Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun: A Novel
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- Create Date：2021-07-01 09:51:15
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Jonny Garza Villa
- ISBN：1542027047
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Summary
A poignant， funny， openhearted novel about coming out， first love， and being your one and only best and true self。
Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate。 Get into UCLA。 And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi， Texas， and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life。
Then in one reckless moment， with one impulsive tweet， his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet。 The downside: the whole world knows， and Jules has to prepare for rejection。 The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self。
Then Mat， a cute， empathetic Twitter crush from Los Angeles， slides into Jules’s DMs。 Jules can tell him anything。 Mat makes the world seem conquerable。 But when Jules’s fears about coming out come true， the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away。 Jules has to face them alone。
Jules accidentally propelled himself into the life he’s always dreamed of。 And now that he’s in control of it， what he does next is up to him。
Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate。 Get into UCLA。 And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi， Texas， and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life。
Then in one reckless moment， with one impulsive tweet， his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet。 The downside: the whole world knows， and Jules has to prepare for rejection。 The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self。
Then Mat， a cute， empathetic Twitter crush from Los Angeles， slides into Jules’s DMs。 Jules can tell him anything。 Mat makes the world seem conquerable。 But when Jules’s fears about coming out come true， the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away。 Jules has to face them alone。
Jules accidentally propelled himself into the life he’s always dreamed of。 And now that he’s in control of it， what he does next is up to him。
Reviews
Lena
，
YES THIS IS WHAT I WANTED！ warnings for （view spoiler）[homophobia， slurs， abuse （parental， physical， emotional）， past death of parent， parental abandonment， bullying， forced coming out， mentions of suicidal ideation （hide spoiler）] YES THIS IS WHAT I WANTED！ warnings for （view spoiler）[homophobia， slurs， abuse （parental， physical， emotional）， past death of parent， parental abandonment， bullying， forced coming out， mentions of suicidal ideation （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Mary Kate
，
Absolutely adored this book， would highly recommend！
Malena Mendes
，
Not trying to emo here but Villa’s debut is one of the best book I’ve ever read about the journey of being yourself despite the situation that you’re currently in。 This book was not an easy read， but every moment was worth it。 I cried， laughed and swooned （HARD） for pretty much every character。 I can only hope that my boys Julian and Mat are out there living their best live
bookishwithwine
，
This is a heartwarming story about Julián who is ready to start his new life far away from Corpus Christi， Texas， but first he has to finish high school。 That's ok。 He will just keep his head down and stay in the closet until he can leave for UCLA to meet up with Mat， a guy he has never met but knows he's in love。 Julián's dad has an idea that his son may not be straight， but he's still going to ask him about dating girls and other extracurricular activities he thinks a man's man would be doing。 This is a heartwarming story about Julián who is ready to start his new life far away from Corpus Christi， Texas， but first he has to finish high school。 That's ok。 He will just keep his head down and stay in the closet until he can leave for UCLA to meet up with Mat， a guy he has never met but knows he's in love。 Julián's dad has an idea that his son may not be straight， but he's still going to ask him about dating girls and other extracurricular activities he thinks a man's man would be doing。 One drunken night an accidental tweet is sent by Julián， and now the world knows he is gay。What a moving read this was！ I felt for Julián who was afraid if he came out then he would be treated differently by those he loved。 Of course he was wrong， but he had no way of knowing that。 His friend's response was incredibly heartwarming， but not everyone was so understanding which was what he expected。 I loved watching Julian and Matt's relationship blossom into something beautiful。 My only annoyance was with the dad， and it's always bothersome to me when the parents don't support their kids' choice。 In the end love is love， and love prevailed！ Thank you TLC Book Tours， TLC Diversity， Amazon Publishing and Author Jonny Garza Villa。This one is available now！Book Rating: 4/5Wine Pairing: Shannon Reserve Chardonnay 2016 。。。more
