September 23rd, 2024 by Cat Chiappa
Yuk tunal, nukunawan!
Thank you all for a wonderful start to the Fall!
Today I want to take a moment to celebrate Latinx/Latine History month! During this time of the month, we celebrate the rich diversity, heritage, culture, and history of the Latinx/e Community. This time of year, Sept 15th to Oct 15th, also coincides with the Independence days of several countries in Latino America also known to my people as Manawara.
In honor of Latinx/e History Month you will find an attached list of books that we welcome you to explore. Each of these books were selected with assistance from Arantxa Gallegos from South Seattle College and have a wide range of authors & interests.
The Office of DEIA in collaboration with our Theater Department, The Foundation, and The Seattle Latino Film Festivalwill be hosting Films for viewing here at Shoreline! These films were reviewed by the Office of DEIA and will be a part of the Seattle Latino Film Festival line up this year. A special shout out to Tony Doupe & Jorge Enrique Gonzales for their amazing partnership! Please consider attending, bringing family, and/or sending your classes to view this amazing opportunity. More details on films is located here.
The Office of DEIA will also be hosting a special session on Latinx Identity through a new community gathering series in October. An official announcement with the official name and Fall quarter schedule will be shared later this week!
During this time, you will find several identity terms floating around from Afro- Latino & Indigenous Latino all the way to Tejano. All of these identities tackle the question of who we are and what best can be used to describe us. Regardless, folks are free to use whatever term best describes themselves and be free to evolve as they change & grow. The links above provide some videos that will help you explore a variety of identity terms so please feel free to check them out!
In El Salvador we often remind our children that as a country & region, we may be small like the ants that walk beneath our feet, individually tiny, but together there is nothing we cannot overcome.
Happy Latinx/e Heritage Month!
Brian Crisanto Ramos M.A. (He/Him)
Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
Pipil, Lenca, & Mayan Nations
2024 Latinx Heritage Month Reading List
In celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, below are books from Latinx, Latin American, and Caribbean authors, poets, and storytellers who entertain and educate us with their writings. You can find most of these literary works at your local library or an independent bookstore.
Authors Based in the Pacific Northwest
Claudia Castro Luna (Seattle, WA) – Born in El Salvador and settled in Seattle, Claudia Castro Luna’s poetry touches on individuals’ immigrant experiences, displacement, and resilience. Claudia was the Washington State Poet Laureate (2018-2021) and Seattle’s inaugural Civic Poet (2015-2018).
Donna Barba Higuera (Washington) – Hailing from Central California, Donna Barba Higuera’s middle grade and picture books are fantastical, odd, fun, and magical for all ages.
Emilly Prado (Portland, OR) – With roots in Redwood City, California, and Michoacán, Mexico, Emilly Prado is an award-winning writer, educator, and community organizer in Portland, Oregon. Her work focuses on stories of marginalized communities in topics including culture, music, social justice, and much more.
Isabel Cañas (Seattle, WA) – A speculative fiction writer, Isabel Cañas draws inspiration from her Mexican-American family’s multigenerational home in South Texas to blend historical fiction, horror, and romance in her novels.
Kristen Millares Young (Seattle, WA) – An investigative journalist and essayist, Kristen Millares Young reports on a variety of topics including education, environment, missing and murdered indigrouns women, and government corrution.
Noé Álvarez (Yakima, WA) – Raised by working-class Mexican immigrants in Yakima, Noé Álvarez shares his self-exploration journeys across North America and Mexico.
Ricardo Ruiz (Othello, WA) – A local of Central Washington, poet and storyteller Ricardo Ruiz draws on his experiences as a combat veteran, a son of potato factory workers and Mexican immigrants, and a first-generation Mexican-American for his writing.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Vancouver, BC) – Mexican by birth and Canadian by inclination, Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes her novels and short fiction in various genres, including fantasy, historical fiction, horror, noir, and science fiction.
Poetry or Novel in Verse
banana [ ] by Paul Hlava Ceballos (Ecuadorian-USA). “At the heart of the book is a long poem that traces the history of bananas in Latin America using only found text from sources such as history books, declassified CIA documents, and commercials. The book includes collage, Ecuadorian decimas, a sonnet series in the voices of Incan royalty at the moment of colonization, and a long poem interspersed with photos and the author’s mother’s bilingual idioms.”
