A beautifully written novel by Reyes, depicting a realistic and hopeful beginning of recovery from rapid cycling bipolar disorder.

A great serious (but also humorous) look at what mental illness looks like for young people. Definitely one I’ll remember for quite some time - a great companion to the first book in the series!

loved The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School when I read it, and this companion novel was just as powerful. It was great to get to know Cesar more deeply—this story truly puts you inside his head. Even when I didn’t agree with some of his choices, I could understand and empathize with where he was coming from.

One of the things I appreciated most was how the book explored internalized religious guilt. While Yami’s struggle in the first book stemmed largely from her external environment, Cesar’s felt much more personal and internal. As he says, “MY closet isn’t as loving toward me as Jamal’s … My dad and Father John and God Himself have their backs against the door so I’d have to push through all of them to make it out.” That line hit hard—it captures how deeply entrenched his fear and guilt are.

The novel also portrays mental health with honesty and heart. One quote that stayed with me was, “Some people’s brains make mental stability for free, and I just so happen to have to get mine at the pharmacy.” It’s vulnerable and real, like so much of Cesar’s voice throughout the story.

Overall, this was heartfelt, honest, and hard to put down. Definitely feeling like I need to go back and reread The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School since I read it years ago.

This book made me want to come out of my reviewing hidey hole because it's so good. Like, it made me cry. And I'm not a crier, which is a blunt enough statement to lean towards being unbelievable but it's true. And now this book stands as horrible proof against that claim.

Each chapter follows the gradual progression of Cesar's mental health crisis and, god, the foreshadowing of the chapter titles had my stomach in knots. To love a character and read of their suffering, especially when it connects so deeply to some of your own, is bittersweet torture. But I am so thankful for Cesar showing me that I am allowed to find "little glimpses of heaven that I don't have to die for."

I love this book so much.

When I was first introduced to Cesar in The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, I didn’t like him. I’ve since come to realize that it’s because he reminds me so much of myself at times in my life I’d rather put behind me—sometimes when a character holds up a mirror to your traits, good and bad, you’re just met with immediate loathing.

This was such a real depiction of bipolar disorder and internalized homophobia/biphobia that I felt scraped raw in my reading of it, like my mind was being put to paper. Cesar’s self-sabotaging was so difficult to read but also deeply relatable and made me care for him so much more. I love Cesar and Jamal and Yami and Bo and could read a thousand books of them. (As a side note: Give me the Hunter and Avery spinoff!!!) But Cesar in particular has my heart—my lovely boy, I can’t kill the monsters in Undertale either. Pacifist route always. :)

This was a much more intense read than The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, diving into some really heavy topics, but I think it was handled with so much care and sensitivity. It was tough to read, especially at the beginning, but I think Cesar's story is so important, and I'm eager to see what Sonora Reyes writes next.

e-ARC: 5⭐️ this book was DEVASTATINGLY real and sad and beautiful. It’s pretty rare a book makes me cry, but I lost count of how many times I was brought to genuine tears while I read this.

I will be honest, I went into this expecting a more uplifting/happy story and at times it was a bit difficult to make myself keep reading. For the VAST majority of this story, Cesar is in a very-not-healthy mind space— as much as I truly and absolutely loved this book, it is not a “feel-good” story of recovery/growth/self-acceptance; it is a story of a teen experiencing severe mental illness, internalized homophobia, and suicidality. Cesar’s voice is almost too well-written for its own good, and I don’t think I’d recommend someone who may be triggered by his perspective to pick up this book.

That being said, the overall messaging was positive/optimistic and ultimately the story arc was very well-done imo. I really do think this story handles the topic and representation of mental illness remarkably well (which is something I don’t say lightly).

Thanks so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for this e-ARC!

