Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

49 reviews

elliereadsthings's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

"Mijo, if the Bible tells me I shouldn't love my kids, then the Bible is wrong."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Deportation

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Abortion, and Classism

mooncxrx's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

i went into this book worrying if it's 'too young' for me and too much talk instead of show, but it ended up blowing me away. it's clearly YA, but it's so incredibly well done. so many important issues are dealt with, without it becoming too heavy or deep while still properly dealing with them and getting you emotionally invested.. idk. it's just an amazing coming of age story that had me crying a lot and that i wish my 15 year old self had had 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Outing

Minor: Deportation

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this coming-of-age story and am grateful, again, that stories like this exist for today's teens. The short chapters and first-person narration make this a fast-paced read, and I enjoyed the irreverent, sincere and self-deprecating voice of our main character, Yamilet. Reyes explores the complex intersections in identity for Yamilet, who comes out as a lesbian, and her younger brother, Cesar, who comes out as bisexual, within their deeply Catholic, Mexican-American household. We can see the layered obstacles for this family as they fight to stay afloat independently years after the deportation of their father (leaving their mother as the family's sole source of income) and thrive in a world that feels fractured along too many religious, cultural and familial fault lines. 

Most compelling in this story is Reyes' look at mental health crises for queer teens. We know statistically that queer teens face disproportionately high rates of bullying and harassment, physical and sexual abuse, depression, and suicidal ideation, and we see these themes explicitly played out in Yamilet and Cesar's storylines. Readers who like to see on-page discussions of mental health care and intervention (akin to Heartstopper) will appreciate how these conflicts are managed by Reyes - particularly how they evidence the ways in which racism and classism within healthcare further complicate crisis care and long-term support for marginalized youth.

I found myself more drawn to the family dynamics and interpersonal relationships (outside of the romances) in this story (the sibling dynamic between Yami + Cesar meant the world to me), so I was only disappointed that the final 20% centered romance to the degree that it did for Yamilet - that said, this was just personal preference. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Abandonment

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing and Blood

boop123's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

Straight up five stars. And yes I’m being biased solely because this was me back in junior high.

I loved the sentiments surrounding the timeline on coming out. No one should feel obligated to tell everyone they’re queer and I’m glad this book emphasized that because it is incredibly difficult to come out when the stakes are high, in this case, religious environments. I also loved how the author tackled the relationship between religion and sexual identity because how can one truly have a personal relationship with God (or any other religion) when the scriptures tell them they’re an abomination? I truly resonate with what Yamilet was going through. How she is already panning out her future if ever she was to come out, the money that she has to save if they don’t accept her, having to convince everyone else she’s straight, her sentiments around Catholicism and her sexuality, and how she can’t fully say the word “lesbian” without feeling squirmy like…. this was literally me 😭 

Even though i knew that she was gonna come out and everything would work out because almost all YA queer books, especially ones taking place in high school, end that way, it was nice to read a book like this because she got her happy ending. And we all know there are still people like me who are still stuck in those circumstances knowing the risks. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Outing

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Deportation

mle11's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Deportation

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality

madelinedalton's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This was so cute! Excellent representation and great storytelling. My only real complaint is that narrative voice is very YA, which was hard to get into as a 25-year-old reader. That’s not an objective flaw at all—this book is very clearly for a younger demographic—but it did impact my personal reading experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Racism

Moderate: Self harm and Suicide attempt

Minor: Blood and Alcohol

amberinpieces's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

ladyinverse's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

absolute banger of a book. I'm so glad I finally decided to read it for sapphic September and I'm mad at myself for taking so long to have read it.

this was an amazing coming of age, romantic sapphic love story of finding you should not be ashamed of who you are and who you love. those that matter don't mind, and those that mind don't matter. 

tu eres mí otro yo 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Deportation

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

anna__b's review against another edition

3.0

i wouldn’t have ever picked this up if it weren’t a book club pick since i know this type of YA just isn’t for me anymore, but i had a decent enough time with it. i do like that it shows a perspective that isn’t always typical in queer teen books. a pretty solid story all around, cute and cheesy yet also touching on some darker topics in a sensitive and age-appropriate way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, and Classism

warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book healed something in me that I didn’t know needed to be healed 😂😭 I laughed and cried so much reading this book. I adore Yami so much, she was such a fun MC. Yami and Bo were so sweet and cute, I really enjoyed their relationship. 

I loved Cesar so much and how he and Yami always had each other’s backs. And the arc about Cesar’s mental health was devastating and I just want to give him a hug 😭😭. The situation with Yami’s parents was heartbreaking but it made me so happy to see their mom come around in the end. The emphasis on love and family despite what they were all taught was really special to me. 

This book deals with heavy subjects but it has the right amount of levity and comic relief. I honestly could not put this down and read it in one sitting.  I’m so glad that there are more books about all kinds of queer experiences now that teens have access to. And to anyone that struggled with their identity or queerphobia in school I think this book is also for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Outing

Minor: Blood