ANDER & SANTI WERE HERE by Jonny Garza Villa, read by Avi Roque

Avi Roque gives a spirited and deeply emotional performance of Jonny Garza Villa’s queer love story. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this rich and lively audiobook for teens. Nonbinary Mexican American teen Ander is taking a gap year before college, focusing on their art and painting murals across San Antonio. When they fall in love with their family taqueria’s newest employee, an undocumented Mexican boy named Santi, it opens up their world in unexpected ways. Roque’s warm and musical narration is utter perfection, capturing Ander and Santi’s fear with vivid immediacy and infusing their voice with bubbly happiness at the thrill of building this new relationship. A hopeful listen that’s a heartbreaking, joyful love letter to queer Latinx communities. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Macmillan Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic podcast comes from audiobooks.com. Visit www.audiobooks.com/freeoffer for three free audiobooks with a trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices