My 15y/o is a HUGE fan of Sonora Reyes, so ofc I read this aloud to them, and we both loved it (them a little more, obviously, bc I haven't read The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School a thousand times).

The following phrases were uttered at least once per night while we were reading:

• Cesar, NO! No, no, no.

• Omg, Cesar, take your meds, please, I am begging you to take your meds.

• Oh, for fuck's sake.

Yes, they are absolutely my child.

The Golden Boys’ Guide to Bipolar is one of the most important YA books I’ve read recently. it hit me straight in the heart. Seeing Cesar navigate both his sexuality as a bisexual boy and a new bipolar diagnosis felt so raw, honest, and needed. This story doesn’t shy away from the struggles of mental health or the weight of guilt and self doubt, but it also shows the power of love, friendship, and learning to ask for help. As much as I loved The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, this one meant even more to me. We need books like this for YA readers to remind us we’re not alone. Absolutely unforgettable. 😭💕

I really loved reading "The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar" by Sonora Reyes although Reyes dealt with difficult topics. This honest and vulnerable portrayal of Cesar and his mental health struggles will appeal to young adults and adults alike. Rare to see such a three-dimensional portrait of a man character with serious mental health issues as well as how that impacted Cesar's friends and family. Looking forward to reading the companion book to this.

💛🌀🌟BOOK REVIEW – The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes 🌟🌀💛

🌟🌟🌟💫 (3.5/5 stars)

César Flores is back, and Reyes pulls us right into his whirlwind of thoughts, spirals, and self-sabotage. Following him through his manic highs and crushing lows was extremely frustrating at times. I wanted to both shake him and hug him. I understand that’s what makes it so real, but god, it was painful.

This is a story about queerness, Catholic guilt, messy mistakes, and learning to let others love you even when you don’t think you deserve it. It’s heavier than *The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School*, so check content warnings, but it’s also got heart, hope, and hard-earned wisdom.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc.

I went into this book without knowing that it was a companion to The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School but this book was an amazing standalone for people like me who didn’t read The Lesbiana’s Guide.

I loved this book. This book was at times funny and heartbreaking but it was written in such a beautiful and vulnerable way that I couldn’t help to cheer for Caesar in his at times messy journey. I thought that Reyes wrote about mental health in a beautiful way.

I would recommend this book to anyone.

For fans of: All Boys Are Not Blue, Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Series: 2
Avail: Sept 16
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
Genre: YA
Violence: 🪓🪓
Spice: 🔥🔥🔥
TW: homophobia, self-harm, suicidal ideation, family estrangement, bullying

Premise: Companion to 2023’s The Lesbiana's Guide To Catholic School, featuring Yami’s brother Cesar, as he comes to terms with his sexuality, his new bipolar diagnosis, and more mistakes than he can count.

Thoughts: At times, this book is hard to read. Not because it’s bad; both story and writing style are engaging. Because it is SO real. The narrative expertly blends the fraught landmines of adolescence with the complication of an emerging mental health diagnosis, throwing in a side of Catholic guilt to up the angst. Reyes evocatively taps into the mindset and emotions of both a teen on the cusp of adulthood and a person struggling for control and clarity in the midst of a mental health crisis. While Cesar’s battles and triumphs may not mirror every reader’s experience, all readers can identify with difficult journeys of self-discovery, struggles with external forces of judgment or torment, and the loss of control. At the risk of bandying around the over-used “important book,” The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar earns that title. It makes one feel both seen and better able to see others.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children’s for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes

3.5 Stars

Sonora Reyes may be one of my favorite contemporary authors- there is not a book of hers that I haven't enjoyed reading. She tackles important topics and manages to do so with grace, humor, and realistic mess. What more could you ask for?

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for an eARC of this title.

Cesar’s story felt very raw and real the entire time. As someone who is intimately familiar with the struggles LGBTQ+ children face, especially with less “common” or “expected” mental illnesses, I felt Cesar’s story in my heart. The way he compares his life with those around him or how he utilizes his coping mechanisms in the effects of how it impacts his relationships is very well written. By this, I mean that I find it very accurate and truthful at utilizing things you KNOW are bad/harmful and hurt those around you, but not as a way to impact them, instead using them to hurt yourself.

The writing/prose was everything I could’ve asked for and more. Just like the first book, and most of Sonora Reyes’ other works, I was draw in by the writing. I think it lends itself to this type of story in a really good way—it’s not extravagant and out of character for the person you’re following but it also doesn’t just “tell” what is happening.

I overall really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to get a physical copy to join my shelf! Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my review!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

The author does a wonderful job of bringing us inside the mind of an impulsive and incredibly impressionable teenager. Cesar isn’t so much an unreliable narrator as we can see how his brain lies to him. This book is packed with hard-earned nuggets of wisdom about self-acceptance, living for yourself, the value of transparency and reciprocity in relationships, mental health destigmatization, leaning into the vulnerability of asking for help, and reconciling queerness and faith. It’s a painful and beautiful story that reflects the everyday reality for a lot of people, and I love that Cesar’s story shows how bipolar symptoms can be managed with support and care. The epilogue made me cry /pos.

The main character is suicidal and manic at points throughout the book, so definitely advise reviewing content notes. This one is a bit heavier than The Lesbiana’s Guide, imo!

I really loved the complex dynamics that were explored in Reyes' novel The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic school and was curious to see how the story would continue in The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar.

When I picked this book up I knew it was going to be a harder read for me, examining the ups and down that come with Bi-polar disorder. I think Reyes told this story beautifully and stayed very true to how it can feel when you have this disorder. I felt a lot of things during this book and thought it was so beautifully written.

I loved the exploration of family, forgiveness, learning to love yourself, and how the journey sometimes takes continuous work even when you feel better. I look forward to reading whatever Reyes writes next, her stories are always beautiful and don't shy away from the hard stuff.

Absolutely recommend you pick this one up if you wanted to learn more about Yami's family, love emotional stories, and want to see characters with mental health conditions as main characters. Highly recommend this one, Thank you to the publisher for providing an advanced readers copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.75/5 Stars

Thank you, NetGalley for this advanced digital copy.

Cesar struggles with Catholic guilt. He's saturated in messages of rejection, like a death by a thousand cuts. Catholicism identifies homosexuality as a sin. The kids at school bully him because he's bisexual, and by bully, I mean getting beat down. The father has abandoned him, and part of that abandonment is because Cesar "chooses a lifestyle" that the father won't accept.

There is a lot to unpack with this character, particularly the ways in which culture, religion, families, school peers, and on and on, teach queer folks to hate themselves. Add into the mix bipolar disorder, and Cesar walks too close to the border of suicide.

Excellent topics to explore, and Reyes takes on these topics so admirably.
I think I struggled with this novel because I'm simply no longer a YA reader. The should I/ should I not trope got on my nerves. All the stars for courage and bravery. All the stars for creating a complex family just trying to love each other in a healthy manner. Only some stars for execution of the plot.

This book was incredible! Absolutely heartbreaking and lovely and hopeful and funny and sad. Ugh I loved this book so much. This is a wonderful companion to Reyes' other novel. The author does a great job of depicting bipolar disorder and family troubles. I cannot wait for studens to fall in love with Cesar!

This is a tough but rewarding book about dealing with mental illness, identity, and hope. Cesar, brother to Yami from The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, is semi-closeted and self-loathing. But the compassion he gets from the author is beautiful.

I love pretty much everything Sonora Reyes writes, but this one feels particularly intimate and personal. Cesar is relatable in many ways, but he’s also allowed to be unlikable and human while still being sympathetic. I wanted to shake him and hug him in equal measure. And the side characters are flawed and lovable as well. No one here is perfect, but everyone deserves to be loved.

I would warn people that there are several discussions about suicidal ideation, self harm, and religious trauma. It’s a worthwhile read and sensitively dealt with. Keep in mind what you can handle.

I could not put this book down. The care for the topic --serious mental illness-- was obvious from the start with the author note, and I thought the execution of navigating such a huge and serious topic for a YA audience was impressive. I would advise anyone to read with care as the main character is navigating very challenging issues, but I also think a lot of readers will find pieces of themselves in this book that they probably haven't seen reflected before. I found myself caring so deeply for Cesar, his family and his entire support system. They are all going to stick with me for a long time. I loved reading Yami's story in Lesbiana's Guide, and now I've loved reading her brother's too.

