Sylvia Barry Reads: October 2025

Safe Place to Land by Ryan Ramirez Webb — 5 tear-stained hot air balloons out of 5

Sylvia’s not crying, you’re crying. It is, in fact, your tears that are being carried upon the wind to the four corners of the earth, mixing with silt and sand and imbuing them with the senseless yet undeniable knowledge that it was true love, it was true love, dammit! Sylvia may not be crying, but her otherworldly counterparts certainly are.

Rafael Torres never knew his mother while she was alive, so now he’s on a cross-country roadtrip to visit the Golden Gate Bridge, a brilliant piece of architecture she’d always loved. Growing up without a mom is hard, especially when compounded with being Autistic, chubby, and not too fond of heights. So when, on the first day of seventh grade, Rafael meets Henry (a boy who’s ginger, gregarious, and obsessed with climbing trees), he’s not expecting to become best friends, let alone…

Safe Place To Land follows Rafael on his fateful drive to San Francisco, as well as his and Henry’s shared childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. As Rafael travels through his memories and across the United States, his and Henry’s love takes on many shapes. All of them designed to squeeze your heart and tear ducts for every last drop.

A tear-jerker to contend with the worst (that is, best) of them. Go forth and take your willingness to be emotionally fucked with into your own hands, just make sure you’re stocked up on tissues and chocolate. Tearfully recommended.