School Library Journal
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Gr 9 Up-When a nun at her Catholic school confiscates and reads aloud in class a note to Laura Amores from another girl, declaring her love, the teen is kicked out of her school and her home. Soon after, Laura's devoted girlfriend yields to family pressure and accepts a marriage proposal. Abandoned, heartbroken, and confused, Laura takes refuge with another friend and struggles to find a home and identity in both the straight and the gay world. Her story isn't uncommon in the queer-teen-lit canon, but Dole's infusion of lively, spicy Cuban-American culture set against a hot Miami setting makes it rise above many other titles in the genre. While some of the action occasionally feels blunt and forced, Laura's unique, spunky attitude fleshes out the more dramatic bits and keeps the pages turning. Readers will relish the teen's descriptions of the food, fury, and passion that make up her life. Dole captivatingly colors Laura and her entourage with a rainbow of multicultural dialects, bits of Spanish, and slang. Teens will cheer for Laura in her struggle to find herself and a family.-Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly
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Laura Amores is a tortillera--slang for "lesbian" in Miami's Cuban-American social scene, and a term either of endearment or a slur, depending on who is using it. But once Laura's secret is out, a tortillera is all Laura seems to be--to her mother, the nuns at her Catholic school and even some friends. Laura is thrown out of school and even from her house: "I'm sorry, Laura, but I can't continue loving you if you stay gay," Mami says as she literally pushes her daughter out the door. Luckily, Laura meets "bois" who introduce her to Miami's Cuban gay scene, and her best friend shares her home and family, unconditionally. Laura remains reluctant to accept her gay identity, however, and her exploration of possible relationships--with a boi, a "delicious" young woman and a boy she dates in hope of restoring herself to her mother's good graces--form the main arc of this honest, intense and at times moving romance. Using Spanish colloquialisms and slang, this debut author pulls off the tricky task of dialect in a manner that feels authentic. As Dole tackles a tough and important topic, her protagonist will win over a range of teen audiences, gay and straight. Ages 14-up. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

After Cuban American teen Laura is forced out of the closet, her community rejects her as "revolting." While rebuilding her life, Laura comes to terms with herself. Dole's heart-on-sleeve style veers toward melodrama, and the secondary characters are very broadly painted, but the nuanced treatment of gender and cultural identity is welcome and refreshing. Glos. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* After being expelled from her Catholic school for being lesbian, Lauri, 17, is thrown out by her Cuban mom for being abnormal. Worst of all, Lauri's beloved partner, Marlena, leaves and does her family's bidding by marrying a man. Lauri gets a job and finds a home with her straight, black friend, Soli, and she begins to wonder if she can fall in love with a guy and regain her family and acceptance. At the same time she has her own prejudices to overcome. The dialogue is fast and funny in this debut novel, which is set in Miami's Cuban American community. Laura's first-person, present-tense narrative shows and tells the farce and the sorrow at home, and teens will recognize some of the traditional prejudices, as well as the joy of friendship and the happiness of real love (my smile barely fits in my face). Supportive precisely because it is laugh-out-loud irreverent (in one hilarious scene Laura and Soli mock their tacky quinces with their pink-ruffled gowns), this breakthrough novel is sure to be welcomed.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2008 Booklist

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A passionate girl loses her first love but finds community and self in this flashy debut with awkward prose but lots of heart. Laura and Marlena have been fervently in love for two years when a caricatured sadistic nun nabs a love letter and reads it aloud. Instantly expelled from school and home, Laura stays with friends and works full-time landscaping. Things are okay until Marlena, sent unwillingly back to Puerto Rico, marries a boy and redefines her long relationship with Laura as "sinful." Briefly faking (and attempting) heterosexuality to win back Mami's love and access to her little brother, Laura slowly admits she's a lesbian. Her chosen new family includes a sexually liberated best friend and a genderqueer boi. Miami is the lushly portrayed setting for this Cuban community. Dole's writing is frequently syrupy, unwieldy or exaggerated (too much laughing "hysterically"); however, it also encompasses humor and love for Cuban culture that run deeper than the enjoyable outrageousness of, for example, a pi¿ata full of "chocolate saints and teeny chocolate dicks." (glossary) (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.