I absolutely loved The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School and so I was very excited to read the companion book focusing on Cesar. And honestly, just WOW. This was probably one of the best depictions of mental illness I’ve ever read. I loved that every chapter, along with a fabulous name, had a symptom of bipolar disorder to correlate with it. You really see and feel Cesar go through the mania, depression and everything in between. It’s a tough book to read at times because he’s struggling so much, but this is such a necessary book to not only people with mental illness, but maybe their loved ones who are trying to understand how to help. I loved Yami and their mother again and also JAMAL. Jamal was a treasure. And I loved seeing Cesar connect with his grandmother. This will most likely end up being one of my favorite books this year. I laughed, I cried and oh my goodness, it was everything.
CW: mental illness, suicidal thoughts, violence, homophobia, bullying

Thank you Epic Reads for the advanced digital reader’s copy!

The Golden Boys Guide to Bipolar is Reyes’s follow-up to her groundbreaking YA sapphic debut, A Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School. This time we’re following Cesar, Yami’s 17-year-old brother, as he tries to balance his faith and sexuality while navigating a new bipolar diagnosis and everything that comes with it.

“I’ve been mentally ill for as long as I can remember, but it took a long time for me to figure out what that meant. I didn’t have a lot of examples of hopeful stories about people with stigmatized mental illnesses like mine.” - Author’s note

You can’t talk about this book without talking about how deeply personal and powerful it is. You feel that this story comes from lived experience. It’s raw. It’s honest. It doesn’t shy away from the messy parts and will leave you tattered emotionally, while still offering glimpses of hope between the pages.

One of the most unique things about this book is how each chapter is tied to a specific symptom of bipolar disorder. That structure doesn’t just frame the story—it immerses you in Cesar’s experience in a way that feels real and visceral. It’s the kind of representation I wish we saw more of, especially in YA.

“When you live only to avoid the grief of people you love, you end up shouldering all that grief on your own, mourning yourself while you’re still here.”

While the main focus of the story is Cesar’s bipolar, there’s so much mental health representation here that anyone who’s struggled in this area—or has loved someone who has—can find something that resonates. It’s a book that sees you. That lets you know you’re not alone and there can be a happy ending.

It’s not an easy read, and if I’m being honest, I had to take breaks just to breathe—but it’s important. Especially for anyone who has ever felt like their diagnosis has them constantly cast as the villain or the tragedy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Pub date: September 16, 2025

A huge thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is excellent and a great take on what living with bipolar disorder is like. The manic episodes, the anger, the self loathing, and intrusive thoughts are just right on the money. This takes a harrowing look into Cesar’s life with Bipolar disorder, his sexuality, and religious beliefs. I love how this is written and want to thank Señora for another great book!!

This was a heavy book. But a great book. A heartfelt book. An educational book. An uplifting book.

If you haven't read Reyes's Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, I would highly recommend it. It's not necessary, but it will add another layer of understanding to this book.

We pick up where Lesbiana sort of left off. Yami's brother Cesar is recovering from an attempted suicide and receives a diagnosis of bipolar. The book delves into Cesar's mind as he grapples with his new diagnosis, medication for his mental illness, his bisexuality, and his relationship with his family, friends, and ex-boyfriend.

Reyes does a superb job taking the reader as close to understanding what it can be like to deal with being bipolar as possible. (She points out this is only one experience and mental illness doesn't follow the same path for everyone).

I highly enjoyed getting to know Cesar and getting a glimpse of what life might be like for those struggling with bipolar.

Check the content warnings for this book before proceeding if you need to.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of this book.

Absolutely amazing. This is hands down one of my favorite authors and I will read anything they write. I love the mental health rep and the relationship development as well as the friends and it was awesome reading the follow up from earlier books

4 out of 5 stars

Rep: Mexican bi MC with bipolar disorder, Black gay LI, Mexican lesbian SC dating a lesbian Chinese adoptee, large cast of Mexican SCs (also including bipolar and queer rep). Black, bi, nonbinary, bipolar, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and PTSD rep in minor characters.

