How We Named The Stars - Andrés N. Ordorica

This novel will break your heart and then patch it over with love. The relationship between Daniel and his Grandfather is more beautiful than I can explain. The descriptions of Mexico are stunning in their simplicity. A tender coming of age story that will make you ache. I cried so hard for Sam and Daniel.

"Hearing you say my name was a way of seeing myself as I had never seen myself … you gave my name new meaning, new weight."

From the back

Nerdy and shy, scholarship student Daniel de La Luna arrives at college nervous to meet his golden-haired, athletic roommate, whose Facebook photos depict a boy just like those who made Daniel’s school years hell.

Sam Morris is not what he had imagined, though. As the two settle into college life they drink tequila under the stars, go on long runs through snow-covered hills, explore freshman nightlife, and inch closer until they find themselves in love.

But their blissful first year is over all too soon. Daniel’s summer in his ancestral homeland of México becomes a rollercoaster of revelations, before his life is brutally upended by the unimaginable.

How We Named the Stars is a tale of love, heartache and learning to honour the dead. Daniel and Sam will leave you forever changed.