This book is amazing and really made me fall in love with all the characters and their love for each other.

I found myself getting extremely homesick from all the great descriptions of El Paso and it's culture.
I would definitely recommend for anyone who wants to read an amazing book with great characters.

Part coming of age story, part queer slow-burn romance where the real treasure was the friends we fell in love with along the way. The first person stream of consciousness writing truly transports the reader into the unfortunately relatable mindset of an angsty, repressed teenager. This book was way more melancholy than I expected it would be, but I ate it right up with its bite-size chapters.

Took off a star because the dialogue was written in a very bare bones way, and it was hard to follow who was speaking during back-and-forth conversations.

There are books that I love, and then there are obsessions ... this book falls very definitely in with the obsessions. I am in love with this book, with Ari, with Dante and the beautiful story that effortlessly weaved its way into the workings of my heart ... evocative, profound and simply lovely. This is a very special book ...

I actually listen to this in audiobook format. Lin-Manuel Miranda is perfect and the narration is poetic and exceptionally well done (highly recommended). I literally could not put this book down and it came with me everywhere ...

Words escape me when it comes to describing this book. I was profoundly moved by the beauty and emotion so powerfully portrayed in this brilliant coming of age love story. I identified strongly with each of the MCs and their struggles with identity ... and I had a huge amount of compassion and affection for them. The prose is exceptional -- a bouquet for the heart, the senses and the soul. It was able to heal the small frayed edges of my soul with a special brand of beauty that can only be found in the wide open spaces of the desert, the sweet falling rain, the flight of bird song and the majestic night sky ... images and themes effortlessly pieced together into a tapestry colourful and so full of life and love ... I loved this book!

I particularly loved the themes of diversity, identity, discovery and acceptance. Those resonated deeply with me. The book sensitively addresses issues of sexual and gender orientation without coming across as preachy, clichéd or mundane. Though not specifically talked about ... Ari (narrator) in particular came across as not only liking boys, but possibly being somewhere on the asexual/aromantic spectrum and possibly non-binary gender as well? I liked that a lot because you do not really see it very often and when it is, it's rarely done well. LGBT+ representation (particularly aro-ace) is much needed and it's refreshing to see (even if it is only hinted at vague). I doubt very much that Ari will turn out to be ace in the second book but it's a lovely head-canon and his story is meaningful for those that are ace but don't really have books to read that reflect their experience of attraction ...

This is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. My heart is full and I’m drying my eyes as I set it down x

I loved this book.