Thank you to Netgalley for providing early access to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

<b>Overall thoughts</b>: this book wasn't bad and will absolutely blow some little queer kid's mind, so I'll happily recommend it to teen readers. However, <i>I</i> was disappointed. The pacing, prose, and the ending (yikes on bikes) left a lot to be desired for me, so I can only rate it a 3.0. I'll try to explain my reasoning as well as I can!

<b>The audiobook experience</b>: Although I didn't LOVE the book, I did love Avi Roque as the narrator. Not only were they the obvious best choice because of who they are, but they also killed it with a variety of distinct voices and and overall soothing, pleasant voice. They never disappoint.

<b>Representation</b>: These are the most obvious selling points of the book! The protagonist, Ander, is latine/latinx, just like it says in the blurb. What the blurb doesn't mention is that the story doesn't depict homophobia: the protagonist's friends, family, and community members all get their pronouns right and generally support their very gay romantic pursuits. The only comments they have about Ander's sexuality are along the lines of, "Mije, the walls are thin!"

However, this world definitely has racism. Ander learns partway through the book that the love interest, Santi, is undocumented, and it's a repeated source of angst and drama throughout the book. Ander isn't immune from racism either, even though they're a U.S. citizen, and they have to put up with microaggressions from their academic advisor all the time. We also get to see a protest on the page!

A last note on representation: Ander is also a mural painter and an entrepreneur. The cover isn't just pretty (gorgeous, actually), it's a depiction of one of Ander's murals! As a recovering working artist myself, I don't think the depiction of Ander's early art career is very realistic, so the story lost points for me here. But I do think it's nice that the book portrays a career in the arts as attainable and valuable. Various artists are also mentioned throughout, which might pique readers to research them on their own!

<b>The characters</b>: Ander and Santi are 18/19, working and on the cusp of college. Their language is also more "grown-up." The author even describes the book as new-adult mixed with YA.

For the most part, Ander and Santi are both blank slates for the reader. Sure, Ander waxes poetic about their hot sauce ranking and has a lot of sassy remarks, but both they and Santi are ultimately a bit too perfect to feel like real people. When bad things happen (and they do!) they're both able to calmly tell each other what they need and cuddle each other into feeling better, which ,,, yeah, that sounds nice, but in my experience it's not really how people respond to stress, especially two very young people without much dating experience. I appreciated that the story models good behaviors, but I wanted to see them lash out and screw up then have to deal with the consequences. Worse, Ander sometimes came off as dense, which frustrated me.

The romance is very insta-love (and insta-lust, as the author gleefully points out on their Instagram). There is some build-up will they/won't they, but most of the tension in the story stems from Santi's immigration status and Ander's school decisions rather than from questions around the relationship. There's lots of banter, which I know some people like but always rings hollow to me. There were also moments when the dialogue worked too hard to lead me to a point rather than sounding natural or when Ander/Santi seemed to know things they couldn't--author oversight types of things.

<b>The use of Spanish</b>: This was a big plus for me! This is not the kind of book that feels compelled to translate each burst of espanol word for word. You either understand, figure it out as you go, or deal with it--this story was not written for the white gaze. I also liked how the author used bilingual dialogue to show some of what it means for Santi to be a Mexican citizen. At times, I could feel how painfully he understood everything that was happening in English but couldn't always muster a response in English, reverting to Spanish much more often than Ander and their family. This was some of the best character work the book pulled off!

<b>Sex and sexuality</b>: There is no graphic depiction of sex on the page ... but a few passages come close! Ander speaks freely about their turn-ons and about body parts to a degree that triggered my TMI because oh my god they feel like SUCH kids and I'm <i>not</i> a kid. As a teen I'd probably be delighted by it though. These moments also added some much-needed humor and shock value to the story though, including a poorly chosen location for a makeout session that make me drop my jaw and laugh.

<b>The writing</b>: You do you, Jonny Garza Villa, but you won't win any prizes from me here. It wasn't the worst I've seen, especially since the narrative is couched in Ander's believably teen voice, but some lines were super clunky. There were some especially bad interrupting clauses that ruined the flow of a passage. It felt obvious to me that Avi Roque was the first person to try reading those sentences out loud to see how they sounded. I also felt ready to scream with the amount of passive, personified body parts: my hands reached, my eyes wanted, etc. The figurative language was also pretty bland and cliched. Like, <i>a wave of emotion swept through me,</i> levels of blah and nonspecific.

<b>Plot and pacing</b>: The last third of the book really dragged for me, which is shocking because that's when things become most dire. I think the problem was that a lot of the romantic content later in the book felt like filler, leaving the story stagnating rather than moving anywhere.

But to talk about the plot and why I didn't love it, I have to talk about the ending. There will be SPOILERS from here on out!

