The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School

by Sonora Reyes

A debut novel about a queer Mexican American girl navigating Catholic school, while falling in love and learning to celebrate her true self.

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?

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, LGBT, Queer, Lesbian, Contemporary, Fiction

385 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 2022

About the author

Born and raised in Arizona, Sonora Reyes writes fiction full of queer and Latine characters in a variety of genres, with current projects in both kidlit and adult categories.

Outside of writing, Sonora loves breaking their body and vocal chords by playing with their baby niblings, and dancing/singing karaoke at the same time.

Reviews

[Sonora Reyes]

I mean I might be biased, but I thought it was pretty cool :)

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all]]

My 12 year old just came running down the stairs (having read this under the blankets with flashlight) and lobbed this book into my lap shouting “This is the best book ever. Read it now. I am having so many emotions. Put that on your goodreads or whatever you do.” So I am.

[Aiden Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE LESBIANA’S GUIDE TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL by Sonora Reyes is a story about bravery, love, and so much more. It’s about discovering what makes you feel most at home within yourself, and the comfort that comes with sharing those parts with the people you love, even when it’s scary. With a sweet sapphic romance and fiercely loyal friends, this book is a warm, protective hug for teens who are fighting to be seen as themselves in a world that wants them to hide.

[Talkincloud · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! This is what I was looking for in YA! <3

[a foray in fantasy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We stan supportive parents!!

This book is beyond perfect.

The topics addressed are done so with respect— discussions of colonialism, religion, and LGBTQ+ rights all fit perfectly into the book.

But, more importantly, the romance was so cute!!! I want what Yami and Bo have. The gay chaos is absolutely one of my favorite aspects of the book.

[Lex Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! This is the book I wanted and needed. YA is a competitive space and there are so many good YA books out there, but this isn’t good YA, this is great YA. This is an example of why I read and love this genre so much. I love emotional YA that gives you all the feels and that is exactly what this book did. This book isn’t perfect, there are a few teeny tiny things, but this is Reyes’ YA debut (which makes it more impressive) and I enjoyed the hell out of it so this is an easy 5 stars for me.

This is one of those books that once you start reading it you can’t put it down. It is a good length, but there was no way I could stop reading. Before I go much farther I want to mention some possible triggers that the characters go through like homophobia, racism, and suicide. I’m not kidding but I think the first time I teared up was only 15% into the book. That is pretty impressive when you realize it means that Reyes made me care about the characters that quickly. And while I didn’t actually cry then, I sure was a mess before the book ended. Take my advice and keep a box of tissues next to you, you will need them.

While this book made me an emotional mess at times, it was also heartwarming, sweet, and put multiple smiles on my face. When I say this book had all the feels I truly mean that. The friendships, familiar relationships, and of course the sweet sapphic romance, were all well written and they helped to balance out the harder to read parts.

The rep was great and the characters were wonderful. There were some I loved, others I hated, and even the smallest of secondary characters were fully fleshed out. The sapphic romance just fits perfect with the feel of the book and they make a totally adorable couple. I think the only issue I really had is that I wanted more. I didn’t want the book to be over and I don’t want these characters stories to be over.

TLDR: If you are a YA fan, this book is a must. If you’re not a big YA fan but still appreciate great stories, then this is still a must. Where is all the hype for this book?! Sometimes I just don’t get it, but I sure hope this book gets the readership it deserves.

An ARC was given to me for a review.

[not my high · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ważne tematy? SĄ!
Wspaniali, wyraziści bohaterowie? TEŻ!
Reprezentacja queerowa? OCZYWIŚCIE!
Niepowtarzalna fabuła i klimat? ZDECYDOWANIE!

Na razie zdradzę tyle, ale jedno powiem: WARTO CZEKAĆ NA PREMIERĘ 🌈

Edit: znam już tę książkę na pamięć

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I loved the content of this book. A romance between a queer Mexican American girl and a queer Asian American girl, themes of coming-of-age amidst homophobia among a rich white Catholic school, and some difficult family dynamics that turn out okay. I felt a lot of heart from this novel and am happy to see uplifting representation of LGBTQ+ people of color.

Unfortunately I didn’t love the execution of the book from a writing perspective. The first half of the book in particular felt like a lot of teen cliches without much direction. While the latter half of the book contained more scenes with heartfelt emotional resonance, some of what took place still felt rushed. I wanted more from the writing. Still, I’m happy with what this book represents in terms of social justice and narrative of joy for queer poc!

