Name: matti horckmans's review of The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
Item: The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
Rating: 3
Author: matti horckmans

Sonora Reyes

A sharply funny and moving debut novel about a queer Mexican American girl navigating Catholic school, while falling in love and learning to celebrate her true self. Perfect for fans of Erika L. Sánchez, Leah Johnson, and Gabby Rivera.

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? 

Told in a captivating voice that is by turns hilarious, vulnerable, and searingly honest, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School explores the joys and heartaches of living your full truth out loud.

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

(Bre)anne✨

I may not have my dad, but I have Mami and Cesar, and they’re all I need.

“Mijo, if the Bible tell me I shouldn’t love my kids, then the Bible is wrong.”

“So, you don’t get to say ‘in lak’ech’ to me and not mean it. You got to show yourself some love. If not for yourself, for me. Or Jamal. Or Mom.”

I hear the stall door next to me open, and the sound of Bo sitting down. It feels like confession. But a priest could never absolve me of my guilt, and neither can Bo.

“But, like, intentions don’t change the impact.”

“Bo, any way you engage with your own culture is authentic, because it’s 

 white people, but I wonder if Bo is cool with the way they plaster her heritage to any surface that fits.

If the God I grew up learning about is real, I seriously doubt he loves me. Why else would he make me gay and then send me to hell over it?

This will be fine. I have a foolproof game plan:

One misstep always makes things my fault. It’s a lot of pressure, having to be the perfect role model for my brother when I can barely keep it together myself.

Seven years of bad luck can slurp my ass.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

was cute and made me cry ALSO I LOVE CESAR WHAT A CUTIE PATOOTIE

matti horckmans

The book is easy to read and feel-good. Kudos to the author that regardless of these, the book paved the way to create conversations about homophobia, racism, abortion, depression, and suicide, as well as many other relevant topics.

This book gave me comfort as the characters (especially Yami!) felt relatable as a teenager myself—blaming myself for trusting someone, being gay and studying at a Catholic school, carrying the pressure of being the good model, wanting to have a girlfriend, and thinking of ways to save money just in case I'll be sent out of the home after they find out I'm not straight.

I just hope there could be a chapter (or special chapter) showcasing more of Yami and Bo's relationship.

Chalia Renea 

Gay. Catholic School. Religious Trauma.

I've never felt this seen!

The book is easy to read and feel-good. Kudos to the author that regardless of these, the book paved the way to create conversations about homophobia, racism, abortion, depression, and suicide, as well as many other relevant topics.

This book gave me comfort as the characters (especially Yami!) felt relatable as a teenager myself—blaming myself for trusting someone, being gay and studying at a Catholic school, carrying the pressure of being the good model, wanting to have a girlfriend, and thinking of ways to save money just in case I'll be sent out of the home after they find out I'm not straight.

I just hope there could be a chapter (or special chapter) showcasing more of Yami and Bo's relationship.

cesar’s portrayal of his turmoil between wanting to have a relationship with god and be happy with his sexuality at the same time is so dear to me.

Hershelle Villanueva

very very very cute !! love the characters a lot and i just really liked how it tackled different themes despite how easy-going the story was.

Leticia Leal

I had rated this as four stars, but upon reflection, I give it a full five. Any book that mentions the patron saint Selena receives my upmost respect.

Like all of this just feels like the author throwing in whatever plot they wanted and it's so disingenuous to the characters which I loved

Erzse Reed

This was very cute. One too many fortnight dances.

Jels

Michaella 

Cassandra Gregory

This queer read was just ridiculously cute and feel good. It deals with acceptance, good old gay panic and some other hard more serious topics. And listen it’s YA…. But I don’t even care. It just reminds me so much of me when I was younger. I just wish I had more of these relatable stories when I was a teenager.

Shareca

Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
Sonora Reyes ★★★★
BR: @amandapleaseread 💖
TW: homophobia, lgbtqia+ issues, mentions of suicide, immigration issues, and racism

🧠 pages: 385
🫀 genre: ya rom + contemp
🫁 pace: long/slow (≤400)
🐥 pov: yami

‘Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School’ is a debut novel by Reyes and it is a treat to read; Yami is a charming character in so many ways (even though she can be monotonous to read for nearly 400 pages because of the age gap, she’s 16). As a reader, I enjoyed how ‘Lesbiana's’ deals with a wide range of themes and issues that relate to the lgbtqia+ community both positively and negatively. Although the novel's dominant theme is homophobia, it also explores many other topics such as race, culture, status, and identity. It is emotionally moving to experience the culture within each narrative. ✨

The chapters are quite long, but the titles are so wonderfully humorous that I did not mind it. 👏🏾 As for the swearing and the wit that it emanates, I really enjoyed it! 🥹😭 A good balance exists between Yami's full authenticity and the seriousness of the topics discussed. There was no overbearing or forced behavior on the part of any of the characters, which was a pleasant experience. 🥰😌

Yami's ability to love herself was rejuvenating in a YA character; liking oneself is not the norm — though it should be — so that was one of the characteristics I appreciated most. 💖 Yami's constant ability to raise others' self-esteem was special. ✨

The purpose of ‘Lesbiana's’ is to offer a journey through coming out, the aftermath of being outed, and the often ambiguous (✨both positive and negative✨) path that coming out can take; it is not always 'easy,' and it rarely is. 😪😮‍💨

Marsha Evelyn

This book is sweet yet heartwarming. I love how vulnerable Yamilet as a person is and she realized at the near end that she loves Bo, even there's time to kiss her. I love Bo and her personality so much. Sonora Reyes really captured every moment beautifully.