Content warnings: Suicidal ideation and attempt, external and internalized homophobia including bullying and slurs, family member's deportation (past), religious trauma including mentions of conversion therapy, violence including attempted drowning, forced outing (past), brief hospital scene, psych ward scenes, underage drinking and weed use, brief non-graphic sexual content, vomiting

Sonora Reyes is one of my favorite authors of all time, and since "Lesbiana's Guide" first turned me on to their work, I was even more excited than usual to jump into their newest! It made me so soft to see Yami and Bo still going strong and Mrs. Flores growing in her allyship. I absolutely adore Yami and Cesar's relationship -- they're easily one of my favorite fictional sibling duos.

Reading this was one of those odd situations where you're thrilled to see some of your experiences mirrored and know you aren't alone, while also feeling sad and angry that another person had to go through them too. Reyes clearly writes from their own life; their descriptions of religious trauma in particular are on-the-nose in ways that a person just can't emulate if they haven't lived it. I relate so, so much to Cesar despite the differences in our identities (white transmasc/nonbinary lesbian vs Latine cis bi guy, raised Southern Baptist vs raised Catholic). He reminds me a lot of myself when I first started deconstructing and I want to give him the biggest hug.

One of my favorite aspects of Reyes's writing is how realistically they portray teens. As furious as I got with Cesar sometimes, he's still just a 17-year-old kid learning how to live with a devastating mental illness. Reyes has fully mastered the art of creating lovable, sweet, funny, multi-faceted characters who can also be bossy, impulsive, uncommunicative, or any number of traits. Even when readers can recognize that Cesar's logic is flawed, the way Reyes describes his thought processes makes it understandable. It's a delicate balance that I deeply admire.

All in all, "Golden Boy" is just as excellent as the author's other works and I'm already eager to read whatever Reyes writes next!

**HUGE thank you to HarperCollins for granting me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**

The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar is a companion novel to Sonora Reyes’s Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, which I also read and enjoyed. The eponym golden boy is Cesar, the brother of Lesbiana Yami.

Cesar is a queer, bipolar high schooler just a bit out from his “event,” a mental breakdown that required hospitalization. What makes him golden? Cesar is a genius with nearly photographic memory. So while he struggles with a lot, school is usually pretty easy. Cesar is sick of being coddled and worried about. He’s sick of taking his meds. He’s a little bit sick of being gay and what so many of the Catholics surrounding him think of his queerness.

This book goes exactly where you expect it to. And it’s good enough, but I found myself bored with what felt like a predictable storyline. I always feel a modicum of guilt when I feel bored by an important, sensitive topic, but I blame the writing/story rather than the content. Nonetheless, especially seeing others’ reviews, I’m sure The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar will resonate deeply with and educate many readers. Softly recommended. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars rounded up.

WHAT CAN I SAY????? Sonora Reyes is now officially an autobuy author. The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar is every bit as devastating, beautiful, and real as you'd hope it would be. Why I decided to read this while managing my own depressive and manic episodes? LMAO, don’t ask but here I am, being Cesar again.

Fuck, dude. I am Cesar and Cesar is me. The number of times I cried? Actually don’t ask. Ridiculous. I wish I had the words to FULL EXPRESS TO YOU how deeply this book resonated with me, but here I am, absolutely speechless.

Cesar’s self‑sabotage.. thinking he needs to push people away so they won’t feel pain when he’s gone, made me want to DIE because guess what I do when things are just a bit too much? I ghost, why? So people get used to life without me. HAHAHAAHAHAHA AM I UNWELL? Oh 1000%.

A quote that had me put my kindle down and just straight ugly cry for maybe 5 minutes was from Cesar’s therapist (Dr. Lee, you’re a strong one):

"What I mean to say is that life is a lot less painful when you live for the things that make you happy, instead of living to keep someone else from grieving. When you live only to avoid the grief of people you love, you end up shouldering all that grief on your own, mourning yourself while you're still here.”

Respectfully, I did not need that at 4:30 am.. while I’m actively wanting to ghost everyone in my life lol.