Corazón by Yesika Salgado (Salvadoran-USA). “Salgado creates a world in which the heart can live anywhere; her fat brown body, her parents home country, a lover, a toothbrush, a mango, or a song. It is a celebration of heartache, of how it can ruin us, but most importantly how we always survive it and return to ourselves whole.”
peluda by Melissa Lozada-Oliva (Guatemalan-Colombian-USA). “The book explores the relationship between femininity and body hair as well as the intersections of family, class, the immigrant experience, Latina identity, and much more, all through Lozada-Oliva’s unique lens and striking voice. Peluda is a powerful testimony on body image and the triumph over taboo.”
Plantains and Our Becoming by Melania Luisa Marte (Dominican-USA). “In this imaginative, blistering poetry collection, Marte looks at the identities and histories of the Dominican Republic and Haiti to celebrate and center the Black diasporic experience. Through the exploration of themes like self-love, nationalism, displacement, generational trauma, and ancestral knowledge, this collection uproots stereotypes while creating a new joyous vision for Black identity and personhood.”
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (Dominican-USA). Winner of the 2019 Carnegie Medal, Michael L. Printz Award, Pura Belpré Award, and Walter Dean Myers Award. “With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems. Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.” Young Adult book.
Raíces, Relics, and Other Ghosts by S. Salazar (Puerto Rican-USA). “Raíces, Relics, and Other Ghosts is an ecosystem where every poem becomes an organism working together to grow back a buried history. A history sprouting life into the hands of an “orphan Boricua” searching for belonging in Puerto Rico’s cornfields, rebellious orchids, guavas and platanos, as well as in the stories of loved ones no longer here.”
Saints of the Household by Ari Tison (Bribri Costa Rican-USA). “When brothers Max and Jay help a classmate in trouble, they struggle with the consequences of their violent actions and worry they may be more like their abusive father than they thought, so the brothers turn to their Bribri roots to find their way forward.” Young Adult book.
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe García McCall (Mexican-USA). “Lupita, a budding actor and poet in a close-knit Mexican American immigrant family, comes of age as she struggles with adult responsibilities during her mother’s long illness.”
Award-Winning Books
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (Dominican-USA). Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. “Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd who—from the New Jersey home he shares with his old world mother and rebellious sister—dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, finding love. But Oscar may never get what he wants. Blame the fukú—a curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, following them on their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA.”
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez (Mexican-USA). Winner of the 2018 Tomás Rivera Book Award. “Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family.” Young Adult book.
Islandborn by Junot Díaz (Dominican-USA). Winner of the 2019 Pura Belpré Award. “Lola was just a baby when her family left the Island, so when she has to draw it for a school assignment, she asks her family, friends, and neighbors about their memories of her homeland … and in the process, comes up with a new way of understanding her own heritage.” Picture book.
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera (Mexican-USA). Winner of the 2022 Newbery Medal and Pura Belpré Award. “There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra’s world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.” Young Adult book.
Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice / El invencible verano de Liliana by Cristina Rivera Garza (Mexican). Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize. “Using her skills as an acclaimed scholar, novelist, and poet, Rivera Garza collected and curated evidence—handwritten letters, police reports, school notebooks, interviews with Liliana’s loved ones—to document her sister’s life. Through this remarkable and genre-defying memoir, she confronts the trauma of losing her sister and examines how this tragedy continues to shape who she is—and what she fights for—today.”
Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina (Cuban-USA). Winner of the 2019 Newbery Medal. “Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different.” Middle Grade book.
Trust by Hernan Díaz (Argentinean-USA). Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize. “Even through the roar and effervescence of the 1920s, everyone in New York has heard of Benjamin and Helen Rask. He is a legendary Wall Street tycoon; she is the daughter of eccentric aristocrats. Together, they have risen to the very top of a world of seemingly endless wealth—all as a decade of excess and speculation draws to an end. But at what cost have they acquired their immense fortune?”
