From Military Brat to Edinburgh | Andrés N. Ordorica, How We Named the Stars

In this episode, Sergio and AGG meet with Andrés to discuss how nature plays a central theme in his book, our mutual frustration with the protagonist, reflect on the special bond he shared with his abuelo, the challenges of being queer, the need to leave one’s hometown, shares a valuable college tip and divulges his greatest fear on what he thinks may get him “canceled.”About the Author: @andres_ordoricaAndrés N. Ordorica (He/him) is a queer Latinx writer based in Edinburgh. Drawing on his family’s immigrant history and third culture upbringing, his writing maps the journey of diaspora and unpacks what it means to be from ni de aquí, ni de allá (neither here, nor there). He is the author of the poetry collection At Least This I Know and novel How We Named the Stars. He has been shortlisted for the Morley Lit Prize, the Mo Siewcharran Prize and the Saltire Society’s Poetry Book of The Year. In 2024, he was selected as one of The Observer’s 10 Best Debut Novelists in the UK.About the Book:  How We Named the StarsSet between the United States and México, Andrés N. Ordorica’s debut novel is a tender and lyrical exploration of belonging, grief, and first love―a love story for those so often written off the page. When Daniel de La Luna arrives as a scholarship student at an elite East Coast university, he bears the weight of his family’s hopes and dreams, and the burden of sharing his late uncle’s name. Daniel flounders at first―but then Sam, his roommate, changes everything. As their relationship evolves from brotherly banter to something more intimate, Daniel soon finds himself in love with a man who helps him see himself in a new light. But just as their relationship takes flight, Daniel is pulled away, first by Sam’s hesitation and then by a brutal turn of events that changes Daniel’s life forever.As he grapples with profound loss, Daniel finds himself in his family’s ancestral homeland in México for the summer, finding joy in this setting even as he struggles to come to terms with what’s happened and faces a host of new questions: How does the person he is connect with this place his family comes from? How is his own story connected to his late uncle’s? And how might he reconcile the many parts of himself as he learns to move forward?Equal parts tender and triumphant, Andrés N. Ordorica’s How We Named the Stars is a debut novel of love, heartache, redemption, and learning to honor the dead; a story of finding the strength to figure out who you are—and who you could be—if only the world would let you.Author Recommended Playlist:Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Hysteric Omar Apollo - En El OlvidoVicente Fernandez - Volver, VolverConnect with Los [email protected]@adriangaston.garcia@que_viva_sergio_lopezProduced by @CaandorLabs