Sonora Reyes

Sonora Reyes
Born
Arizona, U.S.
OccupationNovelist
LanguageEnglish
GenreYoung adult fiction
Notable worksThe Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
Notable awardsLambda Literary Award (2023)
Website
sonorareyes.com

Sonora Reyes is an American author of young adult fiction best known for their debut novel The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, which won a Lambda Literary Award.

Career

Reyes's debut novel, 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 finalist for the 2022 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.[4] The Chicago Public Library included The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School on their list of the best young adult novels of 2022.[5] The following year, it was included on Young Adult Library Services Association's list of Teens' Top Ten.[6]

Their sophomore novel, The Luis Ortega Survival Club, was published by Balzer + Bray in 2023.[7] The novel is about teenage girls who band together to expose the perpetrator of several sexual assaults.[2] Reyes considers the book to be a personal revenge fantasy.[8] The Luis Oretga Survival Club is a Junior Library Guild book.[9] In the same year, they contributed a short story to Transmogrify! 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic.

In 2025, Reyes released The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar that focuses on the character Cesar Flores, who appeared in The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School.[10] One of their stories was also included in For the Rest of Us: 13 Festive Holiday Stories to Celebrate All Seasons.

Their first adult novel, The Broposal, was published in 2025.[11]

On January 5, 2026, they announced they'd be starting a podcast about "queer and trans BIPOC authors and stories, and maybe do a little oversharing about the publishing industry." with fellow author Jonny Garza Villa. The first episode will air on February 3.[12]

Personal life

Reyes was born and raised in Arizona.[13] They are of Mexican descent.[14] They went to Catholic school, which they say inspired their novels in terms of writing about what they experienced there.[2]

Reyes currently lives in Arizona. They are autistic[15] and use they/them pronouns.[8]

Awards and honors

Year Title Award Category Result Ref.
2022 The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School Goodreads Choice Award Young Adult Fiction Nominated [16]
National Book Award Young People's Literature Finalist [4][17]
2023 Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards Young Adult Fiction Finalist
Lambda Literary Award Young Adult Literature Won [18]
Pura Belpré Award Young Adult Author Honor [19][20]
Walter Dean Myers Award Teen Honor [21]
William C. Morris Award — Finalist [20][22]

Publications

  • —— (2022). The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School. Balzer + Bray. ISBN 9780063060234.
  • —— (2023). The Luis Ortega Survival Club. Balzer + Bray. ISBN 9780063060302.
  • Reyes, Sonora (2023). "Halloween Love". Transmogrify! 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic. ISBN 9780063218796.
  • Reyes, Sonora (2025). The Broposal. ISBN 9781538766705.
  • Reyes, Sonora (2025). For the Rest of Us: 13 Festive Holiday Stories to Celebrate All Seasons. ISBN 9780063351783.

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 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. ^ "Best Teen Fiction of 2022". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ "The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes". Publishers Weekly. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "The Luis Ortega Survival Club". Junior Library Guild. Archived from the original on 2024-06-01. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  10. ^ Dumpleton, Elise (2025-09-16). "Q&A: Sonora Reyes, Author of 'The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar'". The Nerd Daily. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
  11. ^ The Broposal. 2024-05-06. ISBN 978-1-5387-6670-5.
  12. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ Dumpleton, Elise (2025-09-16). "Q&A: Sonora Reyes, Author of 'The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar'". The Nerd Daily. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 2024-02-04. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  17. ^ "Sonora Reyes". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "Morris Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2012-02-27. Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-01.

Ext

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