Ander & Santi Were Here (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781250843999)

A STONEWALL YOUNG ADULT HONOR BOOK

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.

Finding home. Falling in love. Fighting to belong.

The Santos Vista neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, is all Ander Martínez 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 López Alvarado, 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.

Author: Jonny Garza Villa
ISBN-10: 1250843995
ISBN-13: 9781250843999
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Language: English
Published: 05/02/2023
Pages: 368
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 1.40d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5
Point Value: 15
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 522266 / Ander & Santi Were Here

Award: Stonewall Book Award - Honor Book

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2023
Publishers Weekly 02/13/2023
Booklist 03/01/2023 pg. 51
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2023
School Library Journal 10/20/2023 pg. 1