Cinthia Sanchez
，
This was an incredible gay teen romance book。 I really connected with the teenage angst and self discovery Jules the main character deals with throughout the book。 Seeing a young teenager navigate his queerness in a Latino household was representation I did not know I needed but very much enjoyed。 My connection with this book came from the fact that I also grew up in a latinx household that isn't always very open to new ideas and self discovery that falls outside of what is deemed the "norm"。 Se This was an incredible gay teen romance book。 I really connected with the teenage angst and self discovery Jules the main character deals with throughout the book。 Seeing a young teenager navigate his queerness in a Latino household was representation I did not know I needed but very much enjoyed。 My connection with this book came from the fact that I also grew up in a latinx household that isn't always very open to new ideas and self discovery that falls outside of what is deemed the "norm"。 Seeing a young texas boy Jules deal with coming out to friends and family and navigating a long distance relationship all at once was incredible。 It was a very easy read with a lot of pop culture and latinx culture embedded in the pages that was easy for me to connect to。 I cannot wait to read more from this author。 。。。more
☔️ lin chuchu ☔️ 林楚楚
，
1。5rep: vietnamese li， mexican american protag， black mc， latine cast i。。。did not like this。 i dont even think i can say i fully finished it， considering i just flipped through the last half of the bookcomplaints:1。 romance was just one person using the other as a therapist。 we don't learn anything about mat。 like at all， that would have endeared us to him。 it was also extremely instalove。 so2。 there was weird shit going on with the straight girls that we were supposed to like humping each othe 1。5rep: vietnamese li， mexican american protag， black mc， latine cast i。。。did not like this。 i dont even think i can say i fully finished it， considering i just flipped through the last half of the bookcomplaints:1。 romance was just one person using the other as a therapist。 we don't learn anything about mat。 like at all， that would have endeared us to him。 it was also extremely instalove。 so2。 there was weird shit going on with the straight girls that we were supposed to like humping each other for male validation。 that's just fucking weird3。 the extreme use of pop culture references。 this is a personal thing， so you might enjoy the book， i guess。 anyways， i do not like ariana grande 😭😭😭 pls stop 。。。more
A
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As a latine queer person， I am always drawn to stories about and by other queer latine people。 I see the connections and representation I wish I had as a teen。 This story definitely drew me in this way when I read the synopsis。 I wanted a cute love story between queer characters。 That is exactly what I got。 Julian and Mat’s story is common one among queer people nowadays。 We find connections online through social media when it can be hard to connect to other queer people in person。 I enjoyed rea As a latine queer person， I am always drawn to stories about and by other queer latine people。 I see the connections and representation I wish I had as a teen。 This story definitely drew me in this way when I read the synopsis。 I wanted a cute love story between queer characters。 That is exactly what I got。 Julian and Mat’s story is common one among queer people nowadays。 We find connections online through social media when it can be hard to connect to other queer people in person。 I enjoyed reading Julian and May’s journey。While this story did have a heartwarming romance that I wanted to keep reading for a long time， it also had a very common trope found in latine communities。 Julian’s relationship with his father is tumultuous at best and terrifying at worst。 It is unfortunate that I was able to connect with Julian in this way。 This story painted the complicated relationships young POC queer people often have with their parents。 I appreciated the way Jonny Garza Villa portrayed this story line and the fact that there wasn’t a glossing over the harm that parents like Julian’s can bring。Despite Julian’s relationship with his father， he still found a way to be himself and surrounded himself with people who supported him。 I love found family stories。 It can give young queer people who don’t have supported families hope that they can find people who will love and support them。 As a lot of queer people have realized， sometimes found families are our real families。 I really enjoyed this story and hope that others find that same enjoyment。 Thank you for letting me read this story that spoke right to my heart。 As always friends， take care of yourself and head the content warnings that are conveniently found in this book。 。。。more
Jeffrey G
，