We Had Our Reasons: Poems by Ricardo Ruiz and Other Hardworking Mexicans from Eastern Washington by Ricardo Ruiz (Mexican-USA). Winner of the 2023 Washington State Book Award. “The poems, vivid and pointed, guide the reader through the thoughts and struggles that come with the decision to leave one’s home in Mexico, and travel to this remote, rural community of the United States.”
Magical Realism
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (Cuban-USA). “Earthy and otherworldly, antic and sexy, queer and caustic, comic and deadly serious, Her Body and Other Parties swings from horrific violence to the most exquisite sentiment.”
The House of the Spirits/ La casa de los espíritus by Isabel Allende (Chilean). “The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political power is tempered only by his love for his delicate wife Clara, a woman with a mystical connection to the spirit world. When their daughter Blanca embarks on a forbidden love affair in defiance of her implacable father, the result is an unexpected gift to Esteban: his adored granddaughter Alba, a beautiful and strong-willed child who will lead her family and her country into a revolutionary future.”
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova (Ecuadorian-USA). “The Montoyas are used to a life without explanations. They know better than to ask why the pantry never seems to run low, or why their matriarch won’t ever leave their home in Four Rivers—not for graduations, weddings, or baptisms. But when Orquídea Divina invites them to her funeral and to collect their inheritance, they hope to learn the secrets that she has held onto so tightly their whole lives. Instead, Orquídea is transformed into a ceiba tree, leaving them with more questions than answers.”
The Murmur of Bees/ El murmullo de las abejas by Sofia Segovia (Mexican). “Disfigured and covered in a blanket of bees, little Simonopio is for some locals the stuff of superstition, a child kissed by the devil. But he is welcomed by landowners Francisco and Beatriz Morales, who adopt him and care for him as if he were their own. As he grows up, Simonopio becomes a cause for wonder to the Morales family, because when the uncannily gifted child closes his eyes, he can see what no one else can–visions of all that’s yet to come, both beautiful and dangerous.”
(Not) Lost in Translation: Latin America
Bad Girls/ Las malas by Camila Sosa Villada (Argentinian). “Gritty and unflinching, yet also tender, fantastical, and funny, a trans woman’s tale about finding a community on the margins.”
The Curse of the Flores Women/ A Maldição das Flores by Angélica Lopes (Brazilian). “Seven generations ago, the small town of Bom Retiro shunned the Flores women because of a “curse” that rendered them unlucky in love. With no men on the horizon to take care of them, the women learned the art of lacemaking to build lives of their own. But their peace was soon threatened by forces beyond any woman’s control. As Alice begins piecing together the tapestry that is her history, she discovers revelations about the past, connections to the present, and a resilience in her blood that will carry her toward the future her ancestors strove for.”
December Breeze/ En diciembre llegaban las brisas by Marvel Moreno (Colombian). “ From her home in Paris, Lina recalls the story of three women whose lives unfold in the conservative city of Barranquilla in Colombia. Amid parties at the Country Club and strolls along the promenade in Puerto Colombia unfurls a story of sensuality suppressed by violence; a narrative of oppression in which Dora, Catalina, and Beatriz are victims of a patriarchy that is woven into the social fabric. In Lina’s obsessive account of the past, this masterful novel transforms personal anecdotes into a profound panorama of Colombian society towards the end of the 1950s. From private memories to historical reality, the structure of this book is full of precision, poetry, and exile’s insight.”
Desolación by Gabriela Mistral (Chilean). “This bilingual edition, featuring 37 poems translated by Langston Hughes, breathes new life into the Mistral’s first anthology and makes available in English an intimate portrait of an ardent observer of life. Desolación is an evocative collection of poems and haunting poetic prose that explore desire, grief, motherhood, childhood, nature, and spirituality with radical sensibility.
Eartheater by Dolores Reyes (Argentinian). “Set in an unnamed slum in contemporary Argentina, Eartheater is the story of a young woman who finds herself drawn to eating the earth—a compulsion that gives her visions of broken and lost lives. With her first taste of dirt, she learns the horrifying truth of her mother’s death. Disturbed by what she witnesses, the woman keeps her visions to herself. But when Eartheater begins an unlikely relationship with a withdrawn police officer, word of her ability begins to spread, and soon desperate members of her community beg for her help, anxious to uncover the truth about their own loved ones.”
