Contemporary Author Blog #2

Exploring the Budding Career of Jonny Garza Villa

Visit Jonny's Website! (9)

Who is Jonny Garza Villa?

Jonny Garza Villa (they/them) was born in Texas along the Gulf Coast and currently lives in the Alamo City, San Antonio. They used to be an unskilled baseball player, so they now spend time participating as a drag queen in the downtown drag shows of San Antonio. When they are not writing, they enjoy playing video games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Super Smash Bros. Jonny also enjoys cooking, listening to Selena Gomez, caring for their plant cacti (un-named), and rewatching their favorite seasons of Dimension20. (11)

Fifteen Hundred Miles From The Sun (7)

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun

Their debut novel, Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun, was a Pura Belpré Honor Book, a Finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters' Jean Flynn Award for Best Young Adult Book, and a Kirkus Best YA Fiction of 2021 selection (4). Lisa Krok of the School Library Journal writes, "Although parts of the story are heartbreaking and heavy, they are balanced with humor and hope, giving queer teens of color opportunities to see joy and love reflected back to them" (8).

Professional blogger Michelle posts book reviews several times per week on her blog, MagicalReads, the brainchild that evolved from her early love of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. She now uses the domain in her free time at college to read and review many different books of her choosing. She summarizes Villa’s book by saying, “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 of 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.” (10) Michelle continues her summary by saying, “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.” (10).

After her summary of it, Michelle writes on her blog that "Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun was an adorable story about finally getting to be yourself" (10).

Ander & Santi Were Here (12)

Ander & Santi Were Here

Ander & Santi Were Here was a Stonewall Honor Book, a Barnes & Noble YA Book Club selection, a LatineLit Bestseller, an AudioFile Earphone Award Winner, and named a Best Young Adult of 2023 selection by Bookshop.org and Audible (4). Publisher's Weekly proclaims it a "...blistering tale of enduring love and communal care" (3).

On her blog, Between The Shelves, which reviews and discusses many novels of the young adult genre, Amanda summarizes the story of Ander & Santi Were Here: "Working at their family’s taqueria in their home in San Antonio, Texas is all Ander has ever known. In fact, their home is what inspired them to be a muralist and to follow their dreams of becoming an artist. However, in order to make sure they make the best of their gap year between high school and college, their family 'fires' them. Now, they have the chance to focus on their art. Until Santi enters the picture. Santi, Ander’s replacement at the restaurant, inspires Ander to explore their identity as an artist. Makes them feel more like themselves." (1). 

Ultimately, Kirkus Reviews says that "the close friendships help bind the narrative together. A relevant coming-of-age journey for patient readers" (2). 

Canto Contigo

Canto Contigo (5)

Their third novel, Canto Contigo, will be released on April 9, 2024. As a look ahead, Macmillan Publishers summarizes the novel by briefly saying, "When a Mariachi star transfers schools, he expects to be handed his new group's lead vocalist spot—what he gets instead is a tenacious current lead with a very familiar, very kissable face. In a twenty-four-hour span, Rafael Alvarez led North Amistad High School’s Mariachi Alma de la Frontera to their eleventh consecutive first-place win in the Mariachi Extravaganza de Nacional and met, made out with, and almost hooked up with one of the cutest guys he’s ever met. What he didn’t plan for was his family moving to San Antonio before his senior year, forcing him to leave behind his group while dealing with the loss of the most important person in his life—his beloved Abuelo. Another hitch in his plan: The Selena Quintanilla-Perez Academy’s Mariachi Todos Colores already has a lead vocalist, Rey Chavez—the boy Rafie made out with—who now stands between him winning and being the great Mariachi Rafie's abuelo always believed him to be. Now, he must decide between the people he’s known his entire life or the one just starting to get to know the real him." (6).

My Reflection on Jonny Garza Villa:

After researching Jonny Garza Villa, I am pleased to know more about an influential artist and writer that I may not have otherwise discovered. Jonny serves as an excellent voice for the queer community, and for me, someone who is not of that ideology, it was equally as intriguing for me to learn more about this audience. As an aspiring teacher, expanding my horizons and learning about different perspectives will make me a more well-rounded teaching candidate, but more importantly, a more well-informed human. I read countless summaries of his books and was fascinated by the stories and themes he weaves into Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun and Ander & Santi Were Here. I hope to one day bring both of those stories into my classroom to accommodate students who want to feel comfortable knowing that they are not alone and for those who want to understand and appreciate different perspectives, just like myself. 

Works Cited

1. Amanda. Review: Ander & Santi Were Here. Between the Shelves. https://between-the-shelves.com/2023/03/review-ander-santi-were-here/.
2. “ANDER & SANTI WERE HERE.” Kirkus Reviews, vol. 91, no. 3, Feb. 2023, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=a3cf3eed-8f6d-3254-b5d9-9c9a05e99fa9.
3. “Ander & Santi Were Here.” Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 7, Feb. 2023, p. 71. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=08a4f914-bed8-3eb4-a1fb-04945052b363.
4. Books. Jonny Garza Villa. https://www.jonnygarzavilla.com/books.
5. Canto Contigo: A novel. Canto Contigo: A Novel | Amazon.com.br. https://www.amazon.com.br/Canto-Contigo-Jonny-Garza-Villa/dp/1250875757 
6. Canto Contigo. Macmillan Publishers. (2021, July 20). https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250875754/cantocontigo#:~:text=Canto%20Contigo%20is%20a%20love,in%20the%20most%20extraordinary%20ways
7. Fifteen Hundred Miles From The Sun: A novel. Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Fifteen-Hundred-Miles-Jonny-Garza/dp/1542027047.
8. Krok, Lisa. “Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun.” School Library Journal, vol. 67, no. 6, June 2021, pp. 68–69. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=c9c40a07-0653-34e8-82ef-aa056a788b84.
9. Local author Jonny Garza Villa to attend San Antonio Book festival. KSAT. (2023, April 12). https://www.ksat.com/video/features/2023/04/12/local-author-jonny-garza-villa-to-attend-san-antonio-book-festival/.  
10. Michelle. (2021, September 19). Review: Fifteen Hundred Miles From The Sun by Jonny Garza Villa. MagicalReads. https://magicalreads7.wordpress.com/2021/06/07/review-fifteen-hundred-miles-from-the-sun/.
11. Villa, J. G. About. Jonny Garza Villa. https://www.jonnygarzavilla.com/about.
12. Villa, J. G. Ander & Santi Were Here: A novel: Paperback. Barnes & Noble. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ander-santi-were-here-jonny-garza-villa/1142787321?ean=9781250323392.