"It's been a month since Young Royals officially ended and, if you're like me, you're still sobbing over that beautiful finale and missing Prince Wilhelm, Simon, and the entire squad from Hillerska (and Bjärstadt).

Don't worry, I've got some royally good YA book recs for your favourite characters from YOUNG ROYALS that you can add to your TBR to fill the space we're all missing after watching this fantastic series."

From YA author Julian Winters on IG @wintersjulian

Congratulations to this year's Stonewall books in the young adult category!

faves reads of 2023: YA contemporary

Beating Heart Baby

Wren Martin Ruins It All

You Don’t Have a Shot

Wild and Crooked

The Dos and Donuts of Love

Six Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did)

Ander and Santi Were Here

Friday I’m In Love

We Deserve Monuments

Latest library reservation pick-up 📚

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa.

Hey there! I'm back from writing paradise. I admit I might have gotten a little obsessed but that was just because writing is so easy and fun while everything else is always hard. u3u But I basically finished my novel so I have no excuses anymore not to get back into real life. Here's what I read in May! Pretty good month! uAu

Keeper of the Lost Cities 3: Everblaze (Shannon Messenger): The first one in the series I read instead of listening. Was a good choice because I think I missed quite a bit of the first volumes. 8D Also, it's so long. I don't think, me being me, that I would have made it though the audiobook. Don't get me wrong, I like the story. I have a tremendous respect at how it is written, keeping all the plotpoints together, presenting the puzzle pieces little by little, managing the huge cast of people. When I complain next time about a Middle Grade book being too simple and too shallow than this is the kind of book I'm comparing it to. My one problem in this volume was, how the tension never lets down. It's so wound tight all the time, everything is always on the edge of collapsing, including Sophie. It was a little exhausting for me. So I was very glad, there were at least some answers near the end.

The Scottish Boy (Alex de Campi): I went to Scotland at the beginning of May to visit my friend, so what better book to read than this. And what a book. It's the kind of story, where so much happens in the relationship of the protagonists that right after it ends you want to go back to the beginning and read all their first interactions all over again. Hng. It's great. Also Alys, my queen. When she first appeared I was so afraid she'd turn out evil. Because court intrigues and stuff. The ending of this book is all my heart desires. I don't actually like war stories, you know. But after In Memoriam and now this, they sure make good love stories. The drama of for once not knowing where it all goes? Who lives and who doesn't? Damn. I really enjoyed reading this book. The illustrations by Trungles are also verrry nice. uAub

Captive Prince (C.S. Pacat): This was a reread and I read the other two volumes in June, so my thoughts on the series will go there. :)

Wraith, Entity & Presence (Oracle of Senders 3,4 + 3.5) (Mere Joyce): It's so hard to tell my feelings for this series. There's a lot of death and murder, there's choking and burning and failed exorcism and so much danger of death and still it was just so pleasant to read, so charming and nice and laid-back. It's so weird. 8D I liked the cast of characters and the adventure and Cal's and Meander's relationship (the complete lack of gay panic and homophobic surroundings), the classical music references (even though I never looked up a single one). I wish there was a sequel with Cal and Meander as adults. I mean, I realise, it would be difficult to do in a classic novel format because the ghost cases just aren't big enough to last a whole book, but imagine it like a half-hour show oder manga series with a ghost of the week for half the chapter and their happy slice of life for the rest. Hah. Good series.

The Hanged Man & The Hourglass Throne (The Tarot Sequence 2+3) (K.D. Edwards): I didn't think about it while reading but in retrospective this series fits into what I categorise as "wild". There's so much shit happening here. Big and bold. At the end of volume 1 I was still undecided of I like it enough to buy it on paper. These doubts were washed away with the sequels. It's an investment in the beginning, getting into the world and all, but I found it totally worth it. That one big drama at the end of vol3? Yes, totally got me. Like right from the textbook. Make me care, rip me apart. Damn.

The Buried and the Bound (Rochelle Hassan): If someone asked me in a survey about what I want to read and then actually went and made it into a book, this might be the result. This contains only things I like: two suffering (gay) boys, one tough girl (not involved in any romance), which is the best constellation of characters, really. Some magic, some adventure, some drama, different storythreads that weave nicely together in the end. I enjoyed reading it a whole lot and am looking forward to the sequels!