[Emery Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cesar is my son and I would die for him. Thank you.

[alaska · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book deserves all its praise because DAMN. rtc but i sobbed and gasped and laughed and screamed!

[౨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this after a long week of school and a mental breakdown and this was just so. amazing??? as;dfklj

istg it had everything i needed in a book
- [poc] lesbians !!
- mlm and wlw solidarity
- family dynamics
- talks of internalized homophobhia, religious trauma, casual racism/stereotypes, adoption (from parents of different ethnicity than you), identity
- eldest daughter mc
- cute christmas/mall date(s)
- female (straight vs queer) friendships
- gays at catholic school rep :DD


the ending was definitely faster paced but i actually enjoyed the change tho a certain chapter got a bit dark and surprised me istg

[geekyfangirlstuff · Rating 5 out of 5]

wyznawałam już miłość tej książce na instagramie, ale u mnie miłości nigdy nie za wiele - KOCHAM TĄ KSIĄŻKĘ AAAAAAAA

ja nadal jeszcze nie wierzę, że wciągnęłam ją jednym tchem i już ją skończyłam…

• WSPANIAŁA GŁÓWNA POSTAĆ - YAMI KOCHAM CIĘ💛 przepiękna przemiana, zakochiwanie się i akceptacja samej siebie, zbieranie odwagi…ta dziewczyna ma tak potężne serducho, że nie mam słów i cieszę się, że w końcu znalazła w nim miejsce również dla siebie!
• relacja rodzeństwa Yami - Cesar IM CRYING
• poruszane problemy dot. relacji z rodzicami
• QUEEEEROOOOWAAAA REPREZENTAAAACJAAAA
• wlw i mlm
• relacje międzyludzkie, współpraca, przyjaźń, miłość, odtrącenie

będę teraz krzyczeć o tej książce i mówić jak najwięcej - bo takie tytuły pełne ciepła, ale i tematów nierówności i okrutności ludzi są cholernie ważne i potrzebne

ZANIM SIĘGNIECIE PO KSIĄŻKĘ SPRAWDŹCIE TW!

[Anniek · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot to love about this book, and it has a lot of strong elements. Overall though, I found it a little rough around the edges; it felt a little unfinished to me. Especially in the first half, the book felt like it missed direction. The second half proved a better experience for me, because it felt more focused, but I still felt like it could have been structured better. I just felt like a lot of the big emotional moments were a little rushed and could have gotten a little more attention. I did however love the sibling relationship especially!

[Alex.andthebooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

Oczywiście, że zapomniałam wcześniej oznaczyć jako przeczytaną XD

Mimo, że Yami nie będzie moją ukochaną bohaterką to mnogość problemów, które zostały ukazane w tej książce jest dla mnie przeogromnym plusem. Pokrzepiająca!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my second Pride Month read, I chose a coming-of-age novel that gets right what most get wrong. It’s a cocktail of the bitter realities we slam into when childhood ends, and the sweetness of finding people who “get” us—and love us into adulthood.

The author takes on more intersectionalities than she can fully explore: queerness and religion, immigration and cultural identity, transracial adoption and roots, race and class, family and mental health.

Still, the protagonist makes it easy to traverse this tangled terrain without getting lost or overwhelmed. She’s brave, funny, vulnerable, and smart. I rooted for her right from the start. 



P.S. - I’m moving this weekend, which is a happy thing, but it’s also a lot of work! The fact that I finished this book while packing and scrubbing says it all: highly recommend.

Book/Song Pairing: I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend (Girl in Red)

[Em Lost In Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

This was chaotic and funny.

[alessia ✰ · Rating 2 out of 5]

no one is more disappointed than me that i didn’t like this. the lesbiana’s guide to catholic school had a great concept and lots of potential: unfortunately, it fell short due to a lack of structure, direction and emotional depth.

the first half of the book is a confused, jumbled mess of half-finished side-plots and oddly written and completely out of place teen clichés and pop culture references that sounded put together by someone who’s never met a teen in their life. the last 10ish chapters were more cohesive, but overall the more emotional moments felt rushed, impersonal and unrealistic and didn’t have much of an impact.

while i enjoyed some of the scenes portraying yami and cesar’s sibling bond, the writing was all very tell no show: i just couldn’t manage to emotionally connect to any of the characters and, as a consequence, couldn’t bring myself to care about any of them.

