SuitabookThe Lesbiana’s Guide To Catholic School
Sonora Reyes
- Reading
- Consider checking in before and after sections involving outing, prejudice, deportation or possible family rejection. Let the reader choose whether to discuss personal parallels, and focus conversation on consent, support and safety.
- Themes
- Identity and disclosure: Yami is questioning her sexuality after being outed, then manages secrecy and the possibility of telling others at school and at home. The story treats concealment as emotionally overwhelming and presents disclosure as connected to safety, support and personal choice rather than a simple obligation.
- Prejudice and belonging: Yami enters a wealthier, mostly White Catholic school where she experiences casual racism and encounters attitudes hostile to queer identities. Prejudice is presented as harmful and as an antagonistic force, while the story also includes queer friendship and acceptance.
- Family separation and responsibility: Yami’s father was deported years earlier; she remains close to her brother and becomes involved in helping him conceal a hidden part of his life. Family love and loyalty are valued, but separation, secrecy and conflicting expectations create strain and difficult responsibilities.
- Worth knowing
- Expect direct engagement with homophobia, coming out, concealment, casual racism and fear of rejection at home or school. Deportation-related family separation, bullying, grief, anxiety and romantic feelings are also present.