This Is Why They Hate Us

By: Aaron H. Aceves

Narrated by: Alejandro Ruiz

Enrique “Quique” Luna has one goal this summer—get over his crush on Saleem Kanazi by pursuing his other romantic prospects. Never mind that he’s only out to his best friend, Fabiola. Never mind that he has absolutely zero game. And definitely forget the fact that good and kind and, not to mention, beautiful Saleem is leaving LA for the summer to meet a girl his parents are trying to set him up with. Luckily, Quique’s prospects are each intriguing in their own ways.

There’s stoner-jock Tyler Montana, who might be just as interested in Fabiola as he is in Quique; straitlaced senior-class president, Ziggy Jackson; and Manny Zuniga, who keeps looking at Quique like he’s carne asada fresh off the grill. With all these choices, Quique is sure to forget about Saleem in no time.

But as the summer heats up and his deep-seated fears and anxieties boil over, Quique soon realizes that getting over one guy by getting under a bunch of others may not have been the best laid plan and living his truth can come at a high cost.

©2022 Aaron H. Aceves (P)2022 Dreamscape Media, LLC

This is why I love “This is Why They Hate Us”

Honestly I can’t remember the last time I read a book that made me feel as seen as “This is Why They Hate Us” managed to. As a Queer, LatinX man, Quique’s struggles with his mental health and his identity struck a cord in me that I have been searching for in my literature for years. Knowing that this is a debut novel, I’m very excited to see what Aceves does in the future to make me happy/sad cry like this did.

Couldn’t stop listening!

From the voice acting to the sorry itself, this was such a great read! Definitely wouldn’t mind a sequel

This story hit all the feels

absolutely amazing story with representation. narration was absolutely amazing. everything about this was perfect

World of Quique

Loved it. If you’ve been a bi teenage boy, this is for us! The complex and related world of Quique is bursting with love, laughter and heart!

Pleasantly surprised

I purchased this book in honor of pride month to help support more queer authors. Even though I normally read a lot of MM romance books, it was still very different than any other books I have read. I was captivated by Enrique’s story and it touched on so many subjects and experiences far outside of my own world. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. I only wish we had more of Saleem in the book too, especially at the end.

Additionally, the audiobook narrator did an excellent job, he made all the voices sound distinct and a pleasure to listen too.