Ander & Santi were here (Jonny Garza Villa): Now this one was difficult. I think it's a good book, I wanted to like it, but. Hear me out. For me, this is split in three parts. The first one is about the illegal immigrants. See, for as long as I remember my dad worked in a … what's it called in English … an housing complex for refugees? Not a camp, but like a dorm. And while illegals and refugees are still a step apart, they're at least somehow adjacent. I lived basically next to them half my life and never cared. When in 2015 there was a huge wave of refugees coming to my country and everyone was freaking out, I just thought "Great, that means my dad will keep his job" (because the dorm was always on the verge of closing down and it would probably been tough for my dad as one of very few black people in a kind of racist small town to find a new job.) So anyway, I thought it was a good thing to finally read an actual story about people in these situations, to learn how to care. So that part was good and insightful. The second part was about the art. I draw manga only, but I do consider myself an artist and I was around when manga became big in my country and the art schools hated it and made us suffer. I have thoughts on art. And I really enjoyed reading about Ander's art and process and thoughts. My favourite part of the book! And then there's part 3, the love story. And I think, because I connected more strongly to the other parts than usual I felt the disconnect here much more than usual! The romance in here is very intense and very physical and my aroace brain didn't compute at all. Complete detachment. Which was kind of a problem, because the romance is a huge part of the book. I really wanted to like it but it didn't work. I did like Ander as a character, though, and their family and friends. And the cover is still so damn pretty!

That's it!

Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa

Finding home. Falling in love. Fighting to belong.

The Santos Vista neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, is all Ander Lopez has ever known. The smell of pan dulce. The mixture of Spanish and English filling the streets. And, especially their job at their family's taquería. It's the place that has inspired Ander as a muralist, and, as they get ready to leave for art school, it's all of these things that give them hesitancy. That give them the thought, are they ready to leave it all behind?

To keep Ander from becoming complacent during their gap year, their family fires them so they can transition from restaurant life to focusing on their murals and prepare for college. That is, until they meet Santiago Garcia, the hot new waiter. Falling for each other becomes as natural as breathing. Through Santi's eyes, Ander starts to understand who they are and want to be as an artist, and Ander becomes Santi's first steps toward making Santos Vista and the United States feel like home.

Until ICE agents come for Santi, and Ander realizes how fragile that sense of home is. How love can only hold on so long when the whole world is against them. And when, eventually, the world starts to win.

Ander & Santi Were Here Summary:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe meets The Sun is Also a Star in this YA contemporary love story from Jonny Garza Villa, Ander & Santi Were Here, about a nonbinary Mexican American teen falling for the shy new waiter at their family’s taqueria.

The Darkest Part of the Forest Summary:

Two siblings and the fairy prince who’s been asleep in a casket in the woods for a century. Truly a book written for every little girl who wanted to be given a sword to slay monsters with as a kid. reading this was the first time I found a book that made me feel like my soul had been put down on paper. I sobbed like a baby. I still get emotional when I reread it.

We have six books on our radar to kickstart May. Which ones are on your TBR list?

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa Wednesday Books

Finding home. Falling in love. Fighting to belong.

The Santos Vista neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, is all Ander Lopez has ever known. The smell of pan dulce. The mixture of Spanish and English filling the streets. And, especially their job at their family's taquería. It's the place that has inspired Ander as a muralist, and, as they get ready to leave for art school, it's all of these things that give them hesitancy. That give them the thought, are they ready to leave it all behind?

To keep Ander from becoming complacent during their gap year, their family "fires" them so they can transition from restaurant life to focusing on their murals and prepare for college. That is, until they meet Santiago Garcia, the hot new waiter. Falling for each other becomes as natural as breathing. Through Santi's eyes, Ander starts to understand who they are and want to be as an artist, and Ander becomes Santi's first steps toward making Santos Vista and the United States feel like home.

Until ICE agents come for Santi, and Ander realizes how fragile that sense of home is. How love can only hold on so long when the whole world is against them. And when, eventually, the world starts to win.

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

Perry Firekeeper-Birch was ready for her Summer of Slack but instead, after a fender bender that was entirely not her fault, she’s stuck working to pay back her Auntie Daunis for repairs to the Jeep.

Thankfully she has the other outcasts of the summer program, Team Misfit Toys, and even her twin sister Pauline. Together they ace obstacle courses, plan vigils for missing women in the community, and make sure summer doesn’t feel so lost after all.