[rie · Rating 4 out of 5]

was in a bit of a reading slump but this has helped me out!! my faith in YA contemporary is restored 😭🫶🏾

this was just so refreshing to read. even if the ideas weren’t exactly unique, the characters and the general execution felt so good and not corny-YA-style. it felt like you were genuinely the mc’s friend or her personal diary, her inner voice is so fun to listen to and you really feel for her (particularly with her family issue cuz um lesbian eldest daughters — especially the ones of colour? this one is for you!!) her relationship between her brother and her was so nice to read. i love close sibling bonds but queer siblings are a niche but beloved thing for me. and of course, we always love to see the lesbian/gay (or bi, in this case) solidarity 🫶🏾

extra things i loved:
— the discussion on the use of the word lesbian!! many lesbian books avoid it like it’s some evil word or only use it derogatorily and it was so nice that we had a lil arc of her accepting it and coming to love the word lesbian
— AN INTERRACIAL COUPLE THAT DOESN’T INVOLVE A WHITE PERSON
— baby butch/masc love interest :)
— i love how the mcs aren’t made to forgive their bullies or the people that cause them harm. YA books love to have that “and everyone got along in the end” thing and sorry but that’s just not real life! sometimes it’s just fuck them and you can still be happy.

all in all this was a great read <3 highly recommend

[ally]

🥹🥰

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discussion video/vlog: https://youtu.be/G2MbTclUBHI

This was SO GOOD! It had me sobbing at the end (yes, I did get that on camera).

Excellent queer coming of age novel showing why it's still not safe for teens everywhere to be uncloseted, and the realities of homophobia at Christian (in this case Catholic) schools. And Yami is dealing with being at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities as a queer, Latinè woman terrified of her parents finding out and kicking her out of the house. Please just give me everything Sonora Reyes writes because this was not only an important novel, but beautifully written with great characterization. Highly recommend.

Content warning for suicide attempt, self-harm, homophobia

[spillingthematcha · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Przewodnik lesbijki po katolickiej szkole” to historia, która zachwyciła mnie swoją prawdziwością, wrażliwością oraz humorem, ale także przejęła trudnymi relacjami z rodzicami, które sprawiły, że odnalazłam w niej coś sobie bliskiego. Opowieść, która potrafi wywołać uśmiech na twarzy, jak i ogromnie wzruszyć. Jest w niej coś, co szczególnie chwyciło mnie za serce. To historia o dziewczynie, która na kartach powieści dojrzewa, podejmuje trudne decyzje i stara się pozostać sobą, w świecie, który daje jej jedynie wiele niepewności. To historia o miłości. Każdej. Bo każdy zasługuje na miłość.

[Aliki (semi hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I shouldn't judge a book by its cover but this is probably the prettiest book i own 😍

Edit: YOU CAN JUDGE THIS BOOK BY THE COVER IT WAS PERFEEEEEEECT

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to listen to this audiobook but at the same a bit scared that the book wouldn't live up from the hype for me. But it definitely did, and beyond that. One of my favorite YA of the year

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy, the knuckledraggers didn’t even have to put any effort into finding this one. Sonora Reyes did all the work for them with this title!

I read this last week for Banned Books Week and of course failed to review it on time because that is what I do. The story here is about Yami – a teen who, along with her brother, has transferred to a private Catholic school after being outed and ostracized by her former best friend and due to her brother’s inability to stay out of trouble. Her goals for the new year are simple . . . .

1. Find a new best friend.
2. Don’t be gay about it.

Throughout the course of the book you learn about why Yami’s brother was having issues, meet her parents – neither of which are approving of homosexuality and one who was deported, and experience first love. Also included are some helpful doses of facts . . . .

If I’m “living a lie,” then so is every straight person who’s never “come out” to every single person in their life about their sexuality. I shouldn’t have to talk about it if I don’t want to.

Aside from being “too gay” – there’s zero reason why this book would ever be an issue to the crazies. It’s a typical young adult type of story that would easily translate over to Netflix like the trillions of other teenage romance books that have been converted to film in the past. A little meatier dealing with the homophobia aspect, but all in all a feel good type of coming of age story. I’ve stepped back from my YA reading in the past few years and find my complaints to be those of a grown-up that might not even bother the targeted audience. I was interested in knowing more about the mother and father’s relationship – how he got deported – how they managed to maintain a family while being so far removed – etc., but this was Yami’s story and not the parents so that’s my issue and not the book’s. I have plenty of other complaints regarding the mother, but I prefer to leave my reviews spoiler free so I’ll just leave it with she need a good shaking for more than one reason. The characters could have used a lot more dimension, the story was nothing super new and I’m fairly certain real life situations like these wouldn’t get tied up with a big bright bow at the end, but again I’m not a kid so what does my old Boomer ass know?

