Sonora Reyes

Sonora Reyes
BornArizona, USA
OccupationNovelist
LanguageEnglish
GenreYoung adult fiction
Notable worksThe Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
Website
sonorareyes.com

Sonora Reyes is an American author of young adult fiction.

Career

Reyes's debut, The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, was published by Balzer + Bray in May 2022.[1] The novel predominantly deals with homophobia,[2] and follows a teen girl as she develops her first crush on another girl who is open about her own queerness and speaks up against homophobic teachers.[3] Among other honors, the novel was a finalists for the 2022 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.[4]

Their sophomore novel, The Luis Ortega Survival Club, was published by Balzer + Bray in 2023.[5] The novel is about teenage girls who had nonconsensual sexual encounters and aim to expose the perpetrator together.[2] Reyes considers the book to be a personal revenge fantasy.[6]

In a 2023 interview with Publishers Weekly, Reyes stated they were working on an adult novel.[2]

Reyes is a queer second generation immigrant[7] and was born and raised in Arizona.[8] They went to Catholic school, which they say inspired their novels in terms of cathartically writing about what they experienced there.[2]

Reyes currently lives in Arizona. They are autistic[9] and use "they/them" pronouns.[6]

Awards and honors

The Chicago Public Library included The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School on their list of the best yound adult novels of 2022.[10] The following year, it was included on Young Adult Library Services Association's list of Teens' Top Ten.[11]

The Luis Oretga Survival Club is a Junior Library Guild book.[12]

Awards for Reyes's writing
Year Title Award Category Result Ref.
2022 The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School Goodreads Choice Award Young Adult Fiction Nominated [13]
National Book Award Young People's Literature Finalist [4][7]
2023 Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards Young Adult Fiction Finalist
Lambda Literary Award Young Adult Literature Won [14]
Pura Belpré Award Young Adult Author Honor [15][16]
Walter Dean Myers Award Teen Honor [17]
William C. Morris Award — Finalist [16][18]

Publications

  • —— (2022). The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School. Balzer + Bray. ISBN 9780063060234.
  • —— (2023). The Luis Ortega Survival Club. Balzer + Bray. ISBN 9780063060302.

References

  1. ^ "The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes". Publishers Weekly. 2022-04-07. Archived from the original on 2024-05-13. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  2. ^ a b c d Jones, Iyana. "Q & A with Sonora Reyes". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  3. ^ "I Wish I Had 'The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School' as a Teen". ELLE. 2022-06-01. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  4. ^ a b "National Book Award Finalists Announced". Shelf Awareness. 2022-10-05. Archived from the original on 2023-12-05. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  5. ^ "The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes". Publishers Weekly. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  6. ^ a b Comment, Amanda MacGregor Leave a (2023-05-22). "Hate Away, Friends, a guest post by Sonora Reyes". Teen Librarian Toolbox. Archived from the original on 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  7. ^ a b "Sonora Reyes". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  8. ^ "Latinx Heritage Month Opening Ceremony | Happening @ Michigan". events.umich.edu. 2023-09-19. Archived from the original on 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  9. ^ Reyes, Sonora [@SonoraReyes] (17 May 2020). "In honor of Avatar The Last Airbender getting put on Netflix, I figured now is as good a time as any to share all the reasons why I, an autistic person, believe Zuko from atla is autistic. There are a LOT of reasons, so get ready :) ATLA SPOILERS AHEAD (1/?)" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 April 2024 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Best Teen Fiction of 2022". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  11. ^ "2023 Teens' Top Ten Winners". Young Adult Library Services Association. American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  12. ^ "The Luis Ortega Survival Club". Junior Library Guild. Archived from the original on 2024-06-01. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  13. ^ "The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 2024-02-04. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  14. ^ Alquist, Pierce (2023-06-12). "2023 Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced". BOOK RIOT. Archived from the original on 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  15. ^ "Pura Belpré Award". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 2021-03-24. Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  16. ^ a b Roback, Diane; Kantor, Emma; Jones, Iyana (2023-01-30). "Luqman-Dawson, Salati, and Tahir Win Newbery, Caldecott, Printz Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  17. ^ Jones, Iyana (2023-01-10). "2023 Walter Dean Myers Awards Announced". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  18. ^ "Morris Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2012-02-27. Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-01.

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