Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a sweet, happily ever after story that I needed during this year. I laughed, I cried, it was written stunningly with well-done characters, and this book did not disappoint. I could not help but adore this book and all it stands for.

An honest, explorative book about first love and long-distance relationships that paints a hopeful picture of gayness and teen romance. This book doesn't pull punches around the heavy elements, but it leans into a happy angle, giving gay teens of color a chance to see themselves in a story that ultimately shows the love that they deserve. With a cast of fun, unique, and vibrant characters and easy but heartfelt narration, this is definitely one of the best books I've picked up in a long time!

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun saw me. So much of this book was hilarious and relatable while some parts were serious, emotional, and sadly still relatable. Jonny balanced the story so well that even though you saw pain, you also saw immense joy. A lot of that had to do with how great Jules' friends and sister are. They add so much character to the story, and I couldn't get enough of them. They made me miss my own group of friends.

I love that the book didn't have every Spanish sentence and phrase translated. It felt unapologetically Latinx. I was wearing out google translate and had no problem with that! It's also so current that I know teens will eat it up. It mentions Troye Sivan, Elite (though Lucrecia > Carla), TikTok, and memes. And any book with karaoke in it is a winner to me.

Mat and Jules' relationship was so cute from the beginning. It was in no way easy, but it was beautiful to see them deal with the ups and downs of long distance while also navigating their personal lives. It was raw and messy at times, but all worth it for the ending.

I can't say everything I want to about this story for fear of being perceived too deeply, but please read this. Buy it. Borrow it from your library. I need publishing to know that readers need books like this. Also take the author's note at the beginning of the book to heart.

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun was a heartwarming poignant story. It was excellent for its diverseness!
The plot followed Jules as he struggled to come out to his dad and everyone else.

The characters were well rounded and quite witty. Itzel and Jordan's subplot was brilliant. I loved the character to Lou and how supportive she was. There were a lot of friends and side characters but they all felt realistic.
Overall this was a brilliant book and I would recommend it!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the E-arc!

FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES FROM THE SUN: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is one of the most touching coming-of-age queer stories that I have ever read. MAGICAL!

NOTE: I was provided an arc in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Netgalley!

After hearing such good things about this book, I decided to request it because I wanted something happy. This book certainly served me joy in the midst of bad situations. Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun was an adorable story about finally getting to be yourself.

For years, Jules has known that he’s gay; he hasn’t publicly come out, but he knows that other people suspect it. He can’t wait to graduate and go to college in LA, especially when he forms a crush on Mat, a boy from LA he met on Twitter. One night after getting drunk at a party, Jules posts a coming-out tweet, which Mat responds to and they begin to talk more.

My favorite part of this book was the friendships. Jules has such a tightknit, supportive friend group, consisting of Itzel, Jordan, Rolie, and Lou. I really loved their bond and how there for him they were during the rough parts of this book, including standing up for him against homophobes and egging him on with Mat. Jules also has a great relationship with his sister, Xo, who has always tried to be there for him.

I also thought the romance was so cute! Jules and Mat had some great dialogue, and even though they’re fifteen hundred miles apart from each other, you can tell how much they like one another. Also, I liked seeing a Vietnamese-American love interest!

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun takes place in Corpus Christi, Texas and has a Mexican-American protagonist as well as other side characters. As such, we see a lot of Mexican culture in this book, including holidays and a lot of food. I also liked how this book talked about how machismo is ingrained in Latinx culture and that so many people, Jules’s dad included, think that men have to be manly and tough in order to be a “man,” something Jules learns to confront.

This book does deal with some heavy issues. Jules’s dad is very homophobic and physically and mentally abusive toward Jules whenever he thinks he’s not “acting like a man.” This has caused Jules to be very unhappy with his life, and he feels so much freer when he comes out even if he doesn’t tell his dad at first. Again, while his dad is the cause of Jules’s worries, Jules still has such a great support system with his friends, his sister, and his grandfather, all of whom are always there for him.

I did enjoy this book and found it very cute, but unfortunately the pacing was a little off to me. I expected it to be a quick read, especially because I liked the writing well enough, but I kept putting it down out of boredom because it was a bit slow. That’s just me though! I still think many people will love this book.

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun was a coming out story that found joy in every situation. I really liked the characters, and the romance was so cute. If you’re looking for a cute gay contemporary, you should check out Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun!

