it was a pretty breezy read. No place for fairy tales is the story of Yuriel trying to help his cousin Azul have the quinceanera she deserves. As someone that’s Mexican this book hit close to home, but their daily life living, to the food, to the celebration.
Highly recommend!

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
Yuriel plans to help his cousin Azul have a magical quinceañera. They face difficulties due to money and being queer, but they won't let that stop them.
The story is told through poems, so it is a quick read. Despite this, it gives the reader plenty of details and information. Yuriel draws the reader in with his love and loyalty to his family. The drawing together of community to make the quinceañera happen felt like a fairy tale.

This was such a good read.
I loved both Azul and Yuriel, but would have liked for the book to go into depth about their characters a bit more.
I also liked how the parents learned to be more accepting of their children and more loving, it shows that this is possible at all, no matter how bad things are at the beginning. It is important to note though that nobody should feel obligated to forgive past hurts.
I loved how supportive Yuriel’s parents were of Azul, but it felt like they were only focused on her and not supporting their son enough.
The scene where Azul’s father finally comes around made me tear up. But before that I was just as angry as Yuriel.

The way the community came together to support Azul was also extremely beautiful.

This book is written as a novel in verse. I really enjoyed the writing style.
There is also a glossary at the beginning, which can be very helpful. I’m a big fan of glossaries in books. :D

All in all a great book.

My heart is happy.

The story is beautiful and just wow. I'm so happy to have had an opportunity to read this story.

This books address transphobia and homophobia, and it just makes your heart ache in the best and worse ways. Azul deserves the world. All the Azuls of the world do and I hope this book makes it into the hands of so many people.

This book was so good!! I really like Edd's work, and novel-in-verses in general so this book was just amazing to read.
Read it if you like:
- gay and trans rep
- novel-in-verse
- family dynamics
- sibling relationships

It was one of the most beautiful and yet sometimes heartbreaking books I read <3

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

It just was not for me. It was definitely an interesting book to read. There was nothing horrible about the book, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters. Maybe because I was reading on my phone was why I couldn’t connect with the book much.

I do think this was a good book. The representation in this I don’t see much, and I hope more books will have it as well.

Personally, for me, this book wasn’t it, but for other people, I’d check it out. It’s short, easy read, that has an interesting story, and will make you want to read more.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me receive an eARC copy of this book for an honest review.

"There are no thorns to cut. Some flowers just BOOM on TOP of them. Azul is one of those flowers."

In his sophomore novel, which is written in verse just like his first one was, Edd Tello tells us about Azul, a trans Mexican girl who wants to have a quinceañera party; and her cousin Yuriel, who desperately wants to act as a fairy godmother and help his cousin celebrate her fifteenth birthday.

This was an extremely soft, touching read, which I suspect is a distinctive trait of Edd's works. While one may think that it's just about the cousins' quest to set up the quinceañera party for Azul, this story actually addresses many more topics. From domestic violence to forced migration, we explore different issues surrounding the life of a Mexican family who nonetheless manages to come together for Azul's sake. I loved the way Edd didn't need extensive paragraphs to make a point, as well as how he managed to capture the complexity of issues such as verbal abuse or homophobia in just a few verses.

If you haven't read Edd's works yet, what are you waiting for!?

This was a lyrical story about a neighborhood coming together to celebrate Azul a trans teen who is turning 15 and dreams of having a grand quinceañera with all her friends. Absolutely beautiful.

Finally read @eddstello 's newest YA (about a trans girl in Mexico dreaming of a quince) and it's just 😍🌈👑😘. Did not disappoint.

If you read my review of Edd's first book (Only Pieces), then you already know how important I think his hi-lo books with @west44books are. I mean, queer Mexican books meant for high schoolers but at a second to third grade reading level? GIVE THEM TO ME.

There are so many English Language Learners (and just struggling readers in general) who could benefit from access to these queer Happily Ever Afters. I know book banning is a current obstacle in many states, but if you're not dealing with that, this is one that should be in your library or classroom.

