This book is Peak Teen.

Jules accidentally outs himself while drunk, and he is immediately thrown into a whirlwind of family relations and friendships changing, a budding romance, all with a heavy sprinkle of finding out what his future will hold.

This was a challenging read on a few fronts for me, at least in the beginning. There's some heavy homophobia, but the one thing I really struggled with initially was how incredibly teen it was written. You know how some YA books almost feel like they're written by adults, for adults? This feels like it's written by teens, for teens. In a good way, though! Like that is some serious skill, and it works incredibly well. For a while I struggled with it because I had a hard time understanding a lot of the thought processes of Jules given that it's been a minute since I was 17, but once I realised that was the problem and it was just that the book was that kind of well-written it wasn't as much a problem as a luxury. It's a whole different beast to read a YA book that actually feels teen, you know?

So anyway, the romance didn't quite work for me. A lot of the time it felt onesided, like one was practically the others' therapist and had to accept some real shitty behaviour from their partner (doooon't just completely refuse to talk to your partner because you're mad at yourself!! this was one of the Very Teen things I had to rewire my brain a lil' for while reading this, and looking at it from an outside perspective I totally get the teenage thinking here, but as an adult it just sat very badly with me) but I am here for the realistic safe sex and discussions thereof! YA in general seems to shy away from that a lot, but not this one. An actual gem.

My favourite, though? All the siblings. Both Jules's sister (who I will protect until the day I pass) and Mat's were just.. *chef's kiss*. Absolutely the responsible adults this world needs who will protect and raise their siblings with love and respect. I loved them so much.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so good. Honestly I quickly fell in love with Jules and Mat. I loved how the author incorporated Spanish and Vietnamese into the story. Also living in Texas I loved all the subtle references to HEB and Whataburger. I worried for a bit that this book might not have HEA but I'm so glad it did. Yes, this book deals with tough topics like homophobia and being rejected by your family but the author handled it well while keeping it realistic. I'm recommending this to everyone I know.

I have heard nothing but good things about Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun.
Unfortunately, my copy didn't work well on my kindle. I listen to my books via text to speech and for some reason, this book would stop every two pages. It was painful so I quit.
Someday I will buy it off Amazon and try again.

Heartwarming and heartbreaking in all of the best ways. I found myself laughing and crying while reading this book. This is a beautiful book and is definitely one that I will be adding to a re-read list. Thank you, Jonny Garza Villa for introducing us to this story.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

Wow. That’s all I can really say about this book because there aren’t any words that could describe how this book made me feel. I went into Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun knowing that I’d likely love it, but I wasn’t sure just how much. And boy am I in love with this book!

I saw in a review that this book is described as Simon meets One Day at a Time and that’s when I knew that this book would be something else. One Day at a Time is my favorite tv show that had meant a lot to me for so long and this book brought all of the feelings that I have for this show, all of the love and emotions, and made me feel things I didn’t realize I could feel for something else. All of the characters, their friendships and their love for each other warmed my heart and made me feel as though I was their friend myself, as if they were all real.

I laughed, I cried, I had the time of my life. I fully expected this book to break my heart but instead it warmed it. Jules means so much to me, more than I could’ve expected. Mat was everything I could’ve wished for in a book character. And how they work together, their dynamic, just fills my heart with so much joy.

I am the not target audience for this book... as a white mom to two LGBTQIA daughters this book broke my heart in so many ways. Seeing homophobia and abuse represented in a different way that what we normally see (Christian/Female) it was very eye opening. Even with all the heartbreak it is a very hopeful, it's gets better read. The authors note on triggers was amazingly done, you can 100% tell its from someone who understands the importance. One of my favorite books of 2021.

One of my favorite books of the year. A perfect depiction of teenagehood and desire. I loved the characterization and was really moved by how the author managed to capture the highs and lows of long-distance relationships in the 21th century. full RTC

This book can have my whole heart 🥺 this book is precious, heartwarming, funny, frustrating, relatable to many, and just so dang good and incredibly important with amazing representation.