Following Julián through his journey of taking control of his identity and life was something so precious, because even though it captured a lot of the fear and panicking that comes from coming out, it also showed all of the light that comes with stepping into your true self. I’ve already talked about the author’s note, but once again, I’m reminding the universe that it’s so worth the read. Actually, even if you don’y read it (you should though) it’s clear what Jonny Garza Villa was intertwining in the story because it’s palpable thanks to many aspect of the story. From the writing style to the very cute and cheesy romance, one can see that this is the queer-YA-romance-lighthouse a lot of people needed and need growing up.

Firstly, the author does a great job at capturing the chaos that comes with being a teen, with a light and comedic tone. I loved Jules’ group of friends, they were the highlight of the book. Even though I will say that sometimes the book dragged a bit with continuous scenes that were just conversations between the characters. Nevertheless, most of the characters are charming and endearing so it’s a fun ride. The romance also being very teenage-y added to this a ton, I liked that. Moreover, all of this is framed by Julián’s amazing voice.

Furthermore with the romance, I thought it was cool how even if it was fluffy and cutesy, the story tackled the complexities that may arise from a long distance relationship and actually used them as challenges Jules and Mat overcome, strengthening their bond in my eyes.

But the one thing I appreciate the most about this book is how well it balances its joy and warmth, with the respect it has for the heavy issues it deals with. This book tells both a tale of queer struggles and heteronormativity, framed by machismo, and a tale of light and standing up for yourself. It was exactly what I expected.

In conclusion, great read. I truly think anyone could get something out of this novel. 3.5 stars.

I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had a little love-hate relationship with this book, with certain aspects winning my heart and certain leaving me disappointed. The things.I enjoyed about this book were the characters and the cultural representation that was rich and vivid. In certain scenes I could imagine myself surrounded by the smells, sounds and traditions that Garza Villa was bringing to life through his writing. The key thing that stood out to me in this book was the poignant exploration of Jules' coming out and the loneliness that he often has to grapple with. Garza Villa doesn't allow the story to delve in too much negativity, however doesn't shy away from revealing the harsh reality of hoping to be accepted and the struggle it takes to find your self identity. The book had lots of Spanish throughout it, which I think is fantastic for representation, however with no translations for many words, I struggled to understand certain phrases, which hindered the reading experience. I found the romance to be difficult to connect with and a little unbelievable considering it was formed online. I acknowledge that many people have found love online, but given the circumstances, how quickly it progressed and Jules' young age, I couldn't bring myself to accept the development. Overall, I felt it was a good book for various representation and an excellent effort for a debut novel!

When I saw the cover of this book and read the synopsis, I knew right away that I had to read it, and I haven't regretted it for a moment.
FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES FROM THE SUN is Jonny Garza Villa' debut novel but it was such a pleasant read that I didn't find any major flaws in this book, other than the fact that it kept making me hungry with the descriptions of dishes that all sounded delicious.

The characters are all more or less endearing and each one has its importance in this story, whether it's Julián's group of friends or his father, his sister or Mat: I let myself be carried away by their adventures, I was afraid for them at some moments, laughed with them at others and it was with difficulty that I had to part from them at the end of the book.

The author played around with the names and their meanings quite a bit and I found it absolutely brilliant.
For Julian I could easily guess because 'luna' ('moon' in Spanish) is very close to the French 'lune' but for Mặt Trời,('sun' in Vietnamese) I only understood it afterwards.
I only remembered a few words in Vietnamese and 'sun' was not one of them, but it's always fun to learn new things.
It was as if these two were meant to be and when I think back to all the sun and moon puns, it only makes the story more adorable.
I also wanted to thank the author for creating the character of Mat, because as an asian and queer person, I haven't read many books with lgbtqi characters of asian descent so far (I may have missed out on quite a few books so if you have any recommendations I'm all ears) and it feels so good to see such a representation, especially since Mat is just adorable.


