Ander & Santi Were Here was a fun, challenging, informative, and hopeful read. It has a balance of romance, family dynamics, social justice concerns, and provided the readers with the complexity of balancing it all. It is evident that the author did it’s worth to tie all themes together and make it informative but also fun for the reader.

One of the best contemporary YA book I have read in a long time. People reading YA now are so damn lucky!

Ander & Santi is filled with heartwarming and thought-provoking moments and is a wonderful story about the power of love, family, and community in the face of adversity.

Touches on so many themes like gender, culture, and politics. SO much angst and yearning but also so much tenderness and love.

Absolutely loved this!

Jonny Garza Villa is one of my favorite contemporary authors and this book is no exception. The romance is so tender and vital and life changing.

This was a good {not great} book, in my opinion. It's a YA novel, and while it was poignant story of two characters on the brink of adulthood, I did find it was quite slow. I enjoyed the non-binary rep, the vivid descriptions of Mexican food, and the Spanish dialogue throughout; although, admittedly it was a bit hard to follow given I don't know the language.

All in all a decent book.

Thank you to NetGalley + the publisher for an early reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of a young artist who starts a relationship with an illegal immigrant and falls in love. This story did drag and seemed repetitive at times, but overall was a sweet story. The character development was a bit weak and was almost exclusively reactionary. I did like the openness of the two boys families and acceptance of them, as well as the realism of the prospects of a non-citizen in the US.

Ander & Santi was like stepping into a story about my friends at the end of high school as we tried to figure out what we wanted to do with our lives. The setting was so familiar and welcoming. I loved the way Garza Villa wove English, Spanish, and Spanglish together in a natural flow, while not bogging down the text with translations (even a non-Spanish speaker like myself easily followed along).

I loved this book.

Ander is relatable, funny, and passionate. His problems are realistic and relatable to anyone else around his age. Santi is a sweetheart who can make your heart melts my heart melt and must be protected at all costs.

I love the them of family, which is evident in AJ's family. They're very lovable, relatable, loyal, loving, but honest and are there for each other.

This is a passionate, sweet romance with real stakes. It made me laugh. It made me cry. Absolutely recommend

Due to the ongoing marketing boycott of St. Martin’s Press because of their continued failure to address an employee’s harmful and offensive remarks on social media, I will be withholding from reviewing this title. I sincerely hope the company takes action soon so I may resume promoting the diverse stories that SMP ought to stand by,

Ander & Santi Were Here is a moving book about the human impact of ICE and immigration policy. I absolutely loved the characters and listened on audiobook to my favorite narrator reading which was extra special. I loved the ways we got to know the characters. I appreciated Ander's journey with their art and trying to figure out what their path is from the micro (sometimes macro) aggressions of their art school advisor. I loved the discussion of what home is (person, place, feeling, etc.) and what it means to be who you are. I loved Ander's family and felt like I was a part of it. The personality and voice of Ander made this book extra special and I can't imagine anyone not falling in love with these main characters, especially Ander. The way the author gave immigration policy a "face" and "name" -- personalized it for the audience and made us feel it so much in my mind is what makes this book; it was one of the many things I loved about it. I would definitely recommend this because I think the discussions of immigration policy are so impactful -- however for the YA audience there are some spicy parts and mature language; I think a mature YA reader would really enjoy and appreciate this read and I think while it is technically a YA novel that every adult could benefit from reading this.

"Ander & Santi" was the perfect fast-paced page-turner to get me out of my reading slump. Their chemistry was palpable and Jonny Garza Villa had me longing for more with each sentence.

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa is a beautiful and complex YA/new adult queer love story that explores complex and contemporary themes. It's a book that makes it feel like an honor to have read it.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I am currently supporting the boycott against St. Martin’s Press until they respond to influencer’s concerns about safety, inequality, systemic issues at hand and also meet the demands of the boycott. I am looking forward to leaving an updated review for this book once the demands are met ❤️

Ander and Santi Were Here talks about real life events that still happen today. Many undocumented people and their families live life looking over their shoulders.
I understand that feeling all too well.

This book had me feeling all sorts of things. It took me three tries to finally get into this book. It wasn’t because of the book, I was not in the right head space for it until now. I am so happy I did not give up though. I ended up loving it so much. It was beautiful and heartbreaking.

I also appreciate how this is an older YA, with 19-year-old characters. I felt better knowing their ages with certain scenes.

This novel is a love letter to Queer Mexicans, and my heart is so full.

If I have any advice for you it’s please do not read this in public or when you’re hungry. It won’t go well 😅

Just read it.

