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Pura Belpré Young Adult Honor 2022

“Tender, touching, hopeful, and hilarious; enthusiastically recommended for all collections.”
—School Library Journal  (Starred Review)

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun

Written by Jonny Garza Villa
Published by Amazon Publishing

Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate. Get into UCLA. And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life.

Then in one reckless moment, with one impulsive tweet, his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet. The downside: the whole world knows, and Jules has to prepare for rejection. The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self.

Then Mat, a cute, empathetic Twitter crush from Los Angeles, slides into Jules’s DMs. Jules can tell him anything. Mat makes the world seem conquerable. But when Jules’s fears about coming out come true, the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away. Jules has to face them alone.

Jules accidentally propelled himself into the life he’s always dreamed of. And now that he’s in control of it, what he does next is up to him.

Primary ISBN: 9781542027052
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook
Young Adult, Age 13 or older

Community Represented: ,

Themes: , , , , , , ,

Setting: United States

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Unknown Arrival

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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