I absolutely loved this book and hope to read more about these characters (the world needs a sequel, just saying...) and I highly recommend it.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Skyscape Publishing for sending me an arcbook in exchange for an honest review

Be right back, I’m in my feels.
After a rocky start to the book where I wasn’t quite sure whether this was going to be heavy or fluffy, Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun turned out to be what I’d call a cleansing reading experience for anyone who’s on the LGBTQIAP+ spectrum. Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun is a story about coming out, falling in love for the first time and acting on it, and figuring out how to be yourself when there are outside forces telling you to do everything but that. Villa captures the good and the bad about coming out and perfectly balances the sad with the fluffy content.
My favorite part of this book was, of course, what will be known as the internet romance of a lifetime. It was just so enamouring to read about this digital dating between Jules and Mat because it reminded me not only of the friends I’ve made in the LGBTQIAP+ community online, but also of that feeling when you find someone online who seems to speak your language, the way you become dependent on them and how hard it can be when they cut you off out of the blue. Jules and Mat’s relationship – from the insta-love to the slowly falling in love for real part to finally meeting officially for the first time in person – is rocky and all-encompassing, complex and deceptively easy at times and it perfectly captures first love in my opinion. Things are messy and Villa doesn’t shy away from showing the advantages and struggles that come with dating someone who lives hours away from you. Thank God for the internet, am I right?
Besides the whirlwind romance that will take readers by storm, there is also the found family trope in this book and I loved Jules’ group of friends. They’re all so diverse and have their own struggles, whether it’s about love or their plans for the future and I enjoyed how they kept teasing Jules about his relationship but also (for the most part) being supportive about it.
Also, can we take a second to talk about how supportive, genuinely kind and strong-willed Mat is? He’s basically the poster boy of what you want your first boyfriend to be. I loved all the discussions he and Jules had about coming and being out to the world, how family can both protect you and make you feel like you’re alone, and most of all, how Mat fought for Jules time and again. There are so many moments where I wanted to clutch the book to my chest and just smile at the sheer adorableness of it all. Steadfast and honest and so dreamy, I can see readers falling in love with Jules and Mat all over the world.
One of the hardest aspects of this book to stomach is the relationship between Jules and his father. For the longest time, Jules has kept being gay to himself because his father doesn’t accept “that lifestyle” and it is incredibly sad yet impactful to read about how Jules adjusts his performance around his father to escape physical and verbal abuse. When his father eventually learns about Jules and kicks him out, even going so far as blackmailing him to keep him on the straight path, my heart was breaking for Jules and any kid who has ever experienced this sort of shunning. While Jules’ and Mat’s families are largely supportive and believe that love is love, Jules’ father’s reaction was jarringly realistic and definitely not for the faint of heart. I think what I love most about this book is that Jules takes his time to come to terms with what his father’s ignorance means for their relationship in the future and that he realizes that blood does not always mean family. It’s one of the hardest decisions to make to put yourself first even at the cost of a love you thought – and hoped – to be unconditional, and Villa portrays this with such a careful hand that it stays with you even after you close the book.
An homage to finding your tribe on the interwebs, Villa’s authentically tender debut Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun brings a cleansing gay happily-ever-after to any reader who’s ever found their soulmate online – only to find out they live half a world away

MY RATING 4/5 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book starts out with an author’s note that goes on to explaining the different things the book was going to talk about. Even though this book is supposed to be uplifting and has a lot of joy, we also get a warning about how it is still going to be exploring many themes that can be triggering such as physical abuse by a parent, homophobia, and how all these things are going to affect the main character Julián’s mental health.

Overall, this book was pretty realistic and sadly shows the very real struggles some people go through when they decide to come out to their family members. Even though many people today don’t think coming out is that big of a deal, we here get to see why so many people are hesitant to share that part of themselves, since they know that not everybody in their lives are going to be accepting of who they are.

It was also really hard to read about the struggles Julián went through when he had to had to hide his identity from his father, since he was, rightly, affraid of what would happen if he decided to share that part of himself. However, even though this was hard to read about, it is also super important to show these very real struggles some teens are going through, and that shouldn’t be overlooked.

I loved all the friendships in this book and how all of his friends essentially became his new found family who all accepted him for who he was. I also loved Xo, Julián’s sister, who was always there for him, and supported him in all the ways she knew how.

The relationship between Julián and Mat was also super cute and adorable, and I absolutely loved seeing their relationship evolve from the beginning when they were strangers on the internet to becoming so much more. However, I had some small problems with how Julián ghosted Mat on two different occasions, and how it was a bit glossed over with Julián just promising he wouldn’t do it again. I felt like they never really dealt with how this was affecting Mat.

Another thing that was a bit weird to me was the time jumps. The book went from each chapter being hours/days apart to the next chapter being weeks/months later. However, I also see that since this book almost stretches across a whole year, it would be hard to write it any differently.

In the end I can only say that I really enjoyed this book, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is in the mood for a cute, but also hard-hitting story.

It's heartwarming and the main characters are super lovable.

I love how quiet the story started and then the progression became more and more interesting.

