Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

159 reviews

mreadsbooks's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Outing

Minor: Bullying, Police brutality, and Deportation

jennireadsmaybe's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

If you have anything bad to say about Yamilet, then you'll have me to contend with; I would kill for her. She goes through so much in her story that I just want to wrap her in a hug and protect her from the world. Sonora Reyes captured Arizona heat and catholic school religious bigotry so well. I loved Yami's friend group and her familial relationship particularly because they felt so real to the teenage experience (LET TEENS BE TEENS!!!). I'm definitely going to read more from Sonora Reyes. 

So much was packed into 389 pages/9 and a half hours, but it never felt like the book dragged on to me. The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School covers queer identity, immigration/deportation, mental health, coming out, being gay in a religious heavy environment, and so much more. Reyes handles everything with care. There's a bit of romance sprinkled in between Yami and Bo that I adored. I'm so glad this exists and that BIPOC queer girls will be able to see themselves in the pages of it. 

Read this if you like contemporary YA stories with a dash of romance, messy teenagers existing in an even messier world, unpacking religious trauma, and hot summer days. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Outing

Minor: Bullying and Deportation

spuriousdiphthongs's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry

Moderate: Biphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Bullying, Sexism, Police brutality, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

kajoreads's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

I didn’t really feel the romance. Their crushes on each other came across as part jealousy, part idealization. Their story had potential, but I needed more moments of them actually connecting. Yami pretending to be straight around Bo for most of the book certainly didn’t help.

I did enjoy the book though. I was wholeheartedly rooting for Yami the entire time.

There were some moments that really took me out the book though.. The fortnite dancing?? I wish the editor had put their foot down on that one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

anni_banani's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

Sonora Reyes you are one of my favorite authors after reading this book. 5 stars for healing my heart

First let me say that I completely trust Sonora after reading both of their books. This book covers plenty of traumatic issues and character's struggle but I never was triggered. The content warning in the beginning of the book enough for me. I was tense at times but my butt was relaxed rather than tense enough to make a diamond from coal. 

I was in love with both MCs, loved them together, loved their romance. no lesbian tropes here! The best lesbian romance I've ever read period.

this was a fast read that pulled me in and I gobbled it up so fast. I was happily surprised by the ending!

Why this 5 stars for me - The book healed me in so many ways baby girl

• seriously the queer relationships were that good. yay no toxic bullshit!
• I loved the characters so much. sometimes i'm not that lucky...
• I related so much to the family dynamics and really felt seen the way they were represented
• I loved the mother's turn around. It was healing to see that as well as see how some parents will never pick up the wake up call. I was sus of the mother Maria but she really earned her spot. parents struggling with accepting their children, this is a great place to start
• my first Indigenous Mexican MC
• really meaningful discussion of Race and Cultural Identity
• struggling with self acceptance while still having pride and love for yourself
• The evolution of In Lak’ech Ala K’in- i can feel the stiches on my heart from that one
• the way Bo absolved Yamilet of her catholic guilt on confession day though thats not how it was for Caser

im writing a sequel in my head, its so good!

Fan made read along playlist that is so effing good and incredibly specific https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5WYsthkEiPGBifWlYVijvg?si=0zLn1iSnQeOLfBGbnAkZYQ&pi=u-HaacJAh-SM-u

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Deportation

Minor: Bullying and Suicidal thoughts

Chap 22

atreegrowsinbooks's review

emotional funny hopeful 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

Ahh I loved this so much! There were so many funny lines that had me laughing out loud and smiling. I adore books that make me so that. 

Yamilet (Yami) is so funny and someone I wish I could have been friends with in high school. She deals with so much, and holds a lot of her worries in for most of the book. Her character and struggles are very relatable. I loved all the main characters in this book and I thought it was refreshing to see each character have their own struggles to deal with. I laughed and cried throughout this book. Fantastic writing, will for sure be reading more from Reyes. I thought their humor and fully realized characters were awesome. Also the narrator is fantastic in this too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Outing

Minor: Bullying and Deportation

raindrops333's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying and Deportation

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

miss_vonnegut's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. It does deal with topics like coming out, racism, homophobia, depression, etc, but it handles them with care and doesn't do it to an extreme extent. I feel like, while it could be triggering for some, it could also potentially be healing once someone's in a place where they're ready for that. All the characters were fantastic and I loved them all so much. I won't say much, but it does end in a good place. If you're concerned about the content warnings and want some spoilers in relation to those, here you go:

One of the main character's parents turns out to be homophobic but the other doesn't. Both siblings are doing well at the end. I found the way the non-homophobic parent reacted to the kids coming out was very lovely and heartwarming. In general, some slurs are used, there's homophobic school bullying, and internalized homophobia is discussed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Deportation

Minor: Racial slurs and Police brutality

dcdc's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Forced institutionalization