Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2024
304 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Paperback Original.
Publication Information
Set between the United States and México, Andrés N. Ordorica's debut novel is a tender and lyrical exploration of belonging, grief, and first love—a love story for those so often written off the page.
When Daniel de La Luna arrives as a scholarship student at an elite East Coast university, he bears the weight of his family's hopes and dreams, and the burden of sharing his late uncle's name. Daniel flounders at first—but then Sam, his roommate, changes everything. As their relationship evolves from brotherly banter to something more intimate, Daniel soon finds himself in love with a man who helps him see himself in a new light. But just as their relationship takes flight, Daniel is pulled away, first by Sam's hesitation and then by a brutal turn of events that changes Daniel's life forever.
As he grapples with profound loss, Daniel finds himself in his family's ancestral homeland in México for the summer, finding joy in this setting even as he struggles to come to terms with what's happened and faces a host of new questions: How does the person he is connect with this place his family comes from? How is his own story connected to his late uncle's? And how might he reconcile the many parts of himself as he learns to move forward?
Equal parts tender and triumphant, Andrés N. Ordorica's How We Named the Stars is a debut novel of love, heartache, redemption, and learning to honor the dead; a story of finding the strength to figure out who you are—and who you could be—if only the world would let you.
"Dazzling... . a heartbreaking tale of a first-generation college student exploring his sexuality and roots while reckoning with grief. Ordorica portrays Daniel and Sam's encounters with tenderness and heat, and Daniel's aching and poignant narration... . is chock-full of wisdom."
―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Told with authenticity and compassion, this unconventional love story redefines notions of fraternity."
―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Ordorica delves into love and loss in two places and two times to powerful effect." ―Booklist
"Fiercely impassioned... .a haunting tribute to love and survival."
―Shelf Awareness
"A sensitive story of a first love, How We Named the Stars is a nuanced coming-of-age novel about hiding, heartbreak, and healing."
―Foreword Reviews
"Luxuriant and lyrical... . He has a master's grasp on the written word."
―Debutiful, a Most Anticipated Book of 2024
"Heartfelt."
―Alta Journal, A Best Book of January
"Dreamy... . Captivates from the get-go."
―Stylecaster, A Most Anticipated Book of 2024
This information about How We Named the Stars was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Andrés N. Ordorica is a queer Latinx poet, writer, and educator. Drawing on his family's immigrant history and his own third culture upbringing, his writing maps the journey of diaspora and unpacks what it means to be from ni de aquí, ni de allá (neither here, nor there). He is the author of the poetry collection At Least This I Know and currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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