Hope you find yourself somewhere between the first pew and the back row: THE GOLDEN BOY'S GUIDE TO BIPOLAR.

The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an achingly honest look at mental illness, as teenager Cesar Flores struggles with both his sexuality and his bipolar disorder.

Cesar broke up with his boyfriend, Jamal, fearing that their relationship was going to send him straight to hell. But he keeps coming back to Jamal and the strong feelings the two have for another. Cesar also struggles with intrusive thoughts and deep highs and lows. The pressure he feels from his family to be the "perfect teen" is just too much sometimes.

This is such a well-written story: so beautiful, and so real. You can truly feel Cesar's emotions and problems coming through the pages. It captures how difficult it can be for teens to come out, as well as how hard mental illness can be. We see how tough it is for Cesar to grasp that he has an illness. Even better, the story is happy but realistic.

This is a great book for teens, but my adult self loved it too.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Versify in return for an unbiased review.

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That's the only love I get: THE LESBIANA'S GUIDE TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL.

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Yamilet Flores and her younger brother, Cesar, are headed to a new school--a very white, very wealthy Catholic school. Yami does not look forward to being one of the few Mexican kids at the school, but she'd do anything for her brother, a great student who was being bullied at their last school. Besides, she's glad to leave behind her ex-best friend who outed her and made her life miserable. Her new goals are to keep Cesar out of trouble and to appear straight. But the latter is pretty difficult when Yami meets Bo, the one openly queer girl at her new school. Bo is smart, funny, talented, and really cute. Yami knows her mom will kick her out if she comes out--but she really, really likes Bo.

This is a really powerful and moving story led by Yami's unique voice. It starts out a little slow and seemed like it might get mired in being too melodramatic and YA, but it picks up very quickly.

I loved sweet Yami and Cesar, Bo, and all their friends. My heart went out to Yami and Cesar, struggling as kids of color and Yami working through her sexuality. The book did a really good job of showing how hard it is for teens who do not have a supportive structure at home--and how truly terrifying it can be to be gay or bi without parental support and love. The fear of being kicked out for so many teens is real, as is being bullied and hurt.

GUIDE did a wonderful job being true to Yami and Cesar's culture and showing how isolated they felt at school. There's also a wonderful plot with Bo, who is adopted, and grappling with how her parents are handling her own native culture. I really loved how the book dealt with so many serious topics. At some times, it felt like maybe it had picked too many topics, but it really does a good job overall.

This is a brutal book to read at points. There is a trigger warning for mental health and suicide. GUIDE is not afraid to get into heavy topics, but it also makes a point that these subjects are ones that gay teens are dealing with every single day of their lives.

Overall, this is a really amazing book. I loved Yami, Cesar, and Bo. I wish the story had not wrapped up quite so easily--I'm not sure how realistic that was--but I really loved it nonetheless. 4.5 stars.


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