It is so beautiful to see an exploration of trans representation being displayed in the latinx community. Ander and Santi, had me at a loss for words and constantly had me feeling emotional - as it dealt with heavy topics pertaining to an important topic which is being undocumented. This love letter for my community was nothing short of extraordinary.

Love, love, LOVE! If you like Adam Silvera or Benjamin Alire Sáenz this read is perfect for you! It was beautiful & soul touching! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

4.5 SO SO good

The FUN that comes from Ander's voice in this mixed with the tension that comes from the two teens fearing ICE over their backs at every turn mixed with the pure whirlwind teendom of their relationship... ugh it was just such a comfy ride even when there were stressful moments. I'm totally recommending this for older teens!!

My Thoughts:
Ander and Santi will pull you in and break your heart. This contemporary love story is a swoony story about a nonbinary Mexican American young adult, Ander, working at their family's taqueria and creating culturally relevant murals around the Santos Vista neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas. Santiago, Santi, is the shy new waiter that catches Ander's fancy. Although Ander's family knows that Santi is undocumented, Ander does not know until ICE comes to the taqueria and Ander must switch places with Santi.

Santi helps Ander to find value in their hispanic art aesthetic as good enough to stand up to western art standards. Ander helps Santi find home. I cried. I broke. I healed. The author's voice is authentic and brings difficult concepts like racism, homophobia, and immigration politics into a piece that is still a very romantic love story. This is going to be stand out in the romance lists because it is complex and swoony at the same time. Watch for this one! I loved it so much I listened to the audiobook and the narrator for the audiobook is just fabulous. This is one of my favorite audiobooks this year.

From the Publisher:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe meets The Sun is Also a Star in this YA contemporary love story from Jonny Garza Villa, Ander & Santi Were Here, about a nonbinary Mexican American teen falling for the shy new waiter at their family’s taqueria.

Finding home. Falling in love. Fighting to belong.

The Santos Vista neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, is all Ander Martínez has ever known. The smell of pan dulce. The mixture of Spanish and English filling the streets. And, especially their job at their family's taquería. It's the place that has inspired Ander as a muralist, and, as they get ready to leave for art school, it's all of these things that give them hesitancy. That give them the thought, are they ready to leave it all behind?

To keep Ander from becoming complacent during their gap year, their family "fires" them so they can transition from restaurant life to focusing on their murals and prepare for college. That is, until they meet Santiago López Alvarado, the hot new waiter. Falling for each other becomes as natural as breathing. Through Santi's eyes, Ander starts to understand who they are and want to be as an artist, and Ander becomes Santi's first steps toward making Santos Vista and the United States feel like home.

Until ICE agents come for Santi, and Ander realizes how fragile that sense of home is. How love can only hold on so long when the whole world is against them. And when, eventually, the world starts to win.

Publication Information:
Author: Jonny Garza Villa
Publisher: Wednesday Books (May 2, 2023)
Narrator: Avi Roque
Macmillan Audio

This book is closer to four stars on paper but five stars in my heart so I'm rounding up.

Ander & Santi Were Here is adorable, sweet, funny, deep and moving. The book is told from Ander's perspective and while they can be a bit extra and dramatic, they were lovely and so much fun to spend time with. This is also an example of single POV done well because I almost didn't notice I wasn't getting Santi's POV until half-way through. I feel like the way that Santi was folded into Ander's whole community gave us more perspective on him as a character (as opposed to solely relying on Ander's sometimes naive POV.) The sense of place is outstanding - I actually have a trip planned for next year where I will be in San Antonio and now I'm thinking about extending the number of days there (if not even just to try to eat at more places that sound like Tita's restaurant.) And I have to say, I don't even care that the characters are so young and whether that type of relationship feels realistic at that age. Their love is gorgeous and I buy it! The book also covers some heavy stuff related to immigration and ICE and the way people are treated. But at the same time the book has basically zero homophobia/transphobia and that is like a breath of fresh air.

The things that didn't work for me were mostly around pacing and a bit of repetition. The start of the book was not working for me - it felt a bit mundane maybe? I can't quite put my finger on it. But by 15-20% I was hooked and could not put it down. Somewhere in the middle the book was 10 stars for me - I was transfixed. The pacing was a bit off for me again toward the end. Oh and I ended up listening to the audio. I can't tell if my problems at the beginning were partly due to the narration but the narrator grew on me as well and I was totally charmed by the performance. (All this = four stars on paper, five stars in my heart.)

Great queer read for a YA audience! Contemporary and timely portrayal of being queer youth, with the addition of the realities of the experiences undocumented immigrants.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.