OMGEEEE everything that Johnny writes makes me cry!! This book was soooo BEAUTIFUL AND AMAZING!! Johnny know how to make you get into your feelings with their characters and the love they pour out onto their stories is phenomenal!!

Canto Contigo has all the humor, heart, and hermosos a reader could ever want! Jonny Garza Villa strikes gold again with sun sign Leo Rafie and his gotta be an earth sign one night almost hookup turned mariachi rival, Rey!

This book has so much to offer readers from culture, to exploring colorism, homophobia, and transphobia in the Mexican community, to the sheer love and celebration of being embraced for exactly who you say you are.

I love the work Jonny Garza Villa is doing on behalf of all of our Queer Latino kids who now have mirrors to reflect their identity and experiences. He’s helping kids feel less alone, one book at a time.

Jonny Garza Villa, the writer that you are. Ugh as with their other books, the writing is so beautiful. There’s something so soft about the way Jonny writes and it’s not that the romances are soft or that there aren’t hard topics and themes but it’s just a sense of serene bliss to sit down and read one of Jonny Garza Villa’s books. It’s a certain feeling that is invoked from their characters and the stories they come up with. I love everything about this book and so cannot wait to read more of Jonny’s books in the future.

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

This book was full of so much emotion and was beautifully written. I loved all of the Spanish that was used throughout the book as it helped make the book come alive. I adored all of the love shown to Mariachi and it makes me want to go watch a live Mariachi band right now. I loved the diverse characters in this book and was so happy at the ending.

This was my first Jonny Garza Villa book and most certainly won’t be my last.

This was such a beautiful coming-of-age story that expertly touched on grief, mental health, sexuality and gender, and being true to yourself.

Rafie had such depth as a character. Though he could be unlikeable at times, between losing his grandfather, adjusting to a new environment, and trying to exceed his own expectations, you sympathize with him throughout.

Rey and Rafie’s relationship was also well paced! I loved that they didn’t automatically go from rivals to lovers and we actually built to up it!

The rest of the cast of characters also felt very fleshed out and never felt like they were just “there.” They made a great found family.

Canto Contigo has single handedly become one of my favorite reads of the year and I can’t wait to read it again.

I can safely say I was not at ALL prepared for the feelings this book would leave me with. JGV knocked it out of the park with this one, as per usual, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful, more poignant, more relatable portrayal of grief. Having recently lost one of my own grandparents, this hit way too close to home, and I’m going to be thinking about it for the foreseeable future. Raf and Rey’s amazing love story is woven so flawlessly into the overarching story, while still leaving space for Raf to go through the grieving process and learn how to exist in a world without his grandparent.

Aside from all of that, there were so many moments that had me laughing out loud, even with tears in my eyes from the prior page - a necessary reminder that it’s absolutely, perfectly normal to laugh even while going through the grieving process. That’s okay! Personally, I’ve felt like permission was needed to enjoy myself while also being devastated over the loss of my grandparent, and I’m so grateful that I was able to find that through this story.

oh, how i love jonny garza villa's homage to queer teens falling in love! this book has so much heart and so much love and makes me feel so tender. i felt these characters' grief and joy so sharply, and villa has such a penchant for creating that verisimilitude i crave in contemporary fiction. i also loved learning so much about mariachi and like... high school and college competitive mariachi?? such a cool niche to hear about. i feel blessed to have experienced this book and that jonny shared this wonderful and beautiful story with us.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review previously withheld in solidarity with the St. Martin’s Press reviewer boycott. All opinions are my own. 

Jonny Garza Villa delivers another poignant queer Latine YA novel with Canto Contigo. Once again, they deliver a story full of culture and heart, and this is perhaps the richest in that department. I don’t know a ton about mariachi, but I love the way this musical style was conveyed. From the tribute to Selena Quintanilla-Perez to the celebration of it. 

The protagonist, Rafie, is a sympathetic, if flawed, protagonist. The narrative deals with him reckoning with his grief for his grandfather beautifully. He doesn’t always behave perfectly; in fact, sometimes, he’s not the nicest person. But I like that he’s an example of a messy QTPOC, and he’s embraced by his new friends in spite of his flaws. 

Rey is a delightful love interest, a perfect cinnamon roll to complement the more prickly Rafie. While Rey is one of the people who is deeply impacted by Rafie’s poor decisions, he’s one of the people who is unconditionally there for Rafie when he needs it, and the nice moments between them generally outweigh the negative ones for me. 

This was a great read, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a sweet, heartwarming YA romance with queer, trans, and Latine rep.

As a fellow water sign (Pisces not cancer like ya boy) Rey was the perfect little cinnamon roll for me to get into this book. It was very much a comfort/angst kind of read where sure bad things happened and there are hella sad moments dealing with loss and the burdens we place on ourselves but they were expertly interwoven with comforting moments that worked very well. Also rivals to lovers is peak.