This really slowed my reading down。 I'll try to keep this review somewhat brief， but this book annoyed me， so I have a lot to say。The first thing you read here is a trigger warning。 In writing it， the author uses the work "Latinxs" （yes， pluralized） unironically。 You immediately get the strong sense that you are about to read some woke snowflake bullshit。It is a bit hard to say what this book is about， but for me， it is the story of a closeted gay teen who has been abused emotionally and physica This really slowed my reading down。 I'll try to keep this review somewhat brief， but this book annoyed me， so I have a lot to say。The first thing you read here is a trigger warning。 In writing it， the author uses the work "Latinxs" （yes， pluralized） unironically。 You immediately get the strong sense that you are about to read some woke snowflake bullshit。It is a bit hard to say what this book is about， but for me， it is the story of a closeted gay teen who has been abused emotionally and physically for many years and how he comes of age， comes out of the closet， and （maybe） figures out how to start a new and better life for himself。I feel hesitant to be too critical here because the author tells us that this tale is somewhat autobiographical， but I really didn't feel anything emotionally while I was reading this and I think part of the reason is that the abuse is depicted in a very reticent way， almost as an afterthought， when， really， isn't it at the very center of this kid's life？ The mc himself is a drama queen。 There is very little action in the book and it is almost 100% talk and interior monologue and Julian goes on and on and on about his feelings and his pain and I think that in a strange way this does not leave any room for the reader to feel that pain or to connect with their own feelings about the story。 The romance in the book is not romantic at all。 At certain points， the characters make traditional romantic gestures， but it doesn't come across with any kind of emotional sweep。 The characters talk so much that the dialogue becomes just endless noise。 I really wished they would shut up。 Once the couple gets together， they really become one of those insufferable couples that is very hard to be around。 And the reader is stuck with them！ You don't have the option of leaving the room。 I want to briefly mention a pivotal scene where the mc has sex for the first time。 I think young gay guys might be left with a lot of questions after reading something like this。 Like how the boys seem to know which roles they will be taking without talking about it。 I also wonder why these boys can't be a little more vers。 Since they are both virgins， don't they want to try it both ways？！ Just to see how it is？ But the book itself tries to have it both ways， giving quite a bit of attention to details like cleaning yourself out before bottoming but really chickening out and leaving a lot of relevant detail out。 It is simultaneously TMI and too discreet， like it is uncertain which tone to take when it comes to the intercourse。 The book seems uncomfortable with the content。 Incidentally， sex isn't always clean like it is in pornos and that's okay， not something to stress about。The mc is supposedly a top athlete but he never works out or watches what he eats。 He is a top ten student who seems stupid in his classes and who never studies or does schoolwork。 One of the earliest scenes in the book has him cheating on an assignment。。。hardly a realistic portrayal of how you make top ten in your class。 One groans as he decides to major in "Chicanx Studies"。 Good Lord。Another very funny thing is how this book stumbles into the "everybody's queer" trope。 We go from a closeted gay kid who has never even spoken to another queer person to a situation where he has a boyfriend whose brother and sister are both queer and then he finds out one of his best friends is pansexual and you just start seeing rainbows everywhere， honey。 Like the financial aid officer at college is gay， etc， etc， etc。 I just started laughing at this shit after a while。I haven't even talked about the use of Spanish in the book， which reads as sometimes authentic and sometimes trying a little too hard。 Generally， Spanglish speakers are not necessarily actually all that competent with the Spanish language and you don't quite get that feeling here as the mc helps his bf with his Spanish homework and corrects el and la， etc。 Also Spanglish is marked by code switching and the mc really doesn't do that here。 He speaks the same profanity-laced Spanglish to every person he meets， including non-Spanish speakers like his bf's parents。 It all comes off as weird and maybe a little political and pretentious rather than realistic。 There is exactly one irreverent moment in this entire long book， which comes early on when the mc confesses that he thinks One Hundred Years of Solitude is pretentious crap。 Unfortunately that is the only moment the author steps even one centimeter out of what is acceptable on gay progressive BIPOC twitter。 There have been some powerfully-moving books written about gay kids struggling in an abusive setting。 Some of the these would be "A List of Cages"， "The Dangerous Art of Blending In" and the greatest of them all "A Little Life"。 For something that shares some of the vibes I think this book was going for， try "The Inexplicable Logic of My Life" by Benjamin Alire Saenz。For me this was a complete and total miss。 I would give this author another chance in the future， but I hope he will write more about what characters do and less about what we are supposed to be feeling。 I also hope he will get off twitter and other social media。 That's not reality。 。。。more
