“A debut novel about a queer Mexican American girl navigating Catholic school, while falling in love and learning to celebrate her true self. Sixteen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she’s gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way. After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and, most importantly, don’t fall in love. Granted, she’s never been great at any of those things, but that’s a problem for Future Yami. The thing is, it’s hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And talented. And cute. So cute. Either way, Yami isn’t going to make the same mistake again. If word got back to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. So she’ll have to start asking, WWSGD: What would a straight girl do?”
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Content Warning: Graphic homophobia, racism, religious bigotry. Moderate suicidal ideation/thought/attempt, hospitalisation, outing.
As a long-time reader, I think I’m qualified to say that there is nowhere near enough lesbian representation in what we read, and it is nice seeing a book doing so well with readers that shows sapphic characters in a positive light.
It’s not very often that I’d choose to read a YA romance, but when I do, I’m so selective that I, pretty much all of the time, end up enjoying it so much.
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School is a powerfully moving debut by an author I will definitely be reading more of in the future, Sonora Reyes (they/them), which tells us the story of 16-year-old Yami who is a lesbian, and along with her bisexual brother, they find themselves attending a new school, leading to a somewhat fresh start for both of them.
We follow Yami through this story as she lives with the struggle of coming out to her religious family, and as it is written by a queer Latinx author, it feels a lot more genuine than if it were to come from a straight, white author. Obviously I’m not sure of Sonora’s personal life, they could have had the same struggles as Yami, or they couldn’t have, but I love seeing Own Voices rep in what I read, there isn’t enough of it.
There was a little slow in pace so far in but that can only be expected for the sake of character development; not everything can be go go go. I love it when a YA book has a predictable ending in terms of relationships and happiness, and even though both Yami and her brother face a lot of ups and downs, everything works out well for them in the end.
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School is definitely a book I’m going to be recommending to others, especially during this Pride Month!
Thank you to Faber & Faber for the ARC!
All the love,
Jade x
Tea Stains and Book Spines 