The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School is a phenomenal YA contemporary. I’m not sure my words can come close to doing it justice. First of all, it is unbelievable that this is Reyes’ YA debut. Their writing is so beautiful, and the characters are so deep that you will feel everything they are feeling. 

As the title says, this is a book about a lesbian teenager going to Catholic school. Yamilet was outed at her public school by her best friend turned newest enemy. Yami’s brother will also be at the Catholic school, but he has a scholarship. Yamilet does not and coming from a working class family, she needs a job to cover a portion of her tuition. 

This is a very character driven novel but the plot is plenty engaging as Yamilet and her brother Cesar make new friends and face a lot of challenges through the school year. I absolutely loved how Reyes balanced school and family dynamics for our two teenage MCs, it felt so true to life and kept the story moving along. 

Truly, I don’t have any meaningful criticism of this novel. It was a beautiful experience and I think everyone should consider picking it up. My only complaint is the focus on the prom/prom culture at the end, but I’m 35. I am a little bored with that YA ending, but Reyes did make it fresh and offered a meaningful commentary on prom culture and Catholic school norms. I recognize that prom is significant to many teenagers and since I hope lots of teens will read this, I think this is a me problem. 

I know this book will be on my favorites of the year. If you want a sweet, honest, queer book, please give The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School a chance!