Lizzie
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This is quite literally one of the most beautiful and real books I have ever read in my entire life。 From start to finish， I laughed， smiled and cried so damn much。 And this book is so much more than a romance between two boys， even though it very much is about that and they are the CUTEST freaking couple in the entire world， but it's also a story about family and friends and acceptance。 It's about overcoming lifelong struggles and being comfortable in your own skin， about falling in love for th This is quite literally one of the most beautiful and real books I have ever read in my entire life。 From start to finish， I laughed， smiled and cried so damn much。 And this book is so much more than a romance between two boys， even though it very much is about that and they are the CUTEST freaking couple in the entire world， but it's also a story about family and friends and acceptance。 It's about overcoming lifelong struggles and being comfortable in your own skin， about falling in love for the first time and graduating high school and starting adulthood。 It's so freaking good and relatable and heartbreaking and somehow simultaneously heartwarming。 Every one of Jules' friends were incredible and supportive and honestly the exact people everyone should strive to find in their lives。 And Xo。 The sister who took in her little brother， who made sure he always knew that no matter what， she loved and supported him。 Mat， perfect freaking Mat who is Jules' sunshine。 I'm literally dying right now because of how damn cute they are。 This book deals with heavier subject matter too。 There's homophobia and abuse and truly it's a lot and it's heartbreaking but the story was told in such an honest and respectful way。 By the end， when Jules wrote that letter to his dad I was a bawling mess。 So， so proud of him for standing up to him and for getting the closure that he needed。 All in all， I believe everyone should read this book。 It's got a little something for everyone and truly， it's one of the best books I've ever read。 。。。more
Crystal Zavala
，
Anthony's review （15）:It was really cool to see how all the Hispanic characters interacted。 The author did a really good job showing how teenagers really act。 The book was relatable and left him feeling happy。 In comparison to other books he's read， Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun definitely deserves five stars。 Anthony's review （15）:It was really cool to see how all the Hispanic characters interacted。 The author did a really good job showing how teenagers really act。 The book was relatable and left him feeling happy。 In comparison to other books he's read， Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun definitely deserves five stars。 。。。more
Breelynd Huntley
，
I had a hard to me getting into this one， but once we hit page 60， or so， the story really took off for me。 The only hard thing was the amount of Spanish thrown in。 It wouldn't have been bad if a glossery had been added， but I had to keep running to Google or try to remember my high school Spanish。 I liked the story a lot， just a minor problem。 I had a hard to me getting into this one， but once we hit page 60， or so， the story really took off for me。 The only hard thing was the amount of Spanish thrown in。 It wouldn't have been bad if a glossery had been added， but I had to keep running to Google or try to remember my high school Spanish。 I liked the story a lot， just a minor problem。 。。。more
Dora
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I know that I am worthy。 That I am enough。 And that's enough for right now。Another 2021 YA favorite！ The English/Spanish language， the Latinx characters， everything。 Jules， aka Julián， the main character， and his story was full of joy， discovery， tears， and learning that doing what makes him happy is what matters the most。 I know that I am worthy。 That I am enough。 And that's enough for right now。Another 2021 YA favorite！ The English/Spanish language， the Latinx characters， everything。 Jules， aka Julián， the main character， and his story was full of joy， discovery， tears， and learning that doing what makes him happy is what matters the most。 。。。more
Helen Farch
，
Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa is a cute coming out and coming-of-age story。Julián Luna knows he is gay， but he also knows that he will never be accepted by his father if he comes out。 Growing up， Julián's father has， literally， tried to beat any signs of perceived feminine behaviour out of him。So， he has big plans。 Graduate from his Texas high school and get into UCLA where he will be able to live his true life。 Until then， he will remain in the closet and continue to d Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa is a cute coming out and coming-of-age story。Julián Luna knows he is gay， but he also knows that he will never be accepted by his father if he comes out。 Growing up， Julián's father has， literally， tried to beat any signs of perceived feminine behaviour out of him。So， he has big plans。 Graduate from his Texas high school and get into UCLA where he will be able to live his true life。 Until then， he will remain in the closet and continue to deny he is gay to his aggressive father。But plans don't always work out how you think， and one night of drunken partying and an impulsive tweet turns Julián's plans up-side-down。 The upside of that tweet comes in the form of Mat， a cute， understanding boy from Los Angeles。 As Julián's and Mat's relationship over twitter grows， the fall-out of Julián outing himself creates turmoil at home。 But with supportive friends and big sister， Julián is ready to grasp the life he wants for himself。This is ultimately a happy ever after story， but with some major speed humps along the way。 You can tell this was a very personal story for the author， and as such， it feels very authentic。 The relationships that Julián has with his friends， his big sister， his grandfather and Mat will warm your heart， as much as his relationship with his father will break it。Thanks to Netgally and SourceFire Books for the ARC to read and review。 。。。more
Anna
，
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review。I had a love/hate relationship with this book。 One: the representation was AMAZING。 I loved seeing the two different family lives Jules and Mat have， because it shows not everything has a happy ending （but also not everything has a sad ending either。）。 The plot was very basic， but showed a lot of good character interaction。 My only issues were 1） sometimes the writing just felt so cringey （far too much pop culture talk I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review。I had a love/hate relationship with this book。 One: the representation was AMAZING。 I loved seeing the two different family lives Jules and Mat have， because it shows not everything has a happy ending （but also not everything has a sad ending either。）。 The plot was very basic， but showed a lot of good character interaction。 My only issues were 1） sometimes the writing just felt so cringey （far too much pop culture talk that really made me roll my eyes， even though I know it’s supposed to be stream of consciousness for Jules。 2） I hated how much description went into mundane things。 It felt like it was wasting time and trying to prove something with the food？ I’m not sure， but it was annoying。 For the most part though， I liked this book！ Very cute。 。。。more
Anna
，
5+。 Honestly so freaking good。 Review to come。
Nia
，
I loved reading this beautiful book。 I had such a huge smile on my face when it ended but throughout a whirlwind of emotions from sadness to anger， anticipation， hopefulness， soo worth it though❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤍🤎💗🌈🌈
Diana Rose
，
Fave Debut Writer of June 2021Synopsis:Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate。 Get into UCLA。 And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi， Texas， and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life。Then in one reckless moment， with one impulsive tweet， his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet。 The downside: the whole world knows， and Jules has to prepare for rejection。 The upside: Jules now has the opportunity Fave Debut Writer of June 2021Synopsis:Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate。 Get into UCLA。 And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi， Texas， and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life。Then in one reckless moment， with one impulsive tweet， his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet。 The downside: the whole world knows， and Jules has to prepare for rejection。 The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self。Then Mat， a cute， empathetic Twitter crush from Los Angeles， slides into Jules’s DMs。 Jules can tell him anything。 Mat makes the world seem conquerable。 But when Jules’s fears about coming out come true， the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away。 Jules has to face them alone。🌶🌶🌶 Spicy for YA。。 with genuine likable characters⭐⭐⭐⭐ Coming of age ， parental cultural conflict: MC showed great emotional maturity stood his ground and was a testament of strength and resilience。 I cried so hard for Julian when he left home。 📚📚📚📚📚 THE FOUND FAMILY : I loved this group of friends who stood by Julian， who loved him and cared for him。This book was fun and all the wonderful things we loved about high school， it was about having a dream， falling in love and discovering who we are as people， what is truly important。 I am bragging about this book all over Instagram， the LGTBQ bookish community desperately wants diversity representation， and this is the Latino queer voice that has been missing。 I cannot wait for the next book from Jonny Garza Villa， their voice we welcome with open hearts。 Bravo 。。。more
