A NEW ALL TIME FAVORITE!

ANDER AND SANTI WERE HERE made me laugh hard and cry even harder—like I had to read passages to my sister out loud even though I knew she wouldn’t care and then got teary and snotty from sobbing. These characters are genuinely so funny even though they’re facing extremely difficult challenges. I LOVED the theme of belonging both in relation to immigration and in general to being a new adult trying to find where you fit in.

So well done! <3 <3 <3

Before we get into the review, I would like it to be known that I have lived in rural Pennsylvania for most of my life (at the time of writing this, I am in Germany for a year abroad, but yeah) and that I am not aware of knowing anyone who is undocumented. So I would always always always recommend looking to others’ reviews as well and seeing how this book impacts people who are directly affected. I am also not trans or nonbinary and so it might be good to look at reviews by those people as well. Anyway onto the actual review.

Wow this book really stabbed me in the heart. However I also thought it was really quite profound and was reminded that I need to look at my ways of allyship and also remember the humanity in people. Santi is not someone who finished high school or came as a small child, and is instead a young man who knowingly came in without a Visa. However he still deserves to exist in the US and be safe and without fear. The book really showed how ICE caused near-constant terror and hurt and the devastation that it brings.

Of course, before reading this book I knew that ICE was bad, but this really opened my perspective and showed me how things like this actually affected people. It impacted me a lot. So I would definitely recommend reading it for that.

At its core, this book is a love story. Or it would be a love story were it not for all of the terrible things standing in the way of Ander and Santi. So it’s a love story, but with a lot of discussions about ICE and immigration and everything, as that really impacted Ander and Santi’s relationship.

So this book is a love story and I adored that a lot. The way Ander and Santi addressed their relationship and connected with each other and just…the entire way they got together made me fall in love with the book more and more. I loved it a lot and I am so glad that I could read it. It was super cute and I enjoyed it a lot.

The book is set in California (factcheck) and in a Latinx community. I always love when books have dialogue in Spanish in them and so I was really happy that this one did as well. I also loved how Ander’s murals and art really made the entire setting seem more and more colorful and vibrant. It made me smile a lot.

Oh wow! The characters are last today! Saving the best I guess. Ander and Santi were the best and I was rooting for them every second of the way. I really connected with Ander and how they just wanted to make art, not art about their identity all the time, and not always art that other people thought they should make. That side plot made it very easy for me to connect with them and I loved it a lot.

Ander all in all was just a super well-rounded character. They struggled with things, had lots of passions, and conflict: inner-conflict and conflict with others. They seemed really human to me.

Santi seemed that way too. I loved him and how he coped with his struggles, however I would have enjoyed learning a bit more about him and his passions and joys, besides his tragic past. I am glad I got to learn that, but I wish I was able to learn a bit more about Santi too. But I liked him a lot!

And the supporting characters were wonderful too. Once again, I wish I knew a bit more about all of them (like, I really wanted to know how Lupe’s was founded because I felt like that would make me connect with more of the supporting characters, but I didn’t) but I really enjoyed them too. They did their best but made mistakes sometimes too, which I felt was quite human of them.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and it reminded me of the work that still needs to be done in the US and made it more personal to me and I really appreciated that.

Thank you to Netgalley For providing me with a advanced readers copy of Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa.

This was a amazing book! I really connected with the characters and the storyline. A AMAZING book!!

This book is so sweet and beautifully written. I love Santi and Ander. All of the people in their lives are so wonderful. They are so supportive of each other, and I love all the little things they do together or for each other. Their love story just makes me smile.
The story isn't only about beautiful art and a cute couple. There are also really heartbreaking moments where I felt the characters' helplessness. Santi has to deal with so much that no one ever should just because he wasn't born in the U.S. I am still processing this story because the people and relationships were so beautiful and heartwarming, but the story was also so heartbreaking and frustrating. Knowing this is the lived experience of so many people makes me want to give this book to everyone I know.
I loved Ander's family and friends, and I loved how they were also so supportive of Santi. . Ander's struggle with their art and what they wanted to do with their life was so relatable because it is easy to get so caught up in what people expect of you that you lose sight of your internal compass.
There were just so many things to love about the writing. It was so descriptive and clear yet it felt so soft and tender.

wow wow wow wow wow

What an incredible story of love, friendship, and finding oneself. This is a novel that will call readers to action and stick with them for a long time. Empathetic is the best word I’d use to describe it. Ander is such a self-aware and thoughtful narrator—Jonny Garza Villa is a master at taking complex emotions and blending them into the story seamlessly.