Mr. President/ El Señor Presidente by Miguel Ángel Asturias (Guatemalan). “In an unnamed country, an egomaniacal dictator schemes to dispose of a political adversary and maintain his grip on power. As tyranny takes hold, everyone is forced to choose between compromise and death.”
Nostalgia Doesn’t Flow Away Like Riverwater/ Xilase qui rié di’ sicasi rié nisa guiigu’ / La Nostalgia no se marcha como el agua de los ríos by Irma Pineda (Binnizá/Isthmus Zapotec-Mexico). “A story of separation and displacement in two fictionalized voices: a person who has migrated, without papers, to the United States for work, and their partner who waits at home.”
One Hundred Years of Solitude/ Cien años de soledad by Gabriel García Márquez (Colombian). “[…] the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendiá family.”
OG Latinx Books
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya (Mexican-USA). Winner of the 1972 Premio Quinto Sol Award. “Six-year-old Antonio embarks upon a spiritual journey under the watchful guidance of Ultima, a healing woman, that leads him to question his faith and beliefs in family, religion, and other aspects of his Chicano culture.”
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Mexican-USA). Winner of the 2002 Pura Belpré Award. “Esperanza thought she’d always live a privileged life on her family’s ranch in Mexico. […] Esperanza isn’t ready for the hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, or lack of acceptance she now faces (in California).”
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (Mexican-USA). Winner of the 1985 American Book Award.“Told in a series of vignettes — sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous — it is the story of a young Latina girl (Esperanza) growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become.”
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez (Dominican-USA). Winner of the 1991 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award. “The García sisters—Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofía—and their family must flee their home in the Dominican Republic after their father’s role in an attempt to overthrow brutal dictator Rafael Trujillo is discovered. […] In the wondrous but not always welcoming U.S.A., their parents try to hold on to their old ways as the girls try to find new lives by straightening their hair, wearing American fashions, and forgetting their Spanish.”
Memoirs & Biographies
American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood by Marie Arana (Peruvian-USA). “Here are two vastly different landscapes: Peru—earthquake-prone, charged with ghosts of history and mythology—and the sprawling prairie lands of Wyoming. In these rich terrains resides a colorful cast of family members who bring Arana’s historia to life…her proud grandfather who one day simply stopped coming down the stairs; her dazzling grandmother, “clicking through the house as if she were making her way onstage.” But most important are Arana’s parents: he a brilliant engineer, she a gifted musician. For more than half a century these two passionate, strong-willed people struggled to overcome the bicultural tensions in their marriage and, finally, to prevail.”
An Unlikely Journey: Waking up From My American Dream by Julián Castro (Mexican-USA). “Julian Castro, 2020 Presidential candidate, keynote speaker at the 2012 DNC, and former San Antonio mayor and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, tells his remarkable and inspiring life story.”
Children of the Land: A Memoir by Marcelo Hernández Castillo (Mexican-USA). “When Marcelo Hernandez Castillo was five years old and his family was preparing to cross the border between Mexico and the United States, he suffered temporary, stress-induced blindness. Castillo regained his vision, but quickly understood that he had to move into a threshold of invisibility before settling in California with his parents and siblings. Thus began a new life of hiding in plain sight and of paying extraordinarily careful attention at all times for fear of being truly seen. Before Castillo was one of the most celebrated poets of a generation, he was a boy who perfected his English in the hopes that he might never seem extraordinary.”
The Country Under My Skin/ El país bajo mi piel by Gioconda Belli (Nicaraguan). “Until her early twenties, Gioconda Belli inhabited an upper-class cocoon: sheltered from the poverty in Managua in a world of country clubs and debutante balls; educated abroad; early marriage and motherhood. But in 1970, everything changed. Her growing dissatisfaction with domestic life, and a blossoming awareness of the social inequities in Nicaragua, led her to join the Sandinistas, then a burgeoning but still hidden organization. She would be involved with them over the next twenty years at the highest, and often most dangerous, levels.”
