While most 16-year-olds are worried about keeping up with the latest fashion trend or who to go to prom with, Yamilet Flores is concerned that she's not acting "straight enough." Especially when her classmates are primarily white, wealthy, Catholic kids, Yamilet's priority is to take care of her brother, make her mom proud, and not fall in love with her new best friend, Bo. After Yamilet's ex-best friend outed her in their old high school, she clearly won't make the same mistake again, not when Bo is so cute, talented, and perfect, right?

LESBIANA'S GUIDE is an entertaining and poignant coming-of-age story of a Latinx girl navigating an extremely conservative environment. While it's primarily light-hearted, with many moments of laughter, the novel explores heavy topics of homophobia and racism as well. As YA, LESBIANA'S GUIDE also has teenage angst about friendships, coolness, etc. Nonetheless, my heart aches for Yamilet and all the queer kids in the closet, constantly second-guessing if they'll appear "too gay" whenever they show affection towards same-sex friends.

I also adore Yamilet's character development, from desperately hiding in the closet to using her newfound confidence to help those struggling to find a community. Some of my favorite quotes from the audiobook are:
"I know I can't take all that shame away from him, but I can start by showing him how much I'm not shamed."
"I can't make him love himself. The closest I can get is loving myself unapologetically right in front of him."
"You gotta show yourself some love. If not for yourself, for me."

I hope LESBIANA'S GUIDE can be a safe harbor for those feeling lost, misjudged, or unsafe. You are not alone, and you are perfect the way you are.