How to Love You When You're Gone

by Gabriela Gonzales

For fans of Ann Liang and Lynn Painter, this humorous, relatable novel gives an honest look at what it’s like to fall in love for the first time—while simultaneously healing from loss.

High school senior Mayte has never been kissed, but it hardly matters. Her abuelita has cancer, her half sister with special needs has moved in, and college is off the table—family comes first. She keeps her problems to herself; why burden everyone she loves with more?

Meanwhile, fellow senior Auggie is set on attending an elite creative writing program. But as the self-proclaimed most boring person alive, he can’t exactly write the next great American novel when he’s struggling to write a short story for college applications.

After an awful blind date (“disaster” doesn’t even begin to describe it), Mayte and Auggie never want to see each other again. When forced together by their merging social circles, the pair must at least pretend to get along…but soon they develop actual feelings. Then tragedy strikes Mayte’s family. Auggie feels compelled to write her story to help her process and heal—but are his intentions truly selfless? The best story he’s ever written could impact the best friendships he’s ever had.

How to Love You When You’re Gone is equal parts heartbreaking, soul-healing, and absolutely hilarious from the very first page.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary

336 pages, Paperback

Published May 26, 2026

Reviews

[Annie Whitlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this in 24 hours. I was laughing out loud by page four - the narrative voice and the banter is so good.

What matters to me the most in a love story is the connection between the characters…which is why I don’t typically like “enemies to lovers” plot lines - they typically just don’t sell the connection for me by the end. But this is one of those books that does it right from beginning to end. I fully understood why Auggie and Mayte had such a rough start, but the slow burn romance felt totally natural. A lot of that has to do with just how great the dialogue is - it’s funny and witty, but also makes the characters learn who the other person is and perfectly balances humor with substance.

I also think this does such a good job of portraying grief with an emotionally distant character. I feel like a lot of times with emotionally distinct characters, that creates a distance between the reader and the story as well, and I think it’s pretty hard to pull that off in a story in a way. But it *works* here, for a couple of reasons that are hard to say without spoilers.

Outside of the relationship dynamic, the individual character arcs are wonderfully nuanced and bring the characters to life. I cried many times, I laughed more than I can count, and I put off everything else until I could finish reading this story. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.

[cyrellia · Rating 4 out of 5]

— this is what loving you has become, now that you're gone.

a beautiful, funny, and heartfelt debut novel that i was lucky enough to have copped, and be part of the first hundred people to have logged this on here!!

while i generally prefer adult characters in YA novels over teenagers—augustine, mayte, and their friends were written in such a pleasingly nuanced way that teenagers so often are; a little dumb and awkward at times, but so full of heart. i was sad to know that auggie didn't end up in emory like he hoped, but i suppose he's happier with mayte in the end, and that's all that matters!!

[Manfred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely so impressed. This book is everything I wanted it to be and more. So many romance/romcoms these days are so shallow, but this one will have you exploring emotions you’ve pushed aside and forgotten about. Love love love this beautiful story

[Danielle Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely stunning debut that made me laugh, made me cry, and made me smile like nothing else.

[Ayush · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a book I'd recommend for all under 20. Coming to terms with the grief could have been better handled. But other than that, it uses some clichés and that's alright.

[Kate Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was delightful! I throughly enjoyed getting to know both Auggie and Mayte as characters. The author expertly balances asking the heavy, existential questions of young adulthood, while still showcasing the kind of lighthearted love one experiences in their teenage years. I laughed, I cried, I learned what the word “flaco” means in Spanish. This made for a fantastic beach read!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent YA debut!
I am not the target audience for YA novels, but I always enjoy throwing them into the mix and, when done well, I really enjoy reading them. This story was well written and I really enjoyed getting to know the main characters - high school seniors Mayte and Auggie. Throughout the story, Mayte is dealing with some complicated family struggles, including a heartbreaking tragedy. Auggie is a creative writer applying to colleges and when he is stumped for a story, he feels compelled to write Mayte's. He means well - it's supposed to help her heal. But are his intentions selfless? It's not exactly his story to tell.

I really liked the character growth throughout the story. And even though they started off as enemies due to a disastrous blind date, you could sense the chemistry brewing immediately. Both of them were quite loveable. Auggie was so wonderfully weird. The difficult/sensitive themes in the book were handled with care. I thought it was written well. The secondary cast of characters were fun and unique as well. It was a great story for young adult readers who would be able to relate to the characters as they work out who they truly are, what they want in life and the kind of person they want to be.

[Chris G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Auggie’s best friend Janko is dating Mayte’s cousin Leo, so it’s not surprising that Auggie and Mayte get set up for a blind date that is supposed to end with Mayte’s first kiss. Auggie’s awkward and Mayte’s preoccupied with her abuela’s cancer scare and the reappearance in her life of her severely disabled older sister but they don’t want to disappoint their friends. Clearly they are not cut out to date, but maybe they can at least fake friendship? It’s a clever nod to the fake dating trope and Auggie, an aspiring writer, finds his voice when he decides to fictionalize Mayte’s experiences after the sudden death of her sister. But is it his story to tell? Exceptionally snappy and funny dialogue, an excellent debut. Earc from Edelweiss.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic debut novel. “How to Love You When You’re Gone” centers on relationships—Auggie’s relationship to his writing and insecurities, Mayte’s relationship to her grief and family, and Auggie’s and Mayte’s relationships with each other. I absolutely adored Gonzales’s approach to storytelling and appreciated how different yet relatable all the characters were in their own ways. Gonzales writes about what it is to be navigating life as best you can with the knowledge you have at the age of 17. As I was reading, it was like I was back at that age, feeling all the teen angst that is inescapable and permeating.

This is a beautiful, vulnerable, page-turning, funny, and heartfelt story that deserves all the praise.

[bella · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.85

ALMOST a 3 star. it was just a little slow for me at some parts. however i loved that there was actually a plot and it was a real slowburn. i also loved how mayte was actually her own person and was relatable. especially for me. i will say though the audiobook narrator for auggies part made her sound like a dumb ho so i didnt love his part.

[Ingrid Rizo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a theme that was very near to my heart, which led me to pick it up specifically with a student in mind who had just lost her father. I like the fact that this book is written by a Latina with some strong connections to the Colombian culture. For those who enjoy young adult novels, this was a very easy book to engage with and very hard to put down.

[Lindsay Montague · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Sean Grossnickle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and witty teenage romance novel that touches something deeply human in all of us. I normally don't read this type of book but thoroughly enjoyed it.

[kinsleynicole_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

a YA enemies to lovers story that discusses some sensitive topics. there was a 3rd act conflict i wasn’t a huge fan of but omg i love mayte and the epilogue upped my rating to a 3.5 ❤️‍🩹🥲

[Debbie vicksman · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many layers in this story. Beautifully written. I love the characters, and how they interacted with each other. Their stories were genuine. If you are a crier, be sure to be prepared.

[Gloria]

Received ARC from publisher. This is 1000% my preferred pacing in a book. We really got to know our two main characters with the dual POV. Even though I didn't relate to either character at all, it was still a sweet book whose conflict definitely makes you ponder a bit
4.5⭐️