The two precious cinnamon roll characters meet on Twitter and soon become inseparable, messaging and video chatting daily. Their feelings develop and they want to be together. They both are muddling through the murky waters of young adulthood including figuring out where they want to go to college, who they want to be, navigating difficult family dynamics, all while figuring out what they mean to each other and how they can continue doing it all together.

I flew through this book and it’s one that will stay with me and be in my top favorites probably forever ❤️

I highly encourage looking into the CW’s of this book before beginning as there is some pretty heavy content and may be triggering to some.

In summary, read this book ASAP. It deserves all of the attention and praise ❤️

teen fiction, queer interest, Latinx non-binary author (closeted Latinx gay boy from Corpus Christi TX meets Vietnamese gay boy from Los Angeles on Twitter, and they are just about the cutest long-distance couple ever)

I received an egalley of this from netgalley but wasn't able to download/open it, so had to wait a couple extra months for my library to receive it from the vendor. So this was a long-anticipated read, and I am so glad I finally got to read it!

The characters are instantly likeable and they provide a welcome dose of humor and sarcasm throughout. Parts of the story are partly drawn from the author's own experience (according to the preface), and all of it feels very real, especially the trauma of coming out to a (sometimes violent) father who will not accept that his son is gay.

Very sweet story full of (thankfully) very supportive friends. Recommended.

I was expecting to enjoy this, but I didn't expect to have this many feelings about it. I cried, I laughed out loud, it was such a good read.

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun follows Julián, a Chicano teen who accidently outs himself on a drunken night out with his friends. His friends are supportive but he struggles to get accepted by his homophobic and abusive father.
Despite a group of supportive friends, he struggles to find belonging in his hometown, especially with the expectations and homophobic beliefs held by his abusive father and the harassment he faces from other students after his coming out. Leaving behind the pain of hiding his truth for so long, Julian begins to accept himself. The exuberance he feels as this acceptance unfolds is so moving and the writing brings the reader into the character’s thoughts and emotions as the story progresses.

4.5 stars, wow what a book! Villa was able to tell an amazing story with an ease of light-heartedness that's rare to find
I thought both of our protagonists had distinct, relatable personalities. Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun is a great publication for the LBGTQ+ community!

I started this book in June and got a good bit through before mental health issues hit me quite hard and I couldn’t find the strength or will to pick a book up again. Yesterday, 29th July, I finished the second part. In theory it’s a quick read, don’t let my own issues fool you into thinking it’s a drag. Once you start it, you’re in it.

This book was sad and realistic and hopeful all at the same time. It truly does paint a good image of the fears and struggles for a young adult who has to choose what to do with his future and adding to that, is gay. I’m not american, so there are definitely parts of this story where I can’t say for sure if that’s the general american experience, but if other american books and tv have thought me anything, it rings pretty true.

In this novel we truly follow the journey of Julian towards self-acceptance and happiness, and it’s a ride, for sure. Due to the nature of the story, I do have to warn that there’s a lot of homophobia and internalized homophobia present in this story. The author doesn’t paint Jules’ story as a pretty picture, and in some ways I do appreciate that. Mostly because it’s a contemporary ya novel and it is part of our sad reality. It’s not like when I’m reading a YA fantasy novel and they introduce a gay character, and their whole personal struggle revolves around their sexuality. Anyways, that’s a different personal issue with fantasy books and definitely not applicable here…

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun is honestly such a cute book about a long distance relationship between two people who deserve all the happiness in the world. Long distance relationships always seem quite scary to me, but this one is just so beautifully portrayed that I’d almost believe I’d be ok with one myself…

this is a book that left me with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes. a blend of both queer joy tinged in such bittersweet tones, FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES FROM THE SUN is truly a wondrous story.

i came to love jules, as he comes to terms with his identity and living a life--one within a lie. it explores the struggles of keeping up a supposedly heteronormative facade, and the heartbreak that comes at the cost of acceptance.

mat and jules made one of the cutest couples, and i while i enjoyed the adorable scenes, it was so sweetly somber to read, both of them fifteen hundred miles apart from each other.

A cute story showing representation that will change the world of reading in more way then one. The world needs books from Jonny Garza Villa.