There is a lot to love about this book, but I think my favorite part is how confident and secure Ander is of their gender and sexuality. This is not a coming out story, which refreshing to have an MC who doesn’t have to question themselves in that way. It will be nice for young readers to meet Ander and have something to look forward to. Things may be difficult and confusing now, and some challenges will always exist, but we can live fruitful lives once we get past the coming out stage.

I appreciate the author’s note at the front. It sets up an expectation for what kind of story this will be, and I could sense Villa’s love and care throughout. I would suggest that they clarify in the author’s note that they are chicane. I looked that up on my own, but it would be helpful for readers to know that they have a similar identity to the main character.

My god, this book. I finished it over a week ago and still can't stop thinking about it. I fell in love with these characters almost instantly. They're easy to care about, to root for, and to be heartbroken by. I loved Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by the same author, and Ander and Santi Were Here was at the top of my ARC wishlist. It truly did not disappoint.

This book and these characters will stay with me for a long time. The love is deep and all-consuming, and the circumstances aren't fair. It's a beautiful story that tells an even bigger one and as heart wrenching as that can be, Jonny Garza Villa still manages to make it funny and lighthearted at times. Reading this felt like getting to hold something sacred, even just for a little while.

Oh, and it's QUEER as HELL.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ander and Santi Were Here was a wonderful and impactful book. It was light-hearted and enjoyable but also handled some heavy topics.
The setting and descriptions felt so vivid and bright. Everything was solid and felt like I was there painting with Ander in the streets of San Antonio.
The characters and how they developed were lovely. Ander was a good perspective to read from. They had an awesome family and Chachi was great.
One thing I wish was better was the development of Santi’s character. We don’t know much about him compared to everybody else. He fell very flat. What things does he like? Hobbies? We just get so little about him even though he is a main character.
This was a good book and I enjoyed reading it. I really love the ending and if you were thinking of reading this book, definitely do.

I was so grateful to be offered an E-ARC of this novel. As soon as I heard that Jonny Garza Villa was coming out with another novel, I immediately pre-ordered it. And it was everything I could’ve dreamed of and more.
The love that grows between Ander and Santi is vast and beautiful. Honestly, the entire book is beautiful, even when I’m crying reading it. Every character in this book has their own story and so much heart that I couldn’t put it down.
This heart-wrenching and heartwarming story deserves all the hype and love it can possibly get.

I've been trying to decide how I will review this book for almost a month now, and I'm coming up blank. I was a huge fan of the authors first book, but I really just didn't click with this one and I'm not sure why. I liked the relationship and the story, but just wasn't a fan of the writing at all and I'm not sure why. Perhaps some can be attributed to the first person narration, which I never enjoy, but the writing style also felt just a bit dense, and not broken up much which made reading feel like a bit of a chore. I won't be publicly reviewing this because Im having such a hard time vocalizing my critiques, I think this just comes down to "not for me."

Ander and Santi Were Here, by Jonny Garza Villa, gave me a glimmer of hope for the future. The dreamy LGBTQ+ love story and the passionate belief in human rights for immigrants spoke to my heart. There are good people out there in the world (both real and fictional), passionate people who are caring for each other and being the change we need. When the world feels like it is burning around us, a story like this helps me to believe that there still might be a chance for our society after all.

Ander is a nonbinary teen in San Antonio creating amazing murals and working part time in their parents' local Mexican restaurant. They are completing an arts residency with plans to go to an elite college the following year. Santi, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, begins working at the restaurant, and puts a slight wrench in those plans.

I enjoyed so many things about the novel. I loved that Ander's family accepts them fully -- their being gay and nonbinary were not an issue or one of the "problems" of the novel, which was refreshing. The use of Spanish was joyful and generous, and the author did not pander to English speakers (as in, they did not interpret every Spanish section). People have dictionaries and internet; we can look things up.

The author also made me THINK in all caps, about the difference between caring about a cause like the plight of undocumented immigrants, and experiencing a friend, family member, or loved one living in fear of ICE. It's easy to say that we care about these issues, and so much harder to truly understand the trauma people face in these situations. I'm so far removed from it, and Jonny Garza Villa helped me to better see and understand someone like Santi's situation. Oh! And JGV used the gender neutral Spanish pronoun elle, which I have read about but never really seen used IRL. As in, instead of hijo (son) or hija (daughter), Ander is called "hije" by their family. That was fun.

This also may have been the most realistic love story in the history of novels. Two attractive, young, single people like each other and....they get together. It was delightfully straightforward.

Thank you, JGV, for writing such a beautiful love story, and thanks also to NetGalley for the
eARC in exchange for an honest review. I give it 10 stars.

Firstly, this book was so endearing and sweet. Ander, his friends and family, and of course Santi were all written with such care and love. The subject matter involving immigration and how it impacts families was so wonderfully written and so real. It was a joy reading about these characters and their daily lives, learning about their hopes and dreams, and even, by the end, seeing some of those dreams be achieved in a realistic way.