In the end, Santi is deported and Ander decides on a whim to ditch the school they'd planned to attend and go live with him in Mexico. It's very romantic, but it also feels borderline irresponsible of the author to paint a choice like that in such a rosy light! Like, I'm all for Ander skipping out on that already toxic school environment, because it was obviously a bad fit. But making a big move even within the same country is hard to land successfully, especially when you don't have a job yet or know many people. And I know because I've done it! I can't imagine how much harder it must be to do that in another country! (Especially because earlier it's implied that Mexico was a dangerous place for Santi and his family to be!!) If anything, I wish the book would've started there to really dig into the messiness and difficulty of living with that choice (and to challenge the idea that knowing zero people there besides Santi is totally fine).

Ander's new life in Mexico is going to be funded by gallery sales and their Etsy store magically going viral and making them tons of money. Which, like ,,, ojala, but getting a following going takes years of work! Those achievements are hard-earned at any age but feel especially unlikely to me for a young person, who buyers are even more inclined to lowball or outright dismiss. Once again, I don't feel like Ander's instant success is a fair or realistic expectation to set for young artists. That's also definitely not the only thing success can look like!

Too many YA books treat their romances like the end all be all ... which is so rarely the case in real life! People grow, change, break up, and make mistakes. Not every relationship could or should last forever. I wish more books gave young people tools and models for dealing with disappointment. Teens need stories that teach them how to be happy under their own power rather than depending on a romantic interest to generate their happiness. This is super not that book. I'll give the author partial points for depicting one of Ander's exes as someone who was truly meant to be a friend all along, not a lover. But I'm still cringing and side-eyeing Ander's super spicy final choice.

This book is proof that you can know the endgame that a book will bring, but still be surprised, delighted, and emotional along the way.

It took me a bit to get into this story as I did not care for the narrator, but once I was hooked, there was no putting it down. There were so many layers: family, immigration, gender & sexuality, family separation, and more. Each chapter brought new discoveries and they were all woven into a beautiful love story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC!

This was a beautiful book. Ander & Santi Were Here was a tender and endearing read that brought me to tears.

The characters in this book were some of my favorites ever. This beautiful family of Ander’s warmed my heart. They were so full of love and full of life. Ander themselves, was a feisty and charismatic little artist with so much wit. Santiago was the perfect counterpart, too. Stoic and kind, I loved the way he reacted to Ander whenever they were around.

When young love strikes the hearts of these two in the city of San Antonio, Texas, the world seems to open up… until Santi’s secret comes to light. He is undocumented and ICE is closing in. Through the pain and struggle of the devastating notion that Santi could be taken in an instant, he and Ander may end before they really got a chance to begin.

This book was heartbreaking and uplifting simultaneously. The love between Ander and Santi was so strong and persistent. Ander was this fantastic ball of creative energy and sass and I adore them! Avi Roque was the absolute perfect voice to capture the feel of both of these characters. The audiobook is the way to go, for sure.

5 stars

Yes. You *can* judge this book by its stunning cover. If you, like me, were drawn to this book because of this cover, author, and synopsis, I anticipate you'll also be thrilled by what you get from this meaningful read.

Ander, the m.c., works at their family's taqueria, loves hanging with family and friends, and finds some of their best moments in creating art. In this pivotal moment, Ander has some interesting decisions to make about who they are and who they'll become as they move toward a long-term goal of attending art school and further developing their passion away from their Texas hometown. All of this takes a backseat - or at least a sidecar - when Ander sets eyes on Santi, a new server at the taqueria. The two hit it off so fast, and readers can swoon and feel their hearts nearly burst from cuteness overload when these two share a scene. Their banter is good, and their relationship is so well drawn.

As is the case in life and in YA, no romance is all flowers and rainbows all the time, and while these two are everything together, there are some serious barriers that they must face.

This is a super charming romance, and while the struggles are real, it's the healthy and charming relationship, not the tortured souls, that shine from the heart of this book. I'm already recommending it to students: especially the fantastic audio version.

Ander (they/them) has a pretty good deal going on. They're working at their family's restaurant, and they'll be going to art school in Chicago in the fall. But Ander's world is upended when they meet Santi, the new guy at the restaurant. The two are soon swept up into a whirlwind romance. However, Santi has been keeping the truth from Ander that he was not born in the United States and lives in constant fear of being picked up by ICE agents.

Oh Jonny Garza Villa, I loved this book so much! Ander is an amazingly beautiful and very real character. I can't remember the last time I laughed and I cried and I rooted for a couple as much as I did Ander and Santi. Don't even get me started on this GORGEOUS cover art, I cannot recommend this book enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Avi Roque really brought Ander to life. LOVE LOVE LOVE Ander & Santi Were Here!

A really moving queer YA romance between a nonbinary muralist in Texas and the undocumented Mexican immigrant they fall for the summer before they're supposed to go off to college. A tender romance between two queer teens of color who just want the freedom to love who they want and have to fight against ICE. Highly recommended for fans of Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe or Somewhere between bitter and sweet. Great on audio too. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital copies in exchange for my honest review!