The group vibe is also something I definitely enjoyed because it added an appeal to the whole coming-of-age plot.

Overall, enjoyable read and recommended.

This book made me so hungry, honestly! The recipes and descriptions are absolutely amazing. Add to that an engaging main character and a lot of representation, and this book is for you!

Five stars, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun follows Julián, a gay teen living in Corpus Christi, planning to leave for college in California once he’s finished high school. While drunk, he comes out on his public twitter, and with this all of his plans for his final nine months in Texas are changed in an instant.

Julián as a character was well developed and over the course of the book I really felt I got to know him. In fact, one of the things I loved most about this book was the characters, and how Jules’ relationships with all of them were portrayed – especially those with Mat, his boyfriend, and Xochi, his sister.

Near the beginning of the book, a relationship develops between Julián and Mat, a boy he meets on twitter. Overall, I found their relationship to be really cute and comforting (and also very well paced) to read – though they were long distance, they did really care about each other and then come to love each other. Although the home lives of Julián and Mat were relatively different, Mat did try his best to support Julián, and understand as well as he could what Julián was going through.

It’s important to note that homophobia, internalised and otherwise, is a theme often present in this book. Along with this, Julián’s father is abusive towards him, and this is again a prominent theme in the narrative. While the story does not, in my opinion, get incredibly dark, it did feel very personal and did not shy away from dealing with the abuse Julián faced and how he began to tell people and eventually began to heal.

Despite the fact that some of the themes in the novel were heavy, Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun was overall a heartwarming read, with just the right amount of moments that had me laughing or crying happy tears, to balance out those moments of pain and sadness. The overall message was one of hope, of light persevering in darker times, and this was something I, as a reader, appreciated.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It’s certainly one that will stay with me and I will doubtlessly come to revisit it in the future. It felt like looking through a window into someone else’s life, rich and honest, and I’m so grateful to have been able to read it pre-release.

Trigger warnings: homophobic slurs, homophobia, internalised homophobia, n word, anti black racism, internalised homophobia, emotional and physical abuse by a parent, gaslighting, hate crime.

When I saw this author described as one who "embraces the chaotic gay", I knew I would love this book - I just didn't realise how much! So so beautiful - a slice of joy that the world so needs right now!

Such a great and iconic read. Loved everything about it. And to know this meant so much to the author makes it all the more amazing. Will deff read more from this author if they decide to write more.

This book is the queer brown love story I didn't know I needed. Jonny's characters feel real in a way a lot of books don't quite get right. They are full complicated people trying to live their best lives and of course those lives are messy, as lives are, especially when you are in high school. The characters are complicated and nuanced and contain so much joy and heartbreak. Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun is a story about first love, family and friends – all my favorite things to read about. It is sweet, it is sassy and it will make you cry. My favorite kind of book.

Thanks to the Author, NetGalley & Skyscape for the eARC.

This is probably one of my favorite YA romances ever. I liked almost everything about it, but especially Julian’s friend group!

Jonny Garza Villa's debut novel, "Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun", is nothing short of beautiful. It is a heart-warming and at times heart-wrenching story of finding love and acceptance in (mostly) all of the places we all deserve.

Julián Luna doesn't mean to get drunk and out himself on social media. But it is, perhaps, the perfect opportunity to start living his life as his true self - except under his father's roof, because his ultra conservative dad will never accept his son for who he truly is.

Julián's dad aside, readers will love every single character in this novel, from Julián's amazingly supportive friends and sister, to Mat, the boy who will become Julián's long distance rock in his journey toward self-acceptance. And then there is Julián's abuelito. I wish there was more of him! The way he responds to Julián's made my heart burst.

This book is sheer perfection. I'm eagerly anticipating the publication date so that I can get my hands on a copy to add to my high school classroom library.

If you are a fan of "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe", "Simon and the Homosapien's Agenda", or "Darius the Great is Not Okay" I promise you will fall just as hard for "Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun".

Thank you to #Skyscape and #NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. #FifteenHundredMilesFromTheSun #LGBTQIA #YARomance #YAReads

This is a powerful book. Julián Luna, the main character, is entering his senior year hoping to keep his head down and head out of town for college. But then he inadvertently comes out on Twitter, and his world turns upside down, in some good ways and in other ways presenting challenges. One good aspect is that it leads to him connecting with Mat, a fellow high school student in LA and the two quickly come close as they both navigate their last year of high school and think to the future.

The main characters were authentic and multi-dimensional. And I found the story quite compelling. Highly recommend!