Welcome to Litsy!

I absolutely loved this book! I can‘t recommend it enough and I feel it is so valuable for younger readers to feel seen! This is such a good modern parallel to Last Night at the Telegraph Club and shows a lot of similar themes of homophobia, racism, acceptance, and identity. The plot gets into every detail within Yami‘s life and her own exploration of finding acceptance and accepting her own identity within herself. I can‘t recommend it enough!

One thing I've been really enjoying about this book is the number of issues it touches on that can be so difficult to discuss but is done so well here especially with younger readers. Apart from issues with homophobia, Yami also deals with explicit racism throughout from her predominately White, wealthy classmates. Her experiences and reflections of these encounters is sadly something that many go through and to see it discussed is so valuable.

I have been loving this book so much and I'm very surprised I hadn't heard about it sooner! It handles Yami's issues with acceptance and surrounding homophobia very well by showing the severity it has had on her own acceptance of her identity but also by still showing it from the lens of a teen finding their way. It reminds me so much of Last Night at the Telegraph Club and I feel like need to be taught together!

This is one of the books I chose to read and I've loved it so much. Apart from the stark relatability that I felt from just reading the title, exploring the life of the main character Yamilet as she struggles with issues dealing with immigration, queerness, acceptance, and overall coming of age is amazingly told by Reyes and was one I deeply relate to. It has been such a good read!

Yamilet doesn't feel comfortable at her catholic school for many reasons, from being low-income to navigating her queerness. An excellent, complex read that really delves into the characters' feelings and explores a lot of issues that intersect in people's lives. I loved Yamilet and enjoyed seeing all of the directions her story takes. I read this for #TransRightsReadathon in March. #LGBTQIA

I tried this as an audiobook but I‘m not enjoying it after a few hours. The narrator and/or the main character are really whiny and annoying to me. Oh well! 🤷🏻‍♀️

One of my new all-time fave books! Such an accurate, relatable book! Reyes captures the perspective of a teen making mistakes amidst discovering herself perfectly! Sexuality, mental illness, identity, relationship development and fallout, and family dynamics were represented so well! I felt every type of emotion reading this! It took me over a year to read after seeing it at Politics &Prose but it was worth the wait!

Fantastic young adult debut novel by Reyes. Yamilet, a Mexican American queer teenage girl is trying to navigate going to a brand new mostly white Catholic school, discovering a new crush, and trying to decide when and how to come out to her family and friends. Meanwhile, her younger brother is keeping some secrets of his own. A wonderful story about family, identity, and learning to stand up for yourself. Loved it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved this!! We need more YA like it!

Although I couldn't relate to everything Yamilet experiences as a queer young woman of color, I can relate to being raised under the shadow of the Catholic church, attending Catholic school, and having a brother who struggles. Finding comfort in art class and the thrill and lightness of young love also reminded me of my high school experience.

⚠️ Comes with a trigger warning.

Starting this today!

I'm traveling, so I'm trying to get through some of the ebooks I had previously purchased. I am not the best at keeping up with ebooks. I prefer to have a book in my hands!

I‘m a sucker for family dynamics—and Reyes delivers a boatload. Still, Yamilet makes it work every day. When I think about young people being resilient, she is what I think about. Okay, they are resilient, but do we have to have systems that make it harder? Why is that a value?
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Recommend by J. Elle. Prepping for the Tucson Festival of Books. #TFOB

Don't let my Seren-cat's grumpy face fool you. This was an excellent YA book with complex family dynamics, a beautiful sibling relationship, messy friendships. Reyes covers difficult, real topics with compassion.

After being outed by her former best friend, Yamilet is determined to fly under the radar at her new Catholic school. But between her cute new friend who's one of the few kids willing to push back against the school's doctrine and beginning to question why religion is being used to invalidate people like her just for their sexuality, she decides it might be time to be her true self.

TW for homophobia, religious intolerance, and suicide attempt

I almost bailed on this early, as it is VERY YA at the start, but I‘m glad I stuck with it. Yami switches to private, Catholic school and decides to pretend to be straight since coming out at her last school didn‘t go well. But, of course, pretending to be something you‘re not also isn‘t so good. This explores some great aspects of being gay and being true to yourself, whatever that may be. I really enjoyed it in the end.

4.5 stars- I liked that this book talked about the hard parts of being queer in high school as well as being a POC in the white-centric US. It was cute, funny at parts, and serious and sad in others. But I loved that it had a happy ending! It was really good and I enjoyed it overall. I just wish we'd have gotten a few other perspectives from the story, like Cesear, Bo, and maybe even the mom, but I also see why we didn't.

The title alone caught my eye but the story captured my heart. #readwithPRIDE🌈
Because coming out is a personal experience & sometimes happens over & over again & sometimes can be difficult & uncomfortable & heartbreaking & yet sometimes it can be easy & welcoming & just as normal as you introducing your hetero love to your parents. I wish the later was the norm for all. That‘s why this book is needed. Live your life out loud, Yami! 🌈🙌🏻

#readwithPRIDE🌈 book for #pride2022!
Because coming out is a personal experience & sometimes happens over & over again & sometimes can be difficult & uncomfortable & heartbreaking & yet sometimes it can be easy & welcoming & just as normal as you introducing your hetero love to your parents. I wish the later was the norm for all. Unfortunately, it‘s not. That‘s why this book is needed. Live your life out loud, Yami! 🌈🙌🏻

1. 💖 😳 😰 😭🌞
2. I can't think of one at the moment that hasn't already gotten one?
3. Wherever is Your Heart by Anita Kelly 4.25 ⭐

#wondrouswednesday

Often times I downgrade an adult book to a so-so rating when I feel it reads too YA for me, but then there are times like this when a YA book is a pick because it‘s a just a great read. It been a minute (or decades!) since my Catholic school education ended and I couldn‘t resist this title. There is one aspect of this book I wished had been handled differently - in spoiler comment below. ↓

Mexican American Yami has one primary objective: play it straight. This comes after she outted at her last school. Now attending a new Catholic academy, she is going ensure to help her struggling single mom, be a good influence on her little brother and not fall for rebel girl of her school. Can she do it? Find out in this LGBTAQ+ Latinx YA.