Ben Truong
，
Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun: A Novel is a young adult contemporary romance written by Jonny Garza Villa。 It centers on Julián "Jules" Luna， a high schooler student is closeted who is about to have his life turned upside down。In Corpus Christi， Texas， high schooler Juliàn Luna is so deep in the closet， mainly because his Mexican father， believing that Jules is a sissy。 He already polices Jules' self-presentation and sometimes physically abusively towards him。 Then Jules drunkenly mixes up Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun: A Novel is a young adult contemporary romance written by Jonny Garza Villa。 It centers on Julián "Jules" Luna， a high schooler student is closeted who is about to have his life turned upside down。In Corpus Christi， Texas， high schooler Juliàn Luna is so deep in the closet， mainly because his Mexican father， believing that Jules is a sissy。 He already polices Jules' self-presentation and sometimes physically abusively towards him。 Then Jules drunkenly mixes up his social media accounts and wakes up to find that he's come out on Twitter。The good news is that his friends and older sister still love and accept him， and his soccer teammates don’t much care。 The really good news is that Vietnamese American Mat， a hot Los Angeles–based high school senior who slid into his DMs， is now flirting openly with him， which soon leads to the duo developing feelings for each other。 However， Jules is stuck in Texas， and though UCLA is his first-choice college， he's not sure he'll be accepted or is able to afford it – especially now that he's out to his father， who wants him to get rid of that boy and stay in Texas。Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun: A Novel is written extremely well – it is far from perfect， but it comes rather close。 Villa offers an accessible prose that impeccably interweaves Spanish and English。 It is a tender debut， which is sex-positive and romantic， balancing humor and heartfelt relationships even as it shows the joys and pains of one person's experience coming out。All in all， Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun: A Novel is an open-hearted expression of love in its many forms。 。。。more
Donica
，
4。5As a South Texas Latina I’m definitely biased when rating this book， but it spoke to me so much。 It was such a beautiful story。 I can’t wait for their next one！ Puro San Anto！
Fernanda Granzotto
，
*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review， all opinions are my own*I don't think anyone can hate this book but I didn't love it。 It's a good story but there were things in it that made it not great。 First， I found the story very repetitive， we followed Jules' life every day， and it gets tiring after a while。 I also didn't like how it was very insta love the romance， even though it was a cute and heartwarming romance， I found that some things happ *Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review， all opinions are my own*I don't think anyone can hate this book but I didn't love it。 It's a good story but there were things in it that made it not great。 First， I found the story very repetitive， we followed Jules' life every day， and it gets tiring after a while。 I also didn't like how it was very insta love the romance， even though it was a cute and heartwarming romance， I found that some things happened too fast。 This is a quick book to read but at the same time drags a lot。 I do recommend this story because it speaks and touches on very important topics。 And I loved the romance and friendships you have in this book。 I almost cried in a lot of parts too， so it's not even a bad book， it's actually quite good， it just wasn't entirely made for me。 。。。more
Carola | adreamofpages
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*I received an arc from netgalley， thank you！Review to come！
Thieving Magpie
，
