Sonora Reyes

Han (Alejandro) and Kenny have been best friends since they were kids. Kenny has known for some time that he's bi. Meanwhile, Han is straight. This hasn't stopped pretty much everyone around them from joking that they two of them are so close they're practically boyfriends, especially now that they share an apartment. It's never bothered either of them.

It has, however, bothered Kenny's on-again, off-again girlfriend, Jackie. Jackie's never been very comfortable with Kenny's interest in drag, show more either. When things come to a head in their relationship once again, Kenny, now single, has a brilliant idea: why don't he and Han, who is undocumented and stressed out by the constant threat of deportation, get married? They already know and like each other, and their families and friends have practically paired them up already, so it doesn't seem like much of a stretch to make it official. Han can get his citizenship, and they can eventually get a divorce.

Except that, in their efforts to playact being a real couple, they start to catch feelings for each other. Kenny's childhood crush on Han rears its head, and Han finds himself thinking about Kenny in ways that eventually have him wondering whether he is not, in fact, straight.

The author's note at the beginning of the book describes Kenny as a "sensitive people-pleaser" and Han as an "emotionally constipated himbo." Han had a tendency to keep most people besides Kenny at a distance - he had trust issues stemming from his mother being an addict. Meanwhile, Kenny's relationship with Jackie was immediately identifiable as unhealthy, although even Han wasn't aware of the depths of their issues (warning for on-page emotional and physical abuse on Jackie's part)

I really liked Han and Kenny together - they had some fun and sweet moments, and it wasn't hard to see why their friends and family so easily believed they were suddenly in love and getting married. Honestly, Jackie felt like a character invented entirely to explain why Han and Kenny hadn't explored their feelings for each other sooner. She was so supremely awful (and had apparently been pretty bad since high school) that it was a struggle to understand why Kenny put up with her. If any single thing ruins this book for someone, it's likely to be Jackie. I wish the author had set up a different obstacle between Han and Kenny, because Jackie became almost cartoonishly villainous by the end of the book.

Although the Jackie stuff got to be a bit much for me, and Han's injury late in the book almost pushed me over the edge (slightly too many things to worry about than I expected), I enjoyed this overall.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

I think when my issues with a book are about tapping too hard into my emotions, it's a pretty powerful read, and that's definitely the case here. In a lot of ways, this just felt entirely too real -- from the fears that surround the possible rejections of coming out, the ways it can impact your survival as a young person, the ways siblings being you both joy and pain, and the agony of crushes, this book just doesn't stop. Love that Yami's cultural identity is such an important part of her show more life and relationships. Love that she gets to support Bo on her own journey. Love the ballsy kids standing up and being smart and furious in school. Love that mental health is a big scary theme. Love that family comes through in the end. show less

A compelling sequel/companion novel to the excellent The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, about Yami's brother, Cesar. Cesar's story isn't as plotted or wrapped up as well as his sister's, but that's partially to do with the nature of his newly diagnosed bipolar disorder and this book's accurate depiction of this as a cyclical, inescapable part of Cesar's reality and continuing future.

Yamilet is a gay, Mexican American 16-year-old who’s about to start Catholic school.

She tells herself it has more to do with being there for Cesar, her genius brother one year her junior who skipped a grade and earned a scholarship, but there’s more to it. She’s also glad to start over away from ex–best friend Bianca, who outed her to their social circle. It’s not easy for Yami to lose someone she trusted as much as Bianca, especially when she feels alone and is still nursing the show more heartbreak of her dad’s being deported to Mexico 6 years ago. She loves her busy, hardworking, very Catholic mom, but that doesn’t mean Mami would accept her sexuality if she knew the truth. In her new, wealthy, and mostly White school, Yami immediately faces casual racism, but it’s not all bad. She also meets Bo, a Chinese American girl who has chosen the school uniform’s trousers over skirts—paired with rainbow Vans, no less—and they immediately get along. Yami likes how outspoken and confident Bo is, but she’s also intimidated by her new friend’s being an out lesbian. As their friendship blossoms into more, so do the problems with keeping who she is a secret from the world. The portrayal of found family and the threads of love and acceptance woven into this story make it a satisfying read with a hopeful ending.

A textured and gratifying novel. (author’s note) (Fiction. 13-18)
(Kirkus Reviews) show less