title: The Fall of Whit Rivera
author: Crystal Maldonado
date: Holiday House; 6 Sept 2023
main character: Whit Rivera
YA Latinx romcom

Whit Rivera, a bisexual Latinx teen, has spent the summer between her junior and senior year saying goodbye to her boyfriend, who moved to a different city, and visiting doctor’s office after doctor’s office to get a diagnosis for her medical condition. Her moods are as unpredictable as her periods, and she can’t control her weight gain. She’s finally diagnosed with a disease that can almost be treated but can’t be cured. In the book, she’s coming to terms with the disease, figuring out how to handle its symptoms, and learning whether she can trust others knowing that she has a long-term illness. She’s falling in and out of love, starting a new job, and trying to get the most out of her senior year. It’s right here in high school where this young Latinx woman become part of the capitalist grind, minimizing sleep and rest so that she can maximize productivity.

This is a romcom book, though, and Whit is filled with enough positive energy to have the best fall season ever. Maldonado provides Whit with a warm, loving family, and friends who are kind and honest. This cast of characters supports each other through the ups and downs of this fall season. I’ve always enjoyed romance novels, despite the silly formula that most of them seem to follow. Maldonado doesn’t do that: she lets the story remain sweet and fun. While this is your basic boy/girl romance, there’s queer love too. There’s also sincere love between family members, especially between Whit and her younger sister, Lily, who has autism. Whit has a hard time realizing that Lily, now a freshman in high school, doesn’t need her constant hovering. This storyline becomes central to one of the book’s messages: to let people have the freedom to be themselves. And that works, except when it doesn’t.

First, there’s the ableist language. From ‘idiot’ to ‘neurotic’ to ‘dummy’, this language ruins the positive messaging intended for people with disabilities.

Whit is infatuated with all things fall, particularly her school’s fall festival. In being elected president of the fall festival, she’s able to plan events for this annual homecoming week. She wants to open the homecoming court so that everyone, regardless of their gender orientation or sexual identity, can qualify for the court. The idea is easily accepted, but in the ARC that I read, the heads of the court are still called ‘king’ and ‘queen’. “There’s one last thing,” Whit says as she suggests, “so, while we’re making changes to the homecoming court, I’d like to propose adding an additional couple of honorees called nobility to the court. I was thinking these spots could honor some of the students at our school who are part of our special education program.” (p. 112) Why can’t special needs students be ‘king’ and queen’? Why not open up the qualifications so that the existing court positions are completely inclusive? Dishonoring these students in such a way distracts from the book’s message that people with disabilities are capable of living a full life, and they should be accepted and honored for that.

The Fall of Whit Rivera is a cute romance that comes up short.

Crystal Maldonado is a young adult author romcoms for fat, brown girls. Her previous novels include Fat Chance, Charlie Vega, and No Filter and Other Lies,