How we named the stars

First Title Value for Searching:

Personal Author:

Ordorica, Andrés N. (Andrés Nicolás)

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Physical Description:

xiii, 286 pages ; 22 cm.

General Note:

"Reader's guide inside"--Page 4 of cover.

Genre:

Queer fiction.

Bildungsromans.

Summary:

"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 Mexico for the summer, facing a host of new questions: What will Ithaca mean without Sam? How does the person he is connect with this place his family comes from? 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"--

Subject Term:

Male college students -- Fiction.

Gay men -- Fiction.

Life change events -- Fiction

Publication Info:

Portland, Oregon : Tin House, 2024.

Subject:

Male college students -- Fiction.

Gay men -- Fiction.

Life change events -- Fiction

New York (State) -- Fiction.

Mexico -- Fiction.

Queer fiction.

Bildungsromans.

Men college students

Gay males

Gay people, Male

Homosexual males

Homosexual men

Homosexuals, Male

Male gay people

Male homosexuals

Urnings

Nyu Yorḳ (State)

NYS

Niyū Yūrk (State)

Nʹi͡u-Ĭork (State)

Shtat Nʹi͡u Ĭork

State of New York

State of N. York

NY (State)

N.Y. (State)

N. York (State)

نيويورك (State)

ولاية نيويورك

Wilāyat Niyū Yūrk

Штат Нью-Ёрк

Нью-Ёрк (State)

Ню Йорк (State)

Nova York (State)

С̧ӗнӗ Йорк (State)

Śĕnĕ Ĭork (State)

Efrog Newydd (State)

Kin Yótʼááh Deezʼá Hahoodzo

Nííyóó Hahoodzo

New Yorgi osariik

Νέα Υόρκη (State)

Nea Yorkē (State)

Πολιτεία της Νέας Υόρκης

Politeia tēs Neas Yorkēs

Nueva York (State)

Estado de Nueva York

Nov-Jorkio

Ŝtato de Nov-Jorkio

État de New York

Nua-Eabhrac (State)

York Noa (State)

Eabhraig Nuadh (State)

Estado de Nova York

Néu-Yok (State)

Шин Йорк (State)

Shin Ĭork (State)

뉴욕 주

Nyuyok-ju

뉴욕 (State)

Nyuyok (State)

Nuioka (State)

Nú Yọk (State)

Tchiaq York (State)

New York Isifunda

New York-fylki

ניו יורק (State)

מדינת ניו יורק

Medinat Nyu Yorḳ

Stat Evrek Nowydh

Evrek Nowydh (State)

Nou Yòk (State)

Novum Eboracum (State)

N̦ujorka (State)

Niujorko valstija

Niujorkas (State)

Niorche (State)

Њујорк (State)

Njujork (State)

Yancuīc York (State)

ニューヨーク州

Nyū Yōku-shū

ニューヨーク (State)

Nyū Yōku (State)

Anáhuac

Estados Unidos Mexicanos

Maxico

Méjico

Mekishiko

Meḳsiḳe

Meksiko

Meksyk

Messico

Mexican United States

Mexique (Country)

República Mexicana

Stany Zjednoczone Meksyku

United Mexican States

United States of Mexico

מקסיקו

メキシコ

SAILS ISBN:

9781959030331

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Foxboro - Boyden Library	FIC ORDORICA	NEW FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mansfield Public Library	FIC ORDORICA	NEW BOOK SHELF	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mattapoisett Free Public Library	ORD	NEW FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... New Bedford Free Public Library	FIC ORDORICA	NEW FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Norfolk Public Library	F ORDORICA, A. HOW	NEW FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Wareham Free Library	F ORDORICA	FICTION	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

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.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Poet Ordorica (At Least This I Know) makes his fiction debut with a heartbreaking tale of a first-generation college student exploring his sexuality and roots while reckoning with grief. Daniel De La Luna, who is secretly gay and a virgin, enters the fictional Cayuga College in Ithaca, N.Y., feeling like an outsider. He finds some measure of acceptance from his "brutally attractive" roommate, soccer player Sam Morris, who is also in the closet, and who the reader learns early on will die during their first summer break (the circumstances are revealed later). On a camping trip, Daniel "overflow with desire" for Sam, but is afraid to make a move and thus ruin their friendship. They share a drunken kiss, after which Daniel is wracked by guilt, regret, and fear. He senses that "the man of his dreams is bound to break his heart," and an email from Sam at the end of freshman year does just that, as Sam suggests they break off contact because he's not ready to explore his sexuality any further. Daniel heads to Chihuahua, Mexico, for the summer, where he learns more about his late uncle who was out and proud, and whom he was named after. While there, Daniel begins dating the rich and handsome Diego, but this promising relationship hits the skids after Daniel learns of Sam's death. Another, equally devastating revelation causes Daniel to spiral. Ordorica portrays Daniel and Sam's encounters with tenderness and heat, and Daniel's aching and poignant narration, which seamlessly alternates between addressing the reader and speaking directly to Sam, is chock-full of wisdom. This is dazzling. Agent: Caro Clarke, Portobello. (Feb.)

Kirkus Review

A college romance between two closeted young men spirals into a border-crossing story of tragic death, family secrets, and unexpected revelations. Daniel Manuel de La Luna is the son of Mexican immigrants, a queer first-generation college student who's woefully inexperienced in love--he's described as a "naïve little cherub." Timid and excited but uncertain what to expect, Daniel encounters his first campus surprise in the form of his roommate, Sam Morris, an attractive, athletic legacy admission who turns out to be funny and kind. The two partake in the usual first-year activities, going to parties and struggling with academic pressure, but they also share a number of intimate moments, including a very amusing scene during a camping trip that involves raucous bonding, morning spooning, and involuntary tumescence. This all launches a precarious, tender, adventurous romance, until Sam pulls back and decides to join a frat. While its depiction of college life is appealing, the novel really takes off when Sam and Daniel part ways after freshman year, and Daniel returns to Mexico with his family. There, he learns of Sam's death (which is revealed in the book's first pages) and must confront his own desires, his family's past, and the truth about his namesake, an uncle named Daniel who was also gay. Ordorica cleverly intersperses excerpts from Tío Daniel's letters as epigraphs to each chapter like a series of breadcrumbs that lead readers to discover the truth themselves, drawing them into the novel's expertly depicted world. Told with authenticity and compassion, this unconventional love story redefines notions of fraternity. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

It's 2011 when freshmen Daniel and Sam, two uprooted Californians, meet as roommates at Cayuga University in Ithaca, New York. Daniel is a quiet and shy Mexican American nerd and a scholarship student. Sam is a gregarious and popular golden-boy athlete who helps Daniel navigate this intimidating world. Their friendship evolves into love, only to end in tragedy. Bereft, Daniel decides tell their love story, addressing his narrative to Sam in order to remember and hold close everything that happened between them before Sam's death. Each chapter records each month of that fateful year, with Daniel mulling over every detail and thought of their all-too-brief time together. His telling is deeply influenced by his summer trip to Mexico with his grandfather. There he learns about the uncle he's named after; another gay man who died too young. Excerpts from his uncle's diary documenting his experiences in the late 1980s preface each chapter with soulful ponderings about the challenges of living life openly. First-time novelist Ordorica delves into love and loss in two places and two times to powerful effect.