Gabi’s life is super messy. She has to deal with her meth addicted dad, her strict religious aunt, her pregnant best friend, and her other best friend coming out as gay. She navigates her senior year, forges her identity, and works hard to come out on top.
Check out this book and more on our best of list for books with Latinx characters.
Publisher’s Description:
“Named to Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014
Named to School Library Journal Best Books of 2014
Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year in high school in her diary: college applications, Cindy’s pregnancy, Sebastian’s coming out, the cute boys, her father’s meth habit, and the food she craves. And best of all, the poetry that helps forge her identity.
July 24
My mother named me Gabriella, after my grandmother who, coincidentally, didn’t want to meet me when I was born because my mother was unmarried, and therefore living in sin. My mom has told me the story many, many, MANY, times of how, when she confessed to my grandmother that she was pregnant with me, her mother beat her. BEAT HER! She was twenty-five. That story is the basis of my sexual education and has reiterated why it’s important to wait until you’re married to give it up. So now, every time I go out with a guy, my mom says, “Ojos abiertos, piernas cerradas.” Eyes open, legs closed. That’s as far as the birds and the bees talk has gone. And I don’t mind it. I don’t necessarily agree with that whole wait until you’re married crap, though. I mean, this is America and the 21st century; not Mexico one hundred years ago. But, of course, I can’t tell my mom that because she will think I’m bad. Or worse: trying to be White.“
Genre: Contemporary
Representation:
Gender:
Cis boys: Sebastian
Sexual Orientation:
Sebastian is gay.
Romantic Orientation:
Sebastian is homoromantic.
Race/Ethnicity:
Latino: Sebastian
Additional Notes:
Sebastian is a secondary character, but we included this book because of its important contribution to Latinx representation in LGBTQIA+ YA lit.
Trigger Warnings:
Substance abuse
Death
Homophobia