Now a longlister for The National Book Award.

[Gosia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5, ale ze względu na to, jaka to dobra książka, zasługuje na zaokrąglenie w górę. Super, że wyszła w Polsce. Bardzo fajna reprezentacja, świetni bohaterowie i uniwersalne przesłania o miłości, pierwszych związkach i relacjach z rodzicami🥰

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

No sé porque en mi imaginación (según yo) esta sería una novela divertida... pero no existe ni una pizca de humor y todo es lo bastante dramático como para estresar a cualquier lector (de hecho, dudo seriamente de recomendarla a un adolescente aunque yo haya leído cosas así o peores en mi pubertad). Eso sí, la novela no tira al extremo de la tragedia.

Sin duda, esto es una nota mental de que no me debo dejar llevar por portadas bonitas y de colores chillones, pero como soy bruto no aprendo nunca. Además, ni siquiera es culpa de la autora, ella dejó bien claro al principio de la novela unas advertencias que por alguna extraña razón no me tomé tan a pecho. No sean como yo.

No voy a hacer una reseña extensa sobre la obra porque me temo que no sería justo de mi parte ya que no ha sido una lectura que me haya gustado mucho, pero eso se debe a una falsa ilusión e idealización personal de lo que creía encontrar en esta novela, que básicamente se resume en un contenido que por medio del humor, la comedia o la sátira me iba a hacer morir de la risa. Bien loco yo, eh. Bastante alejado de la realidad.

Evidentemente es un libro que toca temas bastante tensos y dramáticos en torno a la identidad y el ser queer, el estar en el armario por el miedo al rechazo de tu familia y amigos, la preocupación y angustia constante de encajar y ser aceptado, adoptar un comportamiento más hetero y convencional, así como referencias literales al suicidio y un tono religioso que si bien no es tan potente es bastante constante desde la figura materna y el colegio católico como un punto castigador para sus personajes.

Lo mío con la madre de la prota siempre fue personal pero con el padre ni se diga, soy su enemigo público número uno (la hipocresía de ese señor). La novela no tiene tanta carga romántica porque se centra demasiado en los dilemas morales y los líos mentales de la protagonista, pues con toda la justa razón del mundo porque al ser lesbiana y tener una familia además de disfuncional bastante homofóbica.

Razón por la cual toca cargar sobre sus hombros el peso de un futuro nada claro o al menos en el que le toca aceptar el hecho de independizarse y mantenerse así misma porque el rechazo, los prejuicios, los señalamientos, la intolerancia y el odio hacia las personas que pertenecer al colectivo lgbtq+ parece ser la norma. Es literal sentirse en constante supervivencia.

Muy fuerte todo, la novela no se siente amable, bonita o sencilla porque siempre está ese tono angustiante que apabulla no sólo a la protagonista sino a algunos de los personajes secundarios y me atrevería a apostar que a cualquiera de los que lean la novela.

Ya yo he avisado, y quien avisa no es traidor.

[MZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good surprise. Thank you GR friends for bringing this to my attention and giving me the push to read, or in my case, listen to it! This is exactly what I hope for in a YA book. A coming of age story with all the emotions, quite some angst, but also a lot of fun and a sweet romance and an important role for family dynamics. Additionally, there is plenty of diversity and the POV of the main character that is a POC in a very white and entitled environment, and not to forget very Catholic, was excellent. I can’t recommend this enough.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're interested in hearing my thoughts about this one check out the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blxwN...

[gia · Rating 1 out of 5]

gay people have come so far.

i love that there are now shitty queer ya books alongside the shitty straight ones

this is the sign of boundaries being broken

[Tomasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo fajne, cieplutkie i rozczulające jak kocyk i gorąca herbata w chłodny, jesienny dzień. Wiadomo, nie ma tu nic szczególnie wybitnego czy głębokiego, ale zdecydowanie sprawdza się jako niegłupia młodzieżówka. Dużo tu reprezentacji i to nie tylko queerowej, przez co poruszane są gdzieś w tle tematy, które dla polskich czytelników mogą być nowością. Polecam zwłaszcza jeżeli szukacie czegoś lekkiego i przyjemnego.