I greatly enjoyed this book！ I am not much of a football/soccer fan but - well， it was queer and since there a huge footbal/soccer tournament in Germany right now， I was in desperate need for something queer and football。 Mainly because there are no openly queer active football players in Germany。。I also loved the Spanish influence in this book - I still do not speak the language but luckily， it's possible to copy-paste and google words you don't understand。 Since I am usually not interested in I greatly enjoyed this book！ I am not much of a football/soccer fan but - well， it was queer and since there a huge footbal/soccer tournament in Germany right now， I was in desperate need for something queer and football。 Mainly because there are no openly queer active football players in Germany。。I also loved the Spanish influence in this book - I still do not speak the language but luckily， it's possible to copy-paste and google words you don't understand。 Since I am usually not interested in football， these passages felt dragging to me， but that's just me not being a very football-enthusiastic person and not a criticism against the author or their writing。 The Foreword especially touched me and made me want to read this book even more， and honestly， I am glad I did， even though my understanding of football is limited to "Goal" and "No goal"。 It's a heart-warming， lovely tale， a nice little summer read and I greatly emjoyed it， even as a non-football fan！I received a free copy by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Alves
，
best book of the year
Shannon
，
so good :'） so good :'） 。。。more
Will
，
This book was so sweet
V
，
I want to preface this by saying I’m a México-based Mexican。I wanted to love this book， I love representation of queer Mexicans。 I went in wanting to love it。 I did not come here as a hater。If you’re looking for a book for representation， this is it。 It’s *chefs kiss*。I think this book will be vastly important to many latinx teens。 It depicts the reality of living in a machista culture when gay。 The language the father used is accurate and the fear is real。Julian is a well written teenager， he t I want to preface this by saying I’m a México-based Mexican。I wanted to love this book， I love representation of queer Mexicans。 I went in wanting to love it。 I did not come here as a hater。If you’re looking for a book for representation， this is it。 It’s *chefs kiss*。I think this book will be vastly important to many latinx teens。 It depicts the reality of living in a machista culture when gay。 The language the father used is accurate and the fear is real。Julian is a well written teenager， he talks the way teens talk， and has interests teens have。 A lot of authors have issues with this。 The author dealt with it with flying colors。I think as queer youth we dream of all encompassing， soul crushing romances， and that a lot of the times ends up being someone who lives kilometers away。 This was a book that has the love story a lot of us wish we had。 That’s important。 I was in a long distance relationship once， so I found myself cringing at the similarities between my relationship and theirs。One of my issues， as a Mexican who was born and raised here in Mexico， is that you don’t need to include 3 different “latinx” （most of them were Mexican， it’s okay to call them Mexican rather than Latinx） things the character is doing/consuming in order to prove they’re latinx。 I’ve seen a lot of authors do this， and I get why。 But it feels like they’re saying “This is how latinos act！” and it makes me wonder who the book is for; is it for latinos， or for non-latinos who want to see an example of our “culture” （another reviewer mentioned this， but I have an issue with the phrase “Latinx aesthetic”， it makes it seem like our cultures are a monolith， which is something we’re constantly fighting against。 Perpetuating this in a book that will be read by non-latinos is harmful and I hope it’s not on the finished copy）。Another issue， unrelated to my Mexican background， is that the stream of consciousness narration leads to repetitive thoughts and ideas。 We get a lot of jumps in time and teased about future events that end up being frankly underwhelming。Overall， I’m glad this book exists。 It’s cute， real， and queer Mexicans deserve love stories too， I just expected more。 。。。more
Grey
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this was a very cute and very sweet book that still deals with heavy topics。 I think it’s a realistic YA and had a good depiction of actual teens。 I enjoyed the romance， though it was a bit rushed， and I enjoyed the friends as well as Jules’ sister！ def rec if you are trying to find a hurt/comfort read
Leo Benavides
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I loved this work。 It very much brought more light into Tejano/chicane culture。 Very much loved the Selena reference and the reality of “not everything ends perfect” “ not everyone will love you”。 It gave me more of what I personally see in the world and not some facade。
moon
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[only reading queer books during pride month] i loved this。 the storyline is so cute and it's so nicely written but it's also Heartbreaking and important。 wish i had a book like this growing up [only reading queer books during pride month] i loved this。 the storyline is so cute and it's so nicely written but it's also Heartbreaking and important。 wish i had a book like this growing up 。。。more
starryarcher
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