The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School (2022) by Sonora Reyes is a deserving award-winning (Lambda, National Book Award finalist, Goodreads Choice, among others) young adult book centering on Yamilet Flores and her brother Cesar. They are transferring to Catholic school because Cesar kept getting jumped at their public school, but Yami will have to find another job because they can’t really afford the tuition.
They are the only Mexican kids there, and Yami dreads dealing with all of the white kids, but she’s also happy to have a fresh start, because she was outed by her former best friend at her old school. She can’t be out, because she thinks her mom will kick her out, and she has nowhere else to go since her father was deported back to Mexico a few years ago. She still texts him regularly and they FaceTime as often as possible, but it’s not the same.
At their new school, Cesar makes friends immediately, and Yami meets Bo, an Asian American girl who is out and proud, wearing rainbow Converse and getting sent to the office regularly for speaking her beliefs in class. Meanwhile, since Yami can’t find a job, she decides to put her mom’s hand-beaded jewelry on Etsy and helps her with her orders to make extra money. But one day, she catches Cesar in the backyard with a friend from the old school . . . and are they kissing? Covering for him begins a fake boyfriend deception that seems to work for both siblings, but leads her new friends to believe she has a boyfriend as well–is that what she wants?
Yami dealt with a lot–her father was deported, the family had money problems, she is queer but afraid of the repercussions of coming out, her brother is also queer and she wants to protect him, she lost her best friend over coming out, and now she meets Bo who she really likes but she has to be straight in this new school! So much. As the book progresses, additional themes come up, such as colonialism, depression and suicidal thoughts, parental rejection and surprising parental acceptance, and the decision to come out and begin a relationship publicly. And prom!
It’s so well-done, and engaging. I highly recommend it. And it was also completely weight-neutral, no denigration of fatness or glorification of thinness.
Reading While Fat 