YA LGBT Books discussion

Our second book of the month winner for June-July 2024 is Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa

When a Mariachi star transfers schools, he expects to be handed his new group's lead vocalist spot—what he gets instead is a tenacious current lead with a very familiar, very kissable face.

In a twenty-four-hour span, Rafael Alvarez led North Amistad High School’s Mariachi Alma de la Frontera to their eleventh consecutive first-place win in the Mariachi Extravaganza de Nacional; and met, made out with, and almost hooked up with one of the cutest guys he’s ever met.

Now eight months later, Rafie’s ready for one final win. What he didn’t plan for is his family moving to San Antonio before his senior year, forcing him to leave behind his group while dealing with the loss of the most important person in his life—his beloved abuelo. Another hitch in his plan: The Selena Quintanilla-Perez Academy’s Mariachi Todos Colores already has a lead vocalist, Rey Chavez—the boy Rafie made out with—who now stands between him winning and being the great Mariachi Rafie's abuelo always believed him to be. Despite their newfound rivalry for center stage, Rafie can’t squash his feelings for Rey. Now he must decide between the people he’s known his entire life or the one just starting to get to know the real him.

Canto Contigo is a love letter to Mexican culture, family and legacy, the people who shape us, and allowing ourselves to forge our own path. At its heart, this is one of the most glorious rivals-to-lovers romance about finding the one who challenges you in the most extraordinary ways.

Content Warnings (view spoiler)[grief and loss (hide spoiler)]

I look forward to your opinions on this one.

Just finished reading this, and I thought it was excellent. This is as much an exploration of grief as of queer romance. And the main character, Rafie, also has an off-putting personality. However, neither of those facts lessened my enjoyment of the story. I loved the deep dive into Mexican culture, as well as the very diverse representation, and the characters definitely come alive.

Gene wrote: "Just finished reading this, and I thought it was excellent. This is as much an exploration of grief as of queer romance. And the main character, Rafie, also has an off-putting personality. However,..."

It takes real talent to make readers empathize with and want to read about a somewhat unlikable MC.