When her younger brother Cesar starts at a Catholic high school, Mexican American Yamilet joins him there to help keep him out of trouble. Yami doesn’t want to come out at her new school, but she can’t help crushing on Chinese American Bo, who is also queer and has no trouble speaking out about gay rights. Yami’s accustomed to being closeted—at least she was until her former best friend outed her at their public school. Often at odds with her judgmental, religious mother, Yami is closer to her father, who was deported to Mexico years ago. When she finds out that Cesar is bisexual, Yami fake dates his boyfriend, Jamal, to keep their mom in the dark. But after a night when she has too much to drink, Yami comes out to her dad via text. His response: silence that grows heavier with each passing day. Declining to accompany her mom and Cesar on a trip to visit their dad in Mexico, Yami stays with Bo instead. Meanwhile, as Yami juggles her lies (some outright, some of omission), Cesar is fighting a silent mental-health battle. Everything comes to a devastating halt when he survives a suicide attempt, and the family finds that honesty may pave a path toward healing. Featuring smart, imperfect, appealing characters, this novel explores the painful complexity of two queer teens navigating life in and out of the closet.  (Age 13 and older)

National Book Award Finalist * William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Walter Honor Award Winner * Pura Belpré Honor Book * Lambda Literary Award Winner for LGBTQ+ Young Adult

A sharply funny and moving debut novel about a queer Mexican American girl navigating Catholic school, while falling in love and learning to celebrate her true self. Perfect for fans of Erika L. Sánchez, Leah Johnson, and Gabby Rivera.

Sixteen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she’s gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way. 

After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and, most importantly, don’t fall in love. Granted, she’s never been great at any of those things, but that’s a problem for Future Yami. 

The thing is, it’s hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And talented. And cute. So cute. Either way, Yami isn’t going to make the same mistake again. If word got back to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. So she’ll have to start asking, WWSGD: What would a straight girl do? 

Told in a captivating voice that is by turns hilarious, vulnerable, and searingly honest, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School explores the joys and heartaches of living your full truth out loud.