The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande (Mexican-USA). “In this inspirational and unflinchingly honest memoir, acclaimed author Reyna Grande describes her childhood torn between the United States and Mexico, and shines a light on the experiences, fears, and hopes of those who choose to make the harrowing journey across the border.”
The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood by Richard Blanco (Cuban-USA). “A powerful and inspiring memoir from Richard Blanco, the first Latino and openly gay inaugural poet, which explores his coming-of-age as the child of Cuban immigrants, and his attempts to understand his place in America while grappling with his burgeoning artistic and sexual identities. Blanco’s poignant, often hilarious memoir brilliantly illuminates the experience of “becoming” in America—a singular and yet universal story that all your students will relate to in some way.”
To Selena, With Love by Chris Perez (Mexican-USA). “Chris Perez tells the story of his relationship with music superstar Selena in this heartfelt tribute.”
Why Didn’t You Tell Me?: A Memoir by Carmen Rita Wong (Dominican-Chinese-USA). “An immigrant mother’s long-held secrets upend her daughter’s understanding of her family, her identity, and her place in the world in this powerful and dramatic memoir.”
Espooky & Horror
Brickmakers/ Ladrilleros by Selva Almada (Argentinian). “Oscar Tamai and Elvio Miranda, the patriarchs of two families of brickmakers, have for years nursed a mutual hatred, but their teenage sons, Pájaro and Ángelito, somehow fell in love. […] The Tamai and Miranda families are caught, like the Capulets and the Montagues, in an almost mythic conflict, one that emerges from stubborn pride and intractable machismo.”
Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado (Afro-Latine). “Mysterious disappearances. An urban legend rumored to be responsible. And one group of friends determined to save their city at any cost.” Young Adult novel.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (Cuban-Mexican-USA). “When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free. However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death.” Young Adult book.
Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima (Brazilian-USA). “At a Halloween party in 1999, a writer slept with the devil. She sees him again and again throughout her life and she writes stories for him about things that are both impossible and true.”
Hatchet Girls by Diana Rodriguez Wallach (Puerto Rican-USA). “When Mariella Morse accuses her boyfriend, Vik Gomez, of murdering her wealthy parents with an axe, the town is quick to believe her. It doesn’t help that Vik is caught standing over her parents’ bodies with blood on his hands, unable to remember anything about the night in question. But Vik’s sister, Tessa, knows that Vik would never be capable of such a gruesome crime. Haunted by the mistakes she made that led her family to move to Fall River, MA in the first place, she sets out to prove her brother’s innocence.” Young Adult book.
The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro (Mexican-USA). “Alejandra no longer knows who she is. To her husband, she is a wife, and to her children, a mother. To her own adoptive mother, she is a daughter. But they cannot see who Alejandra has become: a woman struggling with a darkness that threatens to consume her. Nor can they see what Alejandra sees. In times of despair, a ghostly vision appears to her, the apparition of a crying woman in a ragged white gown.”
Jawbone/ Mandibula by Mónica Ojeda (Ecuadorian). “When Fernanda, Annelise, and their friends from Opus Dei Delta Academy for Girls convene after school, Annelise always spins the scariest stories and devises the riskiest games. Wearing her crocodile-jawbone crown, she leads them in rituals to her invented god: the rhinestone-encrusted firefly, the wandering womb, the mother pond of anacondas. Even more thrilling is the secret Annelise and Fernanda share, rooted in a dare that blurs the boundaries between affection and violence.”
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova (Ecuadorian-USA). Winner of the 2017 International Latino Book Awards.“Alex is a bruja and the most powerful witch in her family. But she’s hated magic ever since it made her father disappear into thin air. When a curse she performs to rid herself of magic backfires and her family vanishes, she must travel to Los Lagos, a land in-between as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland, to get her family back.” Young Adult book.
Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird: Stories by Agustina Bazterrica (Argentinian). “From celebrated author Agustina Bazterrica, this collection of nineteen brutal, darkly funny short stories takes into our deepest fears and through our most disturbing fantasies.”