And the end… OH THE END when Cesar finally says, “I’m alive.” You have no idea how deeply that lands. I bawled. I ugly cried. I was ripped open.

This is love letter to anyone who’s battled their brains, their heart, their faith, their love. If you’ve ever had internalized shame, if you’ve ever convinced yourself you’re unworthy of care… read it. Read it now.

I can’t recommend this enough.

I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a review. I enjoy YA & realistic depictions of mental health struggles (I'm not bipolar myself but have dealt with other issues), but I hadn't read the author's other book(s) - and I probably should have in order to get the most out of this one. The story sort of just...jumped right in with the expectation that I knew who these people were & what their story was. While things were eventually explained, it took a while to figure out exactly what I needed to know.

It took a while to get into the book, probably because of my lack of knowledge, but then I wanted to see what happened next. Another reviewer noted the unreliable narration & how it really showed the mental struggles, and I appreciated that as well. It felt realistic. And overall it was a cute story, although nothing groundbreaking.

This book is extremely important in our world today where many youth people have mental health challenges. The voice in this novel is authentic and speaks to issues of religion and difference in a clear, hopeful way.

I absolutely loved the companion novel to this one, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, so I was very excited to receive this ARC!

This story follows Cesar (who is the brother of the MC (Yami) from TLGTCS) on his mental heath journey as he’s diagnosed with bipolar. You could read this book on its own but I highly suggest reading TLGTCS first. There are some continuing storylines and a lot of the characters benefit from the context of Yami’s story.

The book starts with Cesar in a relative stable but fragile place. He’s taking his medication and contemplating getting back together with his ex boyfriend (whom he largely broke up with because of religious guilt reasons). However an encounter with a priest at his school sends him into a spiral. Cesar stops taking his medication and the book is a steep descent to mental heath rock bottom from there.

I’m not someone who’s easily triggered by mental heath stuff anymore, but this book was hard to read at points so check out the content warnings if you need💜

The whole book you’re rooting so hard to Cesar, you desperately want him to want to help himself and see the love around him. It takes until the very end of the book to get there but things do eventually start looking up. I don’t have bipolar but I have been to mental heath rock bottom and the book does a good job describing the horrors of it. I thought the mental health representation was very well done. I loved all the characters, especially Cesar and Jamal, and the story moved a a good pace.

Overall I recommend this read if you’re in the right headspace! Definitely pick up TLGTCS if you need a refresher. This book is out September 16th!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for a copy of this book!

I'm absolutely buzzing to dive into more of their work! "The Golden Boys Guide to Bipolar" took me on a whirlwind journey of emotions, so gripping that I couldn’t put it down all weekend! It expertly explores every stage of a manic episode, while also acknowledging that everyone’s experience with bipolar disorder is unique.

I loved the chapter titles and the inclusion of clinical terms to describe what Cesar was going through. At its heart, this novel is all about self-discovery, self-acceptance, love, and the importance of family and self-love. It resonated deeply with me, especially as I reflected on Cesar's struggles with his sexuality and faith. Like him, I've often found myself caught between my happiness and what I perceive to be God's expectations.

The ending was so uplifting! Cesar’s Abuela offered a powerful reminder that the Bible has been translated and misinterpreted over the years, urging him to read and understand it for himself. This story is just breathtaking, and I can’t wait to share it with everyone I know! I absolutely plan to explore more of Sonora's writing in the future—this is an author that should be on your TBR if they aren't already!

This was a really difficult read. It was so frustrating at times. I had to put it down. I had to walk away. I was dazzled, and irritated, and annoyed. I was sad, hopeful, desperate. And I realized those are all the feelings Cesar had living with his mental illness. This wasn’t meant to be a quirky, happy, easy book to read. It was written to be difficult. It was written to make people think outside the boxes of their lives. It was meant to push people outside of their comfort zones. You weren’t meant to like the book. You were meant to live it. This was a five star read for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. Thank you Sonora Reyes for writing it.