But when she attends a meeting at a local university, Perry learns about the “Warrior Girl”, an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the museum archives, and everything changes. Perry has to return Warrior Girl to her tribe. Determined to help, she learns all she can about NAGPRA, the federal law that allows tribes to request the return of ancestral remains and sacred items. The university has been using legal loopholes to hold onto Warrior Girl and twelve other Anishinaabe ancestors’ remains, and Perry and the Misfits won’t let it go on any longer.

Using all of their skills and resources, the Misfits realize a heist is the only way to bring back the stolen artifacts and remains for good. But there is more to this repatriation than meets the eye as more women disappear and Pauline’s perfectionism takes a turn for the worse. As secrets and mysteries unfurl, Perry and the Misfits must fight to find a way to make things right – for the ancestors and for their community. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

We Don't Swim Here by Vincent Tirado Sourcebooks Fire

From the author of BURN DOWN, RISE UP comes a chilling novel told through alternating voices that follows two cousins as they unravel their town’s sinister past, their family’s complicated history, and the terrifying spirit that holds their future captive.

Bronwyn is only supposed to be in rural Hillwoods for a year. Her grandmother is in hospice, and her father needs to get her affairs in order. And they're all meant to make some final memories together.

Except Bronwyn is miserable. Her grandmother is dying, everyone is standoffish, and she can't even go swimming. All she hears are warnings about going in the water, despite a gorgeous lake. And a pool at the abandoned rec center. And another in the high school basement.

Anais tries her hardest to protect Bronwyn from the shadows of Hillwoods. She follows her own rituals to avoid any unnecessary attention—and if she can just get Bronwyn to stop asking questions, she can protect her too. The less Bronwyn pays attention to Hillwoods, the less Hillwoods will pay attention to Bronwyn. She doesn't get that the lore is, well, truth. History. Pain. The living aren't the only ones who seek retribution when they're wronged. But when Bronwyn does more exploring than she should, they are both in for danger they couldn't expect. -- Cover image and summary vie Goodreads

Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido Viking Books for Young Readers

Self preservation. That's Bobby's motto for surviving his notoriously violent high school unscathed. Being out and queer would put an unavoidable target on his back, especially in a Filipino community that frowns on homosexuality. It's best to keep his head down, get good grades, and stay out of trouble.

But when Bobby is unwillingly outed in a terrible way, he no longer has the luxury of being invisible. A vicious encounter has him scrambling for a new way to survive--by fighting back. Bobby is inspired by champion Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao to take up boxing and challenge his tormentor. Then Pacquiao publicly declares his stance against queer people, and Bobby's faith--in his hero and in himself--is shaken to the core.

A powerful and unflinching debut that will both shatter and uplift hearts with every read. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Men of the 65th: The Borinqueneers of the Korean War by Talia Aikens-Nuñez Zest Books

Since the regiment’s creation in 1899, the men of the 65th have proudly served the US through multiple wars, despite facing racial discrimination. Their courage, loyalty, and patriotism earned them hundreds of accolades, including the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014.

But the honor and fidelity of the men of the 65th came into question in 1952, in the midst of the Korean War, when ninety-one Borinqueneers were arrested and tried for desertion and disobeying orders. How could this happen in one of the most distinguished and decorated units of the Army?

In this telling of one of the forgotten stories of the Korean War, author Talia Aikens-Nuñez guides us through the history of the Borinqueneers and the challenges they faced leading up to what was the largest court martial in the entire war. Rediscover the bravery of the men of the 65th through Aikens-Nuñez’s thorough writing and the soldiers’ firsthand accounts of the Korean War. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Your Plantation Prom is Not Okay by Kelly McWilliams Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Harriet Douglass lives with her historian father on an old plantation in Louisiana, which they’ve transformed into one of the South's few enslaved people’s museums. Together, while grieving the recent loss of Harriet’s mother, they run tours that help keep the memory of the past alive.

Harriet's world is turned upside down by the arrival of mother and daughter Claudia and Layla Hartwell—who plan to turn the property next door into a wedding venue, and host the offensively antebellum-themed wedding of two Hollywood stars.

