review: Fireblooms

Title: Fireblooms
Author: Alexandra Villasante
Date: Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Random House; Sept 2025
Main characters: Sebastian Ascencio and Lu Hernandez
Latine/x; LGBTQIA+; speculative fiction; romance; YA

I liked the way Alexandra Villasante teased my distrust for futuristic societies in this work of speculative fiction as she challenged me to trust everyone in the story except Sebas. Or, maybe that’s just my take? Maybe I’ve been jaded! This story embraces such a sweet little utopia! Could that be a reality? Maybe I can’t trust it because of what I bring to it, and the same can be said for Sebas’ unwillingness to take the phone, to accept the TECH, and to get with the program. He doesn’t seem to trust it, either.

Fireblooms is told in the alternating voices of Sebastian Ascencio (Sebas; he/him) and Lu Hernandez (they/them/theirs). Sebas has temporarily moved to high-tech endowed New Gault to attend high school, sign up for all TECH has to offer, and to care for his estranged mother while she battles cancer. Lu is assigned to be Sebas’ ambassador and to acquaint him to the school.

Sebastian doesn’t want to sign up for anything.

All the TECH stuff is exactly why Lu wants to be at New Gault. They find safety in the way TECH limits the number of words that can be spoken, monitors interactions to eliminate threats and bullying, and provides no-cost services (including meals) for high school students throughout the town. Using English profanity costs heavily, while Spanish words don’t cost at all. There’s just something there in not recognizing Spanish, in deeming it invisible. Villasante provides social commentary throughout the book in a light and consistent manner, furthering my trust in the characters more than the setting.  

Sebas is soon in a situation that seems to be forcing him to accept the TECH tools. He seems to like Lu, and they seem to like him. In helping him feel accepted at the school, Lu brings Sebas into their group of friends, and we watch the four testing their friendships, working to build trust, and coming to recognize their love for each other.

I’m not one to get overly emotional while reading a book yet, I found myself laughing out loud one moment and crying the next. This utopia, with its free meals for students, name tags, and continuous positivity, along with the ways Lu and Sebas work to provide space for each other, makes for such a tender story.

I was able to pick up a copy of Firebloom at ALA Annual from Alexandra’s publisher. She is quite approachable at conferences, where you’ll find her adorned with the cutest haircut, while supporting marginalized authors more than promoting her own work. She does it all to be sure young readers can find themselves in books.

Alexandra’s debut novel, The Grief Keeper won the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQIA+ Children’s Literature/Young Adult Fiction and was a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection. Alexandra is a member of Las Musas, a collective of Latinx children’s book creators, and a co-founder of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival. She is the program manager for the Highlights Foundation, which supports children’s book writers and illustrators. Alexandra currently lives in Pennsylvania with her family. You can find her on  Instagram at @magpiewrites.

content warning: a relative of one of the characters dies during the story.

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