Really a great book and worth to read all over again. I surely will purchase a copy of this book because this book is very embracing. I love every second I read it with my book club! ^^

4.5⭐

Loved this book! A high school romance/coming of age story well done. Great queer rep!!

TW to be added later 

Loved this book! A high school romance/coming of age story well done. Great queer rep!!

yami was made for me <33 this will always have a special place in my heart

talia

i have so much to say about this book but I'll start crying so i won't. bo and yami the lomls (real)!

keith

this is genuinely one of my favorite books i’ve ever read. reading this was a reminder of why i love to read so much. i have never in my entire almost 20 years of life ever related to characters as i have to the ones in the book. this was beautiful and real and so very incredible. i could go on about this book forever but that would definitely just be a bunch of incoherent spoilers so im just gonna shut up now.

emily

as a lesbian who went to catholic school… relatable! / 4 stars

Zoe Smolen

This is a super fun YA contemporary. There's lots of great rep in here from Indigenous Mexican/Mayan to inter-racial adoption and I really loved seeing how all those storied intertwined together. 

Additionally. I really loved the family relationships in this book. Bo's parents in particular and Yami's relationship with her brother. It's rare (but getting more common) to see strong parental figures in YA, but Reyes did a great job having them in the book without there being too much focus on it. 

The characters felt true to being teenagers. A little short sighted and reactionary, but really passionate about what's happening in their lives. 

Overall, I think this is a great read for teens - and especially Queer teens!

Thanks to the publishers for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher and then I bought my own copy of the book. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School

Author: Sonora Reyes

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Mexican characters, Indigenous Person of Mexico Lesbian MC, Indigenous Person of Mexico Bisexual character, Chinese Adopted Queer Character, Navajo Indigenous Atheist Character, Black character

Recommended For...:young adult readers, contemporary, romance, LGBT

Publication Date: May 17, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Age Relevance: 15+ (language, gore, violence, religion, deportation, parentification, micro aggressions, racism, abortion, forced outing, homophobia, underage consumption of alcohol, depression, sexual content, suicide, suicide ideation, religious trauma, romance)

Explanation of Above: The book has themes of religion (Catholicism), which mentioned all throughout the book, and religious trauma, which is shown, and how it influences people to be hateful towards those who don’t fit their perceived mold of how a person should be. This is especially evident in the homophobia shown in the book and the forced outtings. There is some slight gore with vomit and blood mentioned and some violence shown with punching a mirror and fist fights mentioned, as well as a lot of cursing. Suicide is mentioned, Depression is shown, and ideation is mentioned as well. Deportation is mentioned throughout the book, as well as racism (which is also shown) and micro agressions (which is also shown). Parentification, in the form of being forced to parent a younger sibling is shown in the book. Abortion is briefly mentioned, as well as sexual content (virginity), and there is a scene where underage characters consume alcohol and are drunk. There is also slight romance in this book.

Publisher: Balzer and Bray

Pages: 385

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers drawing attention for her killer eyeliner, not for being the new kid at a 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, she could use the fresh start.

At Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: make her mom proud, keep her brother out of trouble, 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. 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?

Told in a captivating voice that is by turns hilarious, vulnerable, and searingly honest, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School explores the joys and heartaches of living your full truth out loud.

Review: I really liked this book! It was a sweet story about a girl who’s having to deal with the perceived notions of who she should be and what she is at heart. The book is equal parts heartbreaking as it is victorious and I found myself cheering for Yamilet everytime she had a little victory with being her genuine self. The book heavily reminds me of Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter and Furia. I loved all of the twists and turns in the story, as those who I thought would be endgame was not and those who I had no hope for became more than I expected. I also loved the theme of “you should have been there” which plays a lot in Yamilet’s family and how they expected her to act, but also how she expected them to act. The character development was well done and the world building was great. The pacing was on point and the premise immediately drew me in and refused to let me go. The book is absolutely gorgeous inside and out and I highly recommend this read.

The only issue I had with the book is that I wished there was more romance in the book as it did take a long time to get to that part, and I wished that there was a good conclusion with a certain character I had high hopes for. I loved what the family did to that character, but I wished that there was a tidbit at the end as to what their motives were and if they got around to accepting the situation.

Verdict: It was amazing! Highly recommend!


Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes