The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes

The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar

Sonora Reyes

HarperCollins · Hardcover · September 16, 2025

2026 Schneider Family Book Awards Honor "This is Sonora Reyes at their absolute best." — Aiden Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys From bestselling author Sonora Reyes comes a poignant and searingly honest companion novel to the multi-award-winning The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, following beloved character Cesar Flores as he comes to terms with his sexuality, his new bipolar diagnosis, and more mistakes than he can count.

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Who it’s for
A serious, emotionally tuned YA read with romance and school-life texture.
Genres
Mental Illness for Teens, YA Romance - LGBTQ+, Faith & Belief
Published
HarperCollins, September 16, 2025

About this book

2026 Schneider Family Book Awards Honor "This is Sonora Reyes at their absolute best." — Aiden Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys From bestselling author Sonora Reyes comes a poignant and searingly honest companion novel to the multi-award-winning The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, following beloved character Cesar Flores as he comes to terms with his sexuality, his new bipolar diagnosis, and more mistakes than he can count.

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Seventeen-year-old Cesar Flores is finally ready to win back his ex-boyfriend. Since breaking up with Jamal in a last-ditch effort to stay in the closet, he’s come out to Mami, his sister, Yami, and their friends, taken his meds faithfully, and gotten his therapist’s blessing to reunite with Jamal. Everything would be perfect if it weren’t for The Thoughts—the ones that won’t let all his Catholic guilt and internalizations stay buried where he wants them. The louder they become, the more Cesar is once again convinced that he doesn't deserve someone like Jamal—or anyone really. Cesar can hide a fair amount of shame behind jokes and his “gifted” reputation, but when a manic episode makes his inner turmoil impossible to hide, he’s faced with a stark choice: burn every bridge he has left or, worse—ask for help. But is the mortifying vulnerability of being loved by the people he’s hurt the most a risk he’s willing to take?

Why It Clicks

A serious, emotionally tuned YA read with romance and school-life texture.

Come here for

  • romance-forward YA
  • school-and-friendship energy

Expect

  • LGBTQ+ YA voice
  • teen feelings with a toolkit feel

Where it sits

Mental Illness for Teens55%
YA Romance - LGBTQ+50%
Faith & Belief32%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • YA Family Stories
  • YA LGBTQ+
  • Hispanic & Latino YA
  • YA Romance - LGBTQ+
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Depression for Teens
  • Emotions & Feelings for Teens
  • Mental Illness for Teens
  • Faith & Belief
Authors
Sonora Reyes
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
September 16, 2025
Format
Hardcover
Reading lane
YA Family Stories