I simply don't believe Jonny Garza Villa is capable of writing a sub-par book. Canto Contigo is a delightful, heartwarming novel, despite it's heavy theme of grief. Garza Villa just has a talent for making vivid life-like characters, and an intriguing story. Auto-buy forever.

A new fave 😭😭

I loved that it was about a mariachi group. I loved that the MC didn’t have a traumatic coming out story with his parents or grandfather (I know those stories are important too but so are these where our Mexican families are supportive). I loved and hated how cocky Rafa was. I loved how Rafa grew in his new school and how the people around him challenged him to
Be better.

I literally loved everything about this book.

I felt so many emotions when reading this one. From anger to sorrow to devastation to joy, this was a roller coaster. But in a really good way.

The story is told completely through Rafie’s point of view, and there were times I thought he was an egotistical jerk. The ego part is definitely there, but most of the jerk part stemmed from grief. I ultimately liked him, and I felt the depth of his grief and confusion. I understood his motivations throughout, but he still has some work to do to really deserve Rey in my opinion.

Rey, however, I adored through the entire book. I loved that he wasn’t afraid to stand up for himself, and that he never really gave up on Rafie, even when he deserved it. My heart broke for him at times with everything Rafie put him through.

Most of the remaining characters were fun (aside from the trumpet players) and the friend groups were the type I always wished for.

I enjoyed the background of Mariachi running throughout the story. I grew up in Southern California, so always saw Mariachi performers, but never knew the depth competitive Mariachi.

I loved the ending and felt it was perfect.

Disclaimer: I received a DRC through Net Galley on behalf of the publisher for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am unable to provide reviews for any ARCs from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and related imprints at this time.

As you are likely aware, there is an active boycott of your publishing house due to the failure of St. Martin’s Press to ensure the safety of their Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian influencers. Over 7,500 influencers to date have signed the petition demanding that St. Martin’s Press meet the incredibly reasonable demands below.

Address and denounce the Islamophobia/racism from their employee.
Offer tangible steps for how they're going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
Address how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to their BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

Readers for Accountability recently brought to your attention the threatening behaviors displayed by friends of your employee towards multiple members of their team. This not only includes online harassment with threats of lawsuits and reporting but has extended to tracking the whereabouts of a prominent Black creator whom you chose to unfollow.
Your refusal to engage with the influencers who provide you with free labor is both disheartening and offensive. As such, I will no longer be requesting or reviewing ARCS from this publishing house until steps are taken to meet the demands Readers for Accountability have laid out for you.

I love that this book exists in this world. It very much reads like a love letter to Mexican culture, family, and mariachi music-- with some teenage angst. It's a coming of age story with two LBTQ main characters, who find themselves as almost lovers, to rivals, and lovers again all before the biggest mariachi competition, Mariachi Extravaganza.

I loved the representation in this book and that it includes a sprinkle of magical realism. It also tackles heavy themes of grief and loss, but it still feels like a celebration of queerness and community.

The only thing I wasn't a big fan of was Rafie. I know that he was grieving and struggling to adapt to his new setting, but he was insufferable, rude, and unlikeable. The only time I started to feel for him was when he started singing the opening cords to Amor Eterno, which had me in my feels, but then he went again and pulled some more intolerable antics. In the end, I did appreciate his growth, but it was hard to root for him for a good portion of this book.

There is always a bit of hurt in their stories, but I will say that Canto Contigo is Villa's most comforting story! This one is about grief and loss and the expectations we put on ourselves—but Canto Contigo is also incredibly warm and uplifting. I'm so weak for rivals to lovers--especially when they're pining for each other at the same time.

I loved the romance between the two leads, the diverse cast of characters, the trans rep and the insights into the world of Mariachi. Having lived in San Antonio, TX for a while, I also felt pride in my heart for it!

did not finish. just couldn't get into the story. will not be reviewing. more new adult than YA. too mature for my library collection.

This was such a heartfelt book. In this queer YA novel, Rafie and his family move to San Antonio. Rafie has always been a lead vocalist, but there is already one in place at the school he is going to go to.

Many thanks to Net Galley and St Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

jonny garza villas books never disappoint!! i would gladly read 100 more books written by them!

thank you netgalley for the e-arc!

Do better St. Martin's Press, then I will do better reviews ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. star rating here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodness gracious, where to even begin with this one? First of all, we love a transmasc love interest. Secondly, the absolute firecracker that is Rafi.....I was not prepared for that. He is so pompous, arrogant, full of himself......but also so fucking loveable at the same time. One minute I was rolling my eyes at something he said and the next I was feeling overprotective of him. Just like both of Jonny Garza Villa's other novels, Canto Contigo has a lot of heart. It is an honest story that simply HAS to be semi-autobiographical because no one writes this well about grief without having experienced it firsthand. As someone who has been under a dark cloud of grief for awhile now, this book honestly healed something inside of me. It acknowledges the ache of grieving someone you loved, without discounting it. I loved this book so much, it is impossibly good and you should definitely read it.