Ariana Ruiz has autism and selective mutism. Due to this, Ari has no friends at school, which Luis takes advantage of and date rapes her at a party. Luis quickly brags to his friends which makes school an even more uncomfortable situation for Ari. Someone reaches out to her anonymously online and Ari discovers she is not alone - that Luis is a predator. A group of students begin to meet to plot revenge, but they also create a tight friend group as well. While Luis and what happened with him is a catalyst for what Ari goes through, it is from the bonds she develops with her friends that she truly finds her voice and is able to help herself begin to heal from her trauma and also provide an outlet for others to do the same. There is also some family drama going on between Ari's parents, which I wish would have been explored more, but it was an interesting side story as Ari's feelings concerning what happened felt real and relevant to her growth and experience. Reyes is now an auto-buy for the library. Her sophomore effort was another hit and I would recommend to anyone who likes contemporary, high school life stories and though it tackles a tough topic it is a must read.

This was John Tucker Must Die on steroids. Really solid book that encourages people to speak up against assault. While I did appreciate the trigger warnings, I feel like in the beginning, the author didn’t take experience seriously. Maybe she was trying to show what individuals who have experienced assault think in that moment.

Sonora Reyes is such an incredible author. I would purchase any novel pitched as John Tucker Must Die-esque and this one truly delivered. I loved the cast of characters and wanted more from them. This book handled difficult topics in a meaningful and poignant way. It’s easy to see how this author has jumped to the top of YA sellers lists. I can not wait for future work. Auto buy author for me.

This story is about a girl named Ari. She has autism, never speaks, and is normally ignored. So of course when cute, popular Luis starts to pay attention to her, Ari finally feels seen.

Luis’s attention soon turns to something more….they have sex at a party, and while Ari didn’t say no, she definitely didn’t say yes. Before she has a chance to process what happened and decide if she even has the right to be mad at Luis, the rumor mill begins churning…

Honestly, this is a heavy book… it mentions slut shaming, bullying, consent, figuring out your sexuality, and aftermath of a rape. BUT it is also a book about power! It tells a story of a girl fighting back for what she believes is right.

I really enjoyed Sonora’s writing style! The light she writes with, especially given the topics, is truly amazing . Although the book is heavy, it felt well balanced because of the friendship that Ari had with her friends.

• POC characters
• Neurodivergent characters
• LGBTQ rep
• Autistic rep

An amazing story about standing up for yourself and finding yourself. I loved the MC and found her selective mute times interesting and heartbreaking. I loved when she found spots she was comfortable and found her way. My heart just broke when she was so appreciative of attention until she realized what was going on.

There are some tough topics in this book but I thought they were handled well. I loved the friendship and support they all found in their collective rage. But the SA is pretty tough, so take the initial warning from the author to heart and take care of yourself if you plan to dive in. It's a great read, just tough.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

The Luis Ortega Survival Club tells the difficult story of Ariana, a teenage girl with autism, reckoning with her sexual assault and finding the voice to speak out about it. Ariana meets a ragtag group of soon-to-be-friends who were all harmed by Luis Ortega and they band together to expose him for his wrongdoings. All the while, Ariana’s parents’ relationship is in distress, and she’s caught in the middle, stuck acting as her mom’s best friend while she goes unheard.

This story is tough at times, but the moments of friendship and understanding shine far brighter than the hurt and heartbreak. Ariana’s friends help find ways for her communicate when she is mute; they listen intently when Nina is uncomfortable in a dress; they think twice before judging someone for not telling the whole truth. It’s ultimately a story of resiliency and community, ending in a comforting note.

Wildly underrepresented protagonist in an equally underrepresented plot, coupled with a painful premise make The Luis Ortega Survival Club hard to read but harder to miss.

I definitely recommend going into this text fully aware of what it’s about: a serial predator at a high school specifically targeting victims who either have little to no support system, or, victims like our protagonist who are non-verbal and “can’t say no.”

Thinking, naively, I suppose, based on the title that this would be maybe a revenge group or support group for teens dumped by the same boy... I. Was. Wrong.

The Luis Ortega Survival Club is an emotional story of the Ariana, who has autism. She is sexually assaulted and then bullies by her peers. Ariana is navigating the aftermath of the assault and finds a group that was also harmed by Luis Ortega. Reading Ariana's story is heartbreaking but needs to be told. It is hard to read at times but there are also moments of hope and healing which makes the story even more powerful.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
Note: I listened to a synthesized audio recording, NOT the performed narration audiobook, so that definitely might have affected the listening experience!

I was a big fan of Sonora Reyes' The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, so I was excited for this one! The Luis Ortega Survival Club is a good book that deals with serious topic with care and heart, but I didn't feel the same authenticity, warmth, and connection with this book as I did with Lesbiana's Guide. This may be in part due to the synthesized narration. I would carefully recommend this book to older teens, making sure they aware of the major theme of sexual assault. It's not for everyone, but for teens interested in stories of surviving sexual assault and making friendships in the wake of trauma, it's a solid read.

This is an amazing Our Voice's tale that will be even more incredible when they get actually a human voices. an incredible book.

Don't let the cartoony cover fool you into thinking this is some silly YA romp. In reality, this Own Voices novel deals with extremely important topics: consent, sexual assault, sexual and gender identity, friendships, and neurodiversity.

