Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun

actual rating: 3.5 stars

this is a very cute book. and i think it can be very important for young queer (latinx) people to read smth like this, so i am very happy it exists!!

i just think the pacing was a bit off and the plot itself... idek if there really was one, so these aspects felt slightly weak to me. especially the last 30% werent really exciting at all anymore for me
(also, while accurate for the time period, i feel like the many pop culture references and twitter lingo are going to age really badly,,)

anyways, only the best for jules and mat, love them to bits

This was so cute! It reminded me of a mix between Red, White, and Royal Blue, I Wish You All the Best, and Running With Lions! I loved all of the characters, and Julián's relationship with all of his friends!
I can't wait to own a copy!



Trigger warning for, homophobia, physical abuse, and mental abuse





Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a E-arc copy in exchange for my honest review

A gay teen coming out romance, and OMG I've grinned from ear to ear, smiled so happily and bawled my eyes out So much!
Interracial, long distance, filled with a cast of wonderful empowering human beings.
A sadly all too real parent who is deeply believable and flawed.
You want love? You want honest self doubt and pain? You want strength and overcoming? You want to believe in the power of friendship, love and trust?
- this is the book you Need to read!

CW: homophobia and verbal/physical child abuse

Very poignant, frequently heart-wrenching YA novel about a Texas Latino teen's coming out journey. Julian is justifiably scared about the potential reaction of his traditional machismo father, and unsure what how his friends will react. He is planning to stay in the closet until he goes to college, hopefully at UCLA, but fate and a series of drunken social media posts have other ideas.

Watching Julian's friends and older sister rally around him is endearing, and his very real struggles to afford out-of-state college are suspenseful. The weakest part of the novel was the love story. I have no problem with long distance relationships (my 34 year old marriage started out as one), but this one didn't work for me because Mat is basically a Manic Pixie Dream Guy. He is 100% supportive (even when Julian is a jerk to him), loyal, and apparently without any flaws or issues. All of his friends and family are completely warm and welcoming to Julian, and the fact that the boys are from diverse ethnic backgrounds is never a problem.

Credit to the author for a debut #ownvoices novel that tells an important story.