I absolutely love this book. It covers some heavy topics, like physical abuse and a fair bit of homophobia. The relationship between Jules and Mat is beautiful, and all of the friendships are so heartwarming. My favourite trope is the big sister taking in the younger queer sibling after the queer sibling is kicked out, even though they haven't been in touch for a long time. This is the second book I've read with this trope and I am living for it! Supportive older siblings are the best! I feel like the long distance relationship was covered really well throughout this book and I enjoyed the suspense, wondering whether Jules and Mat would get a happy ending. I love these characters and this story so much. I can't wait to read more books by this author.

From the first 20 pages I was hooked on the story line. This author does a great job of hooking the reader into the story and making them care about the characters. I loved every second of it and devoured it in a few sittings! Highly recommend!

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun is a stunning debut that is so raw and real, it leaves you staring at the last page for a while, processing what you have just read.
Full of unforgettable characters, if you love stories with strong LGBTQ+ characters then this is a must-read for you.

ARC Kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This book was everything.

I finished it seconds ago and I am currently staring at the Goodreads review tab not knowing how to start writing what I wish to write. I'm in awe of this debut and whilst there were some things that I didn't like at the start, they definitely made up for it by the end.

Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun is an own voices story that follows Julián, a Mexican-American closeted gay high schooler that develops an online, long distance relationship with Mat, a Vietnamese-American who lives in Los Angeles. Mat is someone who Julián trusts and when issues arise with his family, Mat is the only person he wants to run away to. The book really focuses on love and if love can trump and endure distance.

The story was told in a very raw way. It was a bit hard for me to get into due to the fast pacing of events during the first third or so. I wanted that to have been expanded a bit more and I wanted it to go a little bit slower. After meeting Mat online, I felt like things became teased out better and that was when I found myself enjoying the book.

I liked both Mat and Julián, I thought they worked well with each other and I liked seeing the personal struggles Julián went through with his family's and school's expectations on his sexuality and gender. I thought that was done really well, the author was sensitive about it yet didn't sugarcoat anything about those struggles. Mat was instantly loveable and I really liked his character from the start. I must admit, I was scared that it would've turned out that Mat was secretly a catfisher posing as a teenage gay kid and so I was hesitant to like him however, his personality really shone through and I found it hard not to like him. That being said though, I thought more could've been done to show some backstory on Mat. Although he was a loveable character, don't get me wrong, he didn't have the kinds of layers that Julián did and I felt like we didn't get to know him on a personal level.

Whilst the love interest and main character were okay, it was really the side characters that made this book a stand out. Jordan, Lou, Itzel, Piña and Xo were all amazing and they raised this book to a whole other level. I loved their dynamics with Julián and how they reacted when he came out. I loved the bromance and the friendship between them all and I would love to see this cast again if Jonny Garza Villa decides to write a spin-off or sequel to Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun.

Romance wise, I liked how Mat and Julián really cared for each other and how although their relationship was physical, they also had those deep conversations too, enough so that you could tell that they really cared for each other. That being said, sometimes I did feel that their dialogue was a bit cheesy with the whole telling-each-other-how-you-really-feel thing but it thankfully died down towards the end and I started shipping the two wholeheartedly. It was the most heartbreaking thing ever for Mat to say goodbye to his Moon and for Julián to say goodbye to his sun.

All in all, I really loved this book and I felt as though it was an important read. This book acted like a love letter to Spanish, Latinx and Tex-Mex culture and I definitely learnt a few Spanish words and discovered a few musicians along the way.

ACTUAL RATING: 4.45 STARS

Julian Luna just wants to graduate and get as far away from Corpus Christie TX as he can. He's a gay latino with a very machismo father and he's unable to come out for fear of violence and other consequences. When Julian falls in love online with a boy in Los Angeles, he works up the courage to come out to his friends and family. Some are receptive, others are not. Important LGTBQIA story highlighting latino stigmas on being queer.

I made it to chapter 30 and then I just skim read the rest. It wasn't bad, I just couldn't get into it. I didn't love the style of writing and I wish Mat had had more development. I'll definitely give Jonny Garza Villa's next book a try since there were a lot of elements I loved in this one, something about it just wasn't working for me.