Ari is a 17-year-old neurodiverse girl who is raped while attending a high school party (that is not a spoiler as it is mentioned in the first chapter). She doesn't understand that she has been assaulted, as she believes that the boy who did it - Luis Ortega - actually likes her. She also believes that because she is selectively mute and unable to speak in front of her peers, that it was her fault because she didn't specifically say no. She soon figures out that it was rape... And that she was not Luis' first victim. Soon, she finds herself surrounded by a new friend group with a plan to take Luis down and make him accountable for his crimes.

While the assault and revenge plot are the catalyst for the events of this book, the true story is about finding your voice, both literally and figuratively, and opening yourself up to the love and support of the people around you. The best part of the story was the friendships that Ari forms along the way, with people that understand and respect her, letting her be herself and finding her own inner strength.

As difficult and heartbreaking as it was to read about the assault of Ari and the other members of the Luis Ortega Survival Club, this is an important story that needs to be told. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and would urge parents to get this into the hands of every teen.

This book packs in a lot of "issues" without feeling like an "issue book." Readers will relate to the fresh voice covering important topics while still being a fun and likable read

This young adult book touches on serious topics-teenage sexual assault and the aftermath. It was an intriguing piece of fiction, but my issue with it was that the story felt vague at times. The details of the protagonist’s incident and those of the others are just very general, which perhaps was intentionally done by the author, but at times it felt like I was watching the story play out behind a third wall. Certainly a solid, important book, but there were just some parts of the execution I didn’t love. 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy for review.

A moving and empathetic YA #ownvoices story about a neurodivergent, selectively mute teen girl who is raped at a party and bands together with fellow victims to get revenge on the boy who victimized them! Perfect for fans of books like Margot Mertz takes it down and good on audio narrated by Elisa Meléndez. I loved the autism and neurodiversity rep - the FMC is very relatable and very authentic! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This one was a revenge tale. Sweet revenge.

The main character is neuro divergent and a selective mute. The Ariana finds her voice and place as the story develops.

https://wakelet.com/wake/TaeviJZrgKcC0eCkLZEGY

This book is different from any other book that I have read. It touches on a topic that many people don’t speak about in books that are geared towards teenagers and young adults. In this book, a group of teens come together and become friends based on a person that they all have in common, Luis Ortega. In some way, Luis Ortega has altered their lives and school reputation by making them look bad to the other students. Throughout the book, the reader sees that the Luis Ortega Survival Club isn’t the only group of people that Luis has assaulted within their school. At the end, everyone is able to pull together and expose Luis for the abuser that he is, ultimately getting justice for the victims that he hurt.

As a YA book, it tackles many sensitive issues such as sexual identity, rape culture, insecurities, navigating friendships, parental marriage difficulties as well as toxic issues such as slut shaming, sexual harassment, and bullying. The author takes a different approach making the main character Ariana, autistic with selective mutism that is still just a teen that wants to be noticed. While she receives the attention of Luis, she's not sure just how far she want to take it....and before long, the rumors being and she begins to get unwanted and uncomfortable attention from many boys. Luckily, someone reaches out to her and before long, she has been incorporated into a group that has all been mislead by Luis; hence, the Luis Ortega Survival Club. Being part of the group, make Ari feel safe and she does not want to jeopardize that security and belonging by telling them what really happened to her. The group wants to expose Luis for the predator and bully that he really is..but how? The revenge plot thickens as well as the group dynamics. There is much security the group provides together but will they risk being caught to expose Luis??
My main issue with the book was how the ages line up with the characters. The main Character Ari at times appeared young and naive....for example, when she didn't understand what her parents meant when they said it was ok if her heart is with a boy...or a girl-- Other times, not as much. I was figuring her at 14 with Luis being older as well as a few in the group. Nevertheless, still a powerful book that will find its way into my HS library..print version not audio version
This was also a free audio with synthetic voice narration not the true narrator that would deliver inflection. This did not interfere with review. Thank you to Netgalley and Harper audio for the preview of this book

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio, Balzer + Bray, for the VoiceGalley advance audio edition of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was surprisingly intense, given the cartoonish cover and the fact that I was listening to the VoiceGalley audio edition.

Ariana Ruiz is autistic and selectively mute. She is able to speak when she feels truly safe, such as around family, but rarely around peers, unless they are close friends. When a boy starts to pay attention to her, she feels flattered and goes to a party with him. While there, he takes her to a room and has sex with her—she does not speak to him, so she cannot say yes or no.

When the rumors begin, she finds herself in an unenviable position—but then she discovers she is not alone. Will she be able to share the truth with her new friends and come to terms with what happened?
This book does come with a trigger warning. It does address rape, though not in a graphic way. It also deals with sexual harassment and sexual identity. Possibly the most important topic is consent.

Highly recommend.

This was a wonderful book, this author does a great job of developing characters and including all different types of people in her books. I've never read about a character with selective mutism so this was a very insightful book. I loved watching the friendships grow and the characters blossom into who they are.

I enjoyed listening to The Luis Ortega Survival Club. The narration I kept me entertained and hooked the whole time.
Thank you Netgalley for ARC in exchange of my honest feedback