The pacing was steady the whole way through, bringing candor and fun to the everyday moments between all the characters. The dialog between them all always seemed very real and emotionally driven, often having me racing to translate a new phrase just to glean some more insight into their conversations. Some people may not enjoy the fact that there aren't any translations of the Spanish phrases in the book as you're reading but honestly, I loved the fact that I had to work a little to understand the book rather than have it compromise itself just so that I might be more comfortable reading it.

Secondly, fuck ICE. ACAB.

I will never recover from the emotional toll of the last 25% of this book!! Ander and Santi Were Here begins in the midst of 19 year old Ander's gap year, starting with being "let go" from their family's taqueria and encouraged to take time to pursue their artistic endeavors. Upon meeting their hot new replacement at the restaurant, Santiago, Ander is pulled on a whirlwind journey of love and self discovery, leading to heart wrenching conclusion.

Ander and Santi were beautifully vibrant characters, and I loved watching them and their relationship blossom and come to life on the pages. Ander relationship with the art they love & the murals they created was complex and nuanced, tying strongly to their Mexican identity to form an animated multifaceted character. Santi's backstory was so emotional and devastating, touching so close to home for so many Brown and Black undocumented immigrants. Together, Ander and Santi were sickeningly adorable in their love and support for each other, giving the other just what they need in times of distress.

My only issue with this book was with the pacing, I felt that the beginnings and end were so action-packed and fast paced but the middle slowed down quite a bit and threw off my momentum for a little bit. Otherwise, I loved the powerful plot of this story: featuring two Latinx Brown queer characters on their quest for their place in the world amidst a country fraught with bigoted organizations like ICE. I loved that the book showed that despite all the forces driving them apart, Ander and Santi (and others like them) do not have to face these issues alone. The conclusion of this book had me on a roller coaster of emotions and I wouldn't have it any other way. I absolutely recommend this book, but would absolutely advise checking content warnings beforehand!

From beginning to end, I found myself smiling at this beautiful and intimate story. The pacing is immaculate, the dramatic points heart-wrenching and the ending was so, so satisfying. I loved how Ander and Santi were both mirrors and foils of one another. Ander being confident, artistic and surrounding by those they love. Santi being without his family but ambitious, loving and openhearted. There is not enough I can say about this book. Each character felt so real to me, as if I had known them my whole life. I will definitely recommend to anyone looking for a love story that both grapples with the realities of the world but is also tender.

Jonny Garza Villa's first book was fantastic so I was very excited for their second book, and it far exceeded my expectations! One of the most emotionally affecting stories I've read this year, I'm sure every reader will fall as hard for Ander and Santi as I did.

This is such an incredible book. It definitely was not what I expected, but I loved every second of it. This is one I think everyone should read for many different reasons. I can’t wait to own this I’m physical form and I will be going out to buy the author’s previous book as soon as I can

An incredibly tender, moving, and beautifully rendered romance that'll definitely stick with you long after you finish reading <3

Okay, this book just hit me in the face and left me with a bunch of love bruises (Violence is never the answer, this was a metaphor of love!). O-M-G. Can I go and just re-read this now. It's all I want to do. THIS BOOK GAVE ME CHILLS and then some! The characters were amazing, so loving, and so endearing. I couldn't close the book. I wanted....no...I NEEDED more!! Thank you netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book early. Now I get to cry until my finished copy comes in.

Wow I'm emotional... this was everything it was pitched at and then some. I was not expecting to be so... damn weepy over these characters1 But lord have mercy they stole my heart.

I don’t even know where to begin. Reviews are never really easy for me, I’m always too emotional to put things into words. But this book deserves me trying.

Ander & Santi… I would lose my voice rooting for them any day of the year. This book was equal parts wrapping myself in a comfortable blanket of home and love, while also tearing me to shreds thinking about how cruel this world is. These two deserve everything life has to offer and I just wanted to protect them and get to see them keep having happy moments together.

Books set in Texas always feel different to me, but having one set in my city? With every description of Lupe’s Tacos, it felt more and more like I could drive around the corner and see it. What I wouldn’t give to see any of Ander’s murals. Or see an exhibit of theirs.

Truly, this book was beautifully done, it was captivating, the message is powerful and strong and I just. I have so much love for this story, and I’m so happy it’s going to be out in the world soon for more people to experience. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy and fill it with tabs and notes because I have so many quotes that are taking up space in my brain.

I have loved everything that I have read from Jonny Garza Villa. I’ve been brought to tears every single time. My heart felt both heavy and light as I read this book and undeniable it will be a book that sticks with me for a long time.