Ander & Santi Were Here

February 1, 2023
Explores love and growing up viewed through artistic lenses. Ander is a nonbinary Mexican teen who's currently working at his family's restaurant on the Westside of San Antonio. They've decided to take the year before entering the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to dedicate themself to their art, including pursuing a youth residency through Beautify Not Gentrify, a local organization. What's not so great is that their parents consider it more of a year off without purpose. Tired of feeling like they have to prove themself to their parents and dominant society through the authenticity and validity of their artistic expression, Ander often seeks comfort in their best friends, a tightknit group of queer teens who are often the highlights of the scenes in which they appear. From the beginning, Ander is aware of the huge impact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its politics have had in their community, but so far, it has never hit very close to home. This changes when they become involved with Santiago, an undocumented teen from Mexico. Suddenly even their sense of self becomes shaken as they start to reconsider everything around them. Although the young couple's relationship is loving, the pace initially moves very slowly, making it difficult to sustain readers' interest. However, the close friendships help bind the narrative together. A relevant coming-of-age journey for patient readers. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 13, 2023
U.S. immigration policies complicate a relationship between two queer San Antonio, Tex., teens in this fervent drama by Garza Villa (Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun). When not working at their tita’s taqueria, called Lupe’s, 19-year-old nonbinary Mexican American artist Ander Martínez spends their time painting murals throughout the neighborhood. After they spot new hire Santiago taking a selfie with one of Ander’s creations, they’re immediately drawn to him. Despite Ander’s mother’s protestations against the teens getting involved, Ander and Santi pursue a blissful romantic relationship, one that allows Ander to open up about conflicting feelings surrounding their art and future goals. Following a harrowing run-in with ICE agents, Ander worries about what Santi’s undocumented status could mean for their relationship. As Ander and Santi try to figure out what comes next for them, a devastating incident threatens to separate them for good. Through the teens’ tender courtship and Ander’s identity exploration, as depicted through descriptions of their unapologetically queer and Mexican art, Garza Villa provides a critical examination of government surveillance and its effect on immigrant residents in this blistering tale of enduring love and communal care. Ages 14–up. Agent: Claire Draper, Bent Agency.

Starred review from March 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Nineteen-year-old Mexican American artist Ander, who is nonbinary and gay, is taking a gap year off before they enroll in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Instead, they are staying in San Antonio, having accepted a residency with an organization called Beautify Not Gentrify, which has them painting murals all over the city. "Everything about the art I get to do feels like me: Mexican, queer, and done in a way that's loudly and proudly both," they say. And yet they're conflicted; their adviser at SAIC tokenizes them, insisting that they only paint work with Mexican motifs, but Ander refuses to be put into a box. And then they meet Santi, the new waiter at their family's restaurant, and it's love at first sight. And there is no conflict here, for Santi returns their love. With both Santi and making art to love, Ander's life is perfect until they learn that Santi is undocumented and is then taken by ICE agents to be sent back to Mexico. Ander cannot imagine a life without Santi, but what are they to do? In Santi, Garza Villa has done a superb job of verisimilitude, taking their readers into the precarious life and circumstances of an undocumented teen. Too, the love between the two teens is beautifully realized without a false note, proving that Garza Villa is as much an artist as Ander.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 20, 2023

Gr 10 Up-An emotional romance about claiming the life and love you want. Ander Mart�nez, a nonbinary 19-year-old living in San Antonio, TX, has taken a gap year between high school and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to create stunning murals celebrating their neighborhood. They plan to spend the year defining their artistic style while working at their family's taqueria, but things change when they fall hard for new waiter Santiago L�pez Alvarado. What Ander doesn't know is that Santi is undocumented, and lives with the threat of ICE agents tearing him away from the life he's built for himself in Texas. Ander and Santi's budding relationship is a whirlwind of ecstatic highs and tragic lows that carries with it the intensity and fierceness of a new love. The novel skillfully captures the nuance of Ander's struggle to define themself as an artist while facing the racist stereotypes of their future college adviser. VERDICT A hopeful queer love story that is grounded by the complexities of the protagonists' struggle to stay together. Recommended for purchase.-Emily Yates

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.