Sonora Reyes has been a must-read since their debut The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School; it's a title I still recommend all the time. Now, with THE GOLDEN BOY'S GUIDE TO BIPOLAR, Reyes has exceeded all (very high) expectations. At first, I was slightly concerned that this was the same trope of a bipolar person not taking their medication. That is *not* this story.

This novel is the story of Cesar Flores as he struggles with depression and living with the pressure to be "the golden boy," which means being the superstar, high achiever in his family. But it's more than Cesar can handle and his decisions lead to him living with his abuela, a shock to everyone, including Cesar's Mami (and she was the one who sent him there).

Reyes crafts a nuanced, thoughtful story of a teen who does not understand his mental illness and a family who struggles to figure out the best way to help him. Cesar makes bad decisions with real consequences, which highlights Reyes' gift as a writer. Cesar has to live with those consequences, which impact his mental health and impact the cycle he does not realize he's in. It's a beautiful portrayal and one I suspect teens (and their families) may seen themselves in.

In addition to Cesar, Yami, and Mami, we almost meet his abuela as well as see Jamal and other returning characters. We also meet a few new ones. Several of the secondary characters--including, but not limited to Yami, Abuela, and Jamal--have their own stories. It's a rich novel full of love and caring--and humor. The chapter titles are both informative and funny, a real gift along the way.

The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes
ARC REVIEW

As the follow-up to Reyes's Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, this book tells Yami's brother's story.

Everything comes easy to Cesar: he's charismatic, charming, and gets straight As without even trying. The golden boy who can do no wrong. But so much of his easygoing attitude is a mask. And he can't hide behind it forever. In the midst of his mental break, he is trying to recify his bisexuality with his strong Catholic belief system.

This book hit hard in so many deep, necessary ways. Make sure to read the author's note about the portrayal of Cesar's mental health and the path to his diagnosis of BPD. This book is messy and earnest and so well-written, but can be hard to read if you're not in the right headspace.

All that said, I loved this book even more than the first. Reyes writes from personal experience and it shows. Cesar is an unreliable narrator and you want to simultaneously reach through the page to shake some sense into him and give him the biggest, tightest hug! He makes mistakes, he devalues himself and sabotages his relationships. He breaks your heart AND gives you hope.

I received this ARC from publisher @harperkids. The opinions are my own.

The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar will be released on September 16, 2025.

i’ll say this was definitely hard to read as a mental health clinician as cesar is a very unreliable narrator but i loved it nonetheless. the end makes the rest of the book worth it. truly a message about leaning on those around you and not being afraid to ask for help. you can see the positive effect of each development of cesar’s relationships and that is so important

Sweet sweet Cesar from The Lesbianas Guide to Catholic School gets his own story! Yessss.

Cesar is dealing with a bunch of internalized homophobia and a lot of religious trauma all while he fights his bipolar diagnosis.

The book is definitely written with care and a glimpse of one persons experience of bipolar even with a note at the beginning that this isn’t to say it is how all people with bipolar experience life but I thought was a great glimpse into what can be someone experience and Cesar is already beloved from the first book that even when he makes questionable choices you know where his heart is and can only feel immense love for the sweet boy. It was great to be with the Flores family again and we got some new characters and more background with the abuela.

Thanks to netgalley and HarperCollins for an eARC

A great sequel that I can’t wait to get my hands on! This was excellent and so great and I had a wonderful time!

Cesar is a Latinx, queer, teen recently diagnosed with BPD and not yet "out" at his school. He is seen as the charmer, "the Golden boy," with good grades and a positive attitude; he makes friends easily. Raised Catholica and attending a new Catholic school after being bullied for his queer identity, he continues to bargain with his faith, spirituality, and whether the morals impressed upon him allow him to get back together with the boy he loves, his ex-boyfriend, Jamal. A deeply emotional read that is gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, and relatable for those experiencing mental illness. I absolutely loved this book, alongside The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, I will be recommending to readers for years to come!