Harriet’s fully prepared to hate Layla Hartwell, but it seems that Layla might not be so bad after all—unlike many people, this California influencer is actually interested in Harriet's point of view. Harriet's sure she can change the hearts of Layla and her mother, but she underestimates the scale of the challenge…and when her school announces that prom will be held on the plantation, Harriet’s just about had it with this whole racist timeline! Overwhelmed by grief and anger, it’s fair to say she snaps.

Can Harriet use the power of social media to cancel the celebrity wedding and the plantation prom? Will she accept that she’s falling in love with her childhood best friend, who’s unexpectedly returned after years away? Can she deal with the frustrating reality that Americans seem to live in two completely different countries? And through it all, can she and Layla build a bridge between them? -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

Happy Hispanic & Latine Heritage Month! As usual, we’re celebrating with some books by Latinx authors and starring queer Latinx main characters! (Please note this post only features titles from 2022 onward, so check out past years’ posts for even more books!) Books to Buy Now You Only Live Once, David Bravo by Mark Oshiro Middle school is the worst, especially for David Bravo. He doesn’t have a…

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What was your favorite read from October?

I spent the month completing the #OwnedOctober challenge @treereads hosted. I managed to fill my bingo board.

Books read:

• Happy Place by Emily Henry

• You Feel it Just Below the Ribs by Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson

• Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa

• Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor

• A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins

• Flip the Script by Lyla Lee

• 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall

• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

• A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee

I think my favorites were Ander & Santi and 10 Things That Never Happened. Though, the latter I checked out from the library to decide if I wanted to buy it or not. I absolutely adored Sam and Jonathan's dynamic. I thought the amnesia plot was going to be weird, but it wasn't. Not sure what I'm going to start next, but I'm happy to have my tbr a little more under control.

omg, it's jonny!

hi! I'm Jonny Garza Villa. I'm currently figuring out tumblr works. literally the last time I was on this app, there was still po—never mind.

I love plants. especially cacti. currently have a cactus kid, a recently gifted aloe, a monstera that has tried to die multiple times, an easter lily that makes me think of my granddad, and a snake plant, which was my first purchase after being told that they're very hard to kill (which has been true so far!).

I also love dnd. like, Dungeons & Dragons. it started out as a thing I got into when the pandemic was starting, and I've been lost in the sauce ever since. bard is my favorite class. half elves and half orcs are my favorite races to play. currently, my main pc is a human self-taught wizard (which I realize are none of those aforementioned faves) named Caelum. they're really into runes, finding their dad, and getting their back blown out by their boyfriend, a goliath named Mannu.

other things I love: food, especially Mexican. having spotify open and playing literally 24/7. astrology (sagittarius sun and capricorn, like, everything else). Texas, especially Whataburger. traveling, but, like, being somewhere new, I actually hate the act of traveling.

and if you come across this page and recognize me at all, maybe it's because I write books, which I also love. currently, I have one young adult novel out, Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun. it's about a chicano teenager who accidentally comes out as gay on twitter. think, like, Simon Vs. if Simon Spier was brown and lived in Corpus Christi, Texas meets Selena's "Dreaming of You."

I've also got two more young adult novels coming out in the next couple of years. Ander & Santi Were Here is out in April and is about a nonbinary muralist on a gap year before college who falls for the new waiter at their family's taquería. it's kind of an ode to my love of taquerías and San Antonio and my culture and also all my rage about how hard some prominent Mexican authors were going to bat for American Dirt Mierda. also, the cover is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen in my entire fucking life.

and in 2024, I've got Canto Contigo coming out. literally this book has been my problem child ever since I first drafted it. two years later, on revisions right now with my editor, and it stays being the biggest headache. one day it'll be great. but wow has it taken some effort. anyways, this one's a rivals-to-lovers story about the epic highs and lows of high school mariachi and the complicated love story that arises when you run into the person you almost hooked up with eight months ago.

and, yeah. gonna try to be a regular presence here. we'll see how that goes. asks are on. always here to shoot the shit. anyways, bye putxs!

I wish it didn't have to be so complicated. But I guess an easy life would be boring, right? If I was so scared of failing, there'd be so many things I never would've tried. --Ander Martinez, Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa

Ander & Santi Were Here and Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa are the newest queer poc stories added to my tbr~

My library only has copies of one of them but I'll see if I can request they get the other one too, librarians are magical!

These are some of the recent books I've bought. A lot were bought at thrift stores or used book stores so please ignore the crustyness of some of them, they were just extra loved 😌