How We Named the Stars

"Ordorica constructs the world of the novel with unrelenting care, weaving together the beauty of love with the beauty of the natural world" New York Times

"Debut novelist Ordorica's tender coming-of-age novel is styled as a heart-rending letter written after a first love ends in tragedy" Washington Post, Best Books of January

"Daniel de La Luna is a first-generation Mexican college student carrying the dreams of his family as he matriculates into a well-known university in the East Coast. Struggling to adjust to this new environment he finds solace in his roommate Sam, who helps Daniel discover what love for him could look like." Today Show, Best News Books of 2024

"Majestic" Eduardo C Corral, author of Guillotine

"Radiant and deeply moving novel about the beauty and pain of love–for our partners, our families, and ourselves. An impressive emotional tour de force, and an extraordinary debut." Christopher Castellani, author of Leading Men

"Dazzling ... a heartbreaking tale ... chock-full of wisdom" Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Told with authenticity and compassion, this unconventional love story redefines notions of fraternity" Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"Ordorica delves into love and loss in two places and two times to powerful effect." Booklist

"Andrés N. Ordorica has written an intimate, necessary story of first love, first loss, and the promise of new beginnings. This empowering novel is required reading for anyone struggling to uncover their most authentic self." Zak Salih, author of Let's Get Back to the Party

"How We Named the Stars is a novel of first love and last rites. Ordorica captures perfectly the challenges of building a life out of experience, out of allowing ourselves to feel everything. A beautiful tale of friendship and the comfort found in stories of the past and in the arms of elders, living and dead." Richard Mirabella, author of Brother & Sister Enter the Forest

"Andrés N. Ordorica has captured the crushing isolation of navigating an elite college for the first time, all while experiencing a powerful, yet unattainable first love ... This novel is an extended meditation on the relationship between joy and grief, and how it can bind and heal both a life and a family." Analicia Sotelo, author of Virgin

"Love and loss, freedom and security, sex and identity." Andrés N. Ordorica's How We Named the Stars explores the desires and fears that live within us, that surface despite our attempts to tame or quiet them ... The story of Daniel and Sam will be with us for years to come." Eloisa Amezcua, author of Fighting Is Like a Wife