The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes Review

This is not my usual kind of book. I’m frankly not a fan of young adult books, and I feel bad if I let my personal taste affect my review when I knew what I was getting into. Even I defrost a little from my seriousness and rigidity of my preferences in books and venture out of my comfort zone once in a while. All in the name of being well-read, of course.

This is a cute book and is vaguely reminiscent of One Last Stop in the way it features a sapphic romance and a band of quirky characters in a friend group—and an ethnically Chinese love interest. But that’s where the similarities end, because this book actually covers more than just the topic of being lesbian in a setting where it’s pretty much not accepted. I really enjoyed the discussion about ethnic/immigrant dynamics, with Yami’s father being in Mexico while she and her mother and brother are in the US, and how this affects their dynamic with their predominantly white school. What affected me the most was how much Yami had to struggle to make an emergency fund in case her mother didn’t accept her once she had to come out of the closet sooner or later.

This book mingled a cheerful and silly tone with its deeper themes and meanings. We see sibling dynamics, high school crushes, familial pressure, and hostile interactions with peers. Although it was for the most part a happy ending, there were a few loose ends and unhappy facts that couldn’t be resolved or changed by the end. And that’s realistic. My main issue was with the writing style. Although this high school–setting book contained mature themes (deportation, drunkenness and parties, etc.), the tone and style was very middle school–esque.

So yes, I am still pretty much not a fan of young adult books for the aforementioned reason—not because of the themes. Many YA books discuss extremely relevant topics and subjects, and I commend YA writers a lot for this because if anyone needs to be exposed to difficult conversations and discussions about uncomfortable social issues, it’s teens.

Thank you to my local library for the free copy!