Hot Boy Summer (the ref is intentional) is the story of four gay boys in San Antonio in the summer between their junior and senior years, of new friendships and the old friendships that may not suit us any longer, of Drag Race and Miss Colombia herself, of living your French Vanilla Fantasy and swinging your Ariana high ponytail and just living your best life, girl.

I think that for a lot of people especially that are not ... teens... or people familiar with Drag Race or people who are not familiar with gay culture and switching pronouns in meaningless ways may find this book a lot but those are all the reasons it was charming and fun TO ME! I had a blast honestly and laughed out loud several times. and am also very glad I'm so familiar with Drag Race that I think I caught most of the references? I honestly could not speak to how it would be for someone else but reviews are for vibes and the vibes were exquisite for me, especially as the book I read after something heavier.

I really appreciated the introspection by Mac (the MC) as the things changed around him - going from a closeted Mexican-American boy to being just hugged into this friend group and finding the courage to come out to people in his life who have not shown previously that they might be the safest, also, to be a teen boy and make the apologies and realize and say out loud he hated how he acted in certain situations. It's a really great self-awareness and just the importance of being the kind of person you want to be on a deeper level that I think is really great to see. Love it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing /MTV Books for the eARC in exchange for review!

uhhh this title got archived before i got to finish it because of finals and i’m so angry because i was having so much fun with it
anyway i’ll try to buy even tho it’s hard where i live (pls help😭)
what i read though was so profound and kind of thought provoking (for someone whose brain cells are kind of dead anyway)
RECOMMENDED till i get my hands on one and finish it.

Hot Boy Summer is a wonderful novel about male friendship and truly embracing who you are, irregardless of what others expectations are of you, Mac finally finds friends that accept him as being gay and is able to finally be comfortable in his own skin. Thanks to @simon&schuster and @joejimenez for this wonderful ARC.

I received this ARC and its very fun. A cute coming of age story perfect for teens and young adults. Flor is definitely so sweet and my favorite of the kids.

Thanks Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Mac is still finding his way when it comes to knowing what being gay means to him. His only queer friend is Cam, but he’s not exactly the nicest of people. But when Flor gives an incredible speech in class, Mac is drawn to him as well as his friend Mikey, who just happens to be hot. Is it possible Mikey could be in to him? Will Cam be able to get along with Flor and Mikey? The four embark on their summer hoping it will be unforgettable. But will it last? And can Mac tell his father about his sexuality? A fun, quick read, that is perfectly queer! A sweet story about figuring out where you belong and finding the right found family! Highly recommend!