This Is Why They Hate Us
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4.5 • 47 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
This “hilariously chaotic and profound” (Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End) summer romp is Netflix’s Never Have I Ever meets What If It’s Us about a high school senior determined to get over his unrequited feelings for his best friend by getting under someone else.
Enrique “Quique” Luna has one goal this summer—get over his crush on Saleem Kanazi by pursuing his other romantic prospects. Never mind that he’s only out to his best friend, Fabiola. Never mind that he has absolutely zero game. And definitely forget the fact that good and kind and, not to mention, beautiful Saleem is leaving LA for the summer to reunite with a girl his parents are trying to set him up with.
Luckily, Quique’s prospects are each intriguing in their own ways. There’s stoner-jock Tyler Montana, who might be just as interested in Fabiola as he is in Quique; straitlaced senior class president, Ziggy Jackson; and Manny Zuniga, who keeps looking at Quique like he’s carne asada fresh off the grill. With all these choices, Quique is sure to forget about Saleem in no time.
But as the summer heats up and his deep-seated fears and anxieties boil over, Quique soon realizes that getting over one guy by getting under a bunch of others may not have been the best laid plan and living his truth can come at a high cost.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Aceves's debut balances brash humor and fumbling first loves in an East L.A. narrative that places serious significance on mental health. Bisexual, Mexican American Enrique "Quique" Lunahas, 17, has been head over heels for one of his closest friends, Palestinian Saleem, also 17, for as long as they've known each other. But Saleem remains oblivious, so when he heads to New Jersey for part of the summer, Quique vows to get over him. His solution? With the help of his best friend, Afro-Latina Fabiola, find a new man. He has three prospects: white jock Tyler Montana, seemingly straight biracial (Black/white) Sigmund "Ziggy" Jackson, and Latinx-cued bad boy Manny Zuniga. But as the varying dynamics evolve and Quique's feelings for Saleem deepen, Quique must also decide whether to come out to his family and Saleem, all while his suicidal ideation grows. Quique's summer drags him through from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other as typical teenage romantic flings juxtapose with a far more serious internal arc. Jokes land and humorous banter abounds among the quirky, distinctively limned cast, but Aceves avoids a shallow flight from boy to boy, granting the romantic and sexual exploration by queer youth of color the gravitas it deserves. Ages 14–up.
