The book team here at THP is floored by how many books we’ve gotten to review in the first month of 2024 alone! We get to do what we love; we love what we do, so we are not complaining.
Today, we’re bringing you James Ramos’s sophomore YA novel. If you’ve followed us for a long time, you’ll know we loved their debut novel, The Wrong Kind of Weird. And now they’re back with Daniel, Deconstructed.
Daniel, Deconstructed by James Ramos is an incredible addition to our library, and we’ll tell you all about it. Here are three of our favorite things about Daniel, Deconstructed!
Book Overview
Summary: Photographer and film buff Daniel Sanchez learned a long time ago that the only way to get by in an allistic world is to mask his autism and follow the script. Which means he knows that boisterous, buff, and beautiful soccer superstars like his best friend, Mona Sinclair, shouldn’t be wasting time hanging out with introverts who prefer being behind the camera.
So when Daniel meets a new classmate, Gabe Mendes, who is tall, mysterious, nonbinary, and—somehow—as cool as Mona, Daniel knows exactly how this is going to play out. Mona and Gabe will meet cute, win their nominations for Homecoming Court, and ride off into the sunset together. Daniel just needs to do a little behind-the-scenes directing.
But matchmaking means stepping into the mystifying and illogical world of love, dating, and relationships, where nothing is as it seems and no one knows their lines. And when Daniel finds himself playing a starring role in this romance, he’ll question everything he thought he knew about himself and his place in the world.
Autism Representation
As far as we can remember, James Ramos’s Daniel, Deconstructed is the first novel we’ve read with an autistic protagonist. We loved being able to peer into the mind of a character with autism written by an author with autism. From learning about terms like stimming, masking, and decompressing to understanding Daniel’s interpretation of social situations, Daniel’s inner monologue has been nothing short of enlightening. We’d recommend this book to everyone we know!
LGBTQIA+ Representation
Not only do we get some much-needed autism representation in Daniel, Deconstructed, but there are also multiple well-rounded LGBTQIA+ main characters! Daniel’s love interest, Gabe, is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. Gabe and Daniel both consider themselves to be pansexual. When Daniel introduces Gabe to his family, he gives his whole family notecards so they don’t forget Gabe’s pronouns. Which, if you ask us, is the most endearing thing ever. Spoiler alert: Mona, Daniel’s bisexual best friend, would later tell him that she’s also aromantic and that that’s why most of her past relationships didn’t work out.
The Film Details
Another thing we love about Daniel, Deconstructed is how it incorporates different photography and film elements to the story. Daniel loves being behind the camera, and that’s where he can feel most like himself. Many chapters open with explanations of film and photography components, like transitions, techniques, movie tropes, etc. Daniel and Mona’s friendship has been built on their love for movies, so they reference Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Harrison Ford, and so much more.
With a lovable, diverse LGBTQIA+ cast, autism representation, and movie references, James Ramos’s Daniel, Deconstructed is a must-read!
Daniel, Deconstructed by James Ramos releases February 6th, and you can preorder a copy of it here!
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