I am still emotionally recovering from this book, but honestly? I don’t know if I ever will. This book was exactly what I needed and I’m so glad I picked it up when I did. Yamilet perfectly captures the eldest Latina daughter syndrome, and when I tell you I FELT for her, just know it was hitting me deep. The way that Reyes emulates the feeling of the need to be the perfect child and the protector of your siblings and the one to make sure everyone is in track and the one to bury your feelings so that everyone else can feel what they need to instead. Oof. Just oof.

I’m not a religious person, but as someone who still had a strong Catholic influence in her life, I felt for Yami navigating her new school, not only as a closeted lesbian, but also a darker skinned, indigenous-Latina in school filled with white elitism. Reading her high school experience brought me back to my own and it made me want to save her.

The last thing I want to talk about are those family dynamics, because my was this family dynamic. This book was honestly such a friendly reminder that there’s people that will only support you if you fit into their expectations and that sometimes your biggest supporters are hiding in plain sight. This book was painful, it was emotional, but it was also funny, and hopeful, and I’m so glad I read this and cannot wait to read it again.