I received a free E-arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review :)
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This was a sweet story which also packed a punch! I felt totally immersed in the setting, and enjoyed the mix of languages (the glossary at the beginning was much appreciated!)
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I really enjoy these "bite-sized" books in verse, and look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

Heartwarming queer YA novel-in-verse! The story is beautifully written, has a lot of heart and is full of lovable characters. The latine, trans and gay representation is superb and it will pull at your heartstrings!

Thanks to net galley for the arc. This cute short story written in a beautiful style was about a young boy yuriel and his cousin azulejo a trans teen. Saul wants to mark her entrance to womanhood with a quince. The problem lies with money of course and that axil’s father was not accepting of her life choices. They gather their friends together to ask for help planning this party and everyone was overjoyed to help. It was a cute quick read that really could be done in an hour or two. It was enjoyable I just wish it was a little longer or more detailed.

No place for Fairy Tales is a quick read told in prose, similar in style to The Ghost on Rose Hill through the eyes of a young queer artist about his cousin who is a trans woman. While it’s about Yuriel attempting to organize a quinceañera, it touches on many topics surrounding young queerness and coming out in a traditional family.
Although it only took me an hour or so to read this, I found it extremely touching and emotional. This book does contain mentions of homophobia/transphobia, but overall ends up having a very hopeful tone. I thought I would have a difficult time getting into more types of poetry but I really enjoyed this style of prose and story telling.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

🦇 Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

"There are no thorns to cut. Some flowers just BOOM on TOP of them. Azul is one of those flowers."

It doesn't feel like fairy tales can bleed into reality in Yuriel's poor neighborhood, but that won't keep him from trying to bring his cousin Azul's break of a quinceañera from coming true. Knowing it's an important rite of passage--especially for a trans teen in Mexico who lacks support from her father--Yuriel is ready to embody the role of her gay fairy godmother to bring a little magic into Azul's life.

No Place for Fairy Tales is a beautiful story of two queer cousins (one gay, one trans) as they navigate such an important rite of passage together. It's also a story of acceptance, love, and support; both from family and from one's community. This a Hi-Lo YA story, making it ideal for dyslectic teens and other struggling readers. There's a certain form of magic in the writing's vivid simplicity; without flowery language, you can focus on the emotion behind every word. While Yuriel is narrating his cousin's story, you still feel every ounce of what Azul is experiencing. Even when it's hard to find magic in a moment, Azul, Yuriel, and their entire community come together to make it happen. The writing's beautiful simplicity allows the words to flow from one page to the next, making it a quick read.

Though I know it's a Hi-Lo novel, I do wish there was a little more in terms of descriptions and metaphoric language. The concept of fairy tales--of wishing for the seemingly impossible, of more than we're given--is universal and relatable, making it easy to convey through unique, imaginative metaphors. The visual of a rose with thorns is the strongest metaphor to carry through the story, though I wished for a little more to truly make the writing stand out.

All in all, this a beautiful read full of love and acceptance. I only wish there was more of it.

🌹 LGBTQIA YA
🌹 BIPOC
🌹 Hi-Lo Format
🌹 Stories in Verse
🌹 Rite of passage

🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

My Ranking: 3 stars

***I received a digital copy from NetGalley *** I wanted to like this more. I’d really rank it 2.5 but I rounded it up to 3 because I really did enjoy the characters. I love Azul and Yuriel. This story takes you into their lives. One of which is gay, and the other is trans. It shows you the tribulations that they each go through. The characters are very down-to-earth and relatable. They have you rooting for them right from the first page. The characters are really the only saving grace this book had. I really disliked the verse style of writing. I felt like we were robbed of their true story because it was written in this shorthand writing style. I wanted more of the story and more detail.

4.5*

this was such a bittersweet book. i love azul and think she deserves the world.

would recommend to friends.

tws: transphobia, deadnaming, misgendering, homophobia