Sylvia Barry Reads: June 2026

Best of the Wrong Reasons by Sander Santiago — 5 slow burn nostalgia aches out of 5

Sylvia Barry rarely cries. In fact, many years ago she gave her tears to a wandering balloonist who needed the salt for his morning egg. Since that day, she has not cried a single drop, but her eyes ache with unshed tears, and this book nearly made them explode out of her head like an old-school practical effect in a horror movie.

As previously established, Sylvia does not cry, not for joy, not for sorrow, nor for beauty, but her minders do. And this book is a dehydration risk.

Fin and Orion made a queer pair even as children — Fin was the athlete, the straight-A student, the popular Actually-Nice-Guy, while Orion was the creative outcast, bullied and a bit of a trouble-maker. Growing up in a small town you get pigeon-holed early on, but Fin and Orion cleaved to each other no matter who cared or what anyone said.

Until.

But now it’s years later, and Fin is back in town, taking some time off from medical school and caring for his mother. Orion just happens to be home for a funeral. When these two see each other, they don’t even have to say a word for all that history to resurface. Here they are, all grown up and surrounded by memories of all the reasons they shouldn’t work.

Unless. 

Best of the Wrong Reasons is a rich, sweet story of friends, lovers, and family. It’s a heartfelt celebration of longevity — of relationships that change and grow and bloom over time. This book quietly beckons you into that starlit night when the jasmine bloomed and the crickets sang and a hand held yours forever and just a moment. A deeply heartfelt recommendation!