Our Share of Night/ Nuestra parte de noche by Mariana Enríquez (Argentinian). “Moving back and forth in time, from London in the swinging 1960s to the brutal years of Argentina’s military dictatorship and its turbulent aftermath, Our Share of Night is a novel like no other: a family story, a ghost story, a story of the occult and the supernatural, a book about the complexities of love and longing with queer subplots and themes.”
Piñata by Leopoldo Gout (Mexican). “Carmen Sanchez is back in Mexico, supervising the renovation of an ancient abbey. Her daughters Izel and Luna, too young to be left alone in New York, join her in what Carmen hopes is a chance for them to connect with their roots. Then, an accident at the worksite unearths a stash of rare, centuries-old artifacts. The disaster costs Carmen her job, cutting the family trip short. But something malevolent and unexplainable follows them home to New York, stalking the Sanchez family and heralding a coming catastrophe. And it may already be too late to escape what’s been awakened…”
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Mexican-Canadian). “Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood. Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.”
A Tall Dark Trouble by Vanessa Montalban (Cuban-USA). “In contemporary Miami, twins Delfi and Lela are haunted by a family curse that poisons any chance at romantic love. It’s no wonder their mother forbids them from getting involved with magic. When Lela and Delfi receive premonitions of a mysterious killer targeting brujas, however, the sisters must embrace their emerging powers to save innocent lives. […] Meanwhile, in 1980s Cuba, Anita de Armas whispers to the spirits for mercy–not for herself, but for the victims of her mother’s cult. She’s desperate to rid herself of her power, which manifests as inky shadows and an ability to speak to the dead.” Young Adult book.
Through the Night Like a Snake: Latin American Horror Stories by Sarah Coolidge (Editor), Mónica Ojeda, Tomás Downey. “In ten chilling stories from an ensemble cast of contemporary Latin American writers, including Mariana Enriquez (tr. Megan McDowell), Camila Sosa Villlada (tr. Kit Maude), Claudia Hernandez (tr. by Julia Sanches and Johanna Warren) and Monica Ojeda (tr. Sarah Booker and Noelle de la Paz), horror infiltrates the unexpected, taboo regions of the present-day psyche.”
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas (Mexican-USA). “As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters–her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead.”
The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera (Salvadoran-USA). “El Salvador, 1923. Graciela, a young girl growing up on a volcano in a community of Indigenous women, is summoned to the capital, where she is claimed as an oracle for a rising dictator. There she meets Consuelo, the sister she has never known, who was stolen from their home before Graciela was born. The two spend years under the cruel El Gran Pendejo’s regime, unwillingly helping his reign of terror, until genocide strikes the community from which they hail. Each believing the other to be dead, they escape, fleeing across the globe, reinventing themselves until fate ultimately brings them back together in the most unlikely of ways…”
General Fiction & Nonfiction
An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz. “Spanning more than two hundred years, An African American and Latinx History of the United States is a revolutionary, politically charged narrative history, arguing that the “Global South” was crucial to the development of America as we know it. Scholar and activist Paul Ortiz challenges the notion of westward progress as exalted by widely taught formulations like “manifest destiny” and “Jacksonian democracy,” and shows how placing African American, Latinx, and Indigenous voices unapologetically front and center transforms US history into one of the working class organizing against imperialism.”
An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera (Dominican-USA). “For Manuela del Carmen Caceres Galvan, the invitation to show her paintings at the 1889 Exposition Universelle came at the perfect time. Soon to be trapped in a loveless marriage, Manuela has given herself one last summer of freedom–in Paris, with her two best friends. Cora Kempf Bristol, Duchess of Sundridge, is known for her ruthlessness in business. It’s not money she chases, but power. When she sees the opportunity to secure her position among her rivals, she does not hesitate. How difficult could it be to convince the mercurial Miss Caceres Galvan to part with a parcel of land she’s sworn never to sell?”
Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Racqul V. Reyes (Cuban-USA). “A surprise trip to Miriam’s parents in Punta Cana, which should be filled with arroz con pollo and breezy days under the tamarind tree, quickly becomes a hunt for a possible property saboteur. But before Miriam can begin to uncover the person damaging the vacation rentals her parents manage, she’s called away to Puerto Rico to film a Three Kings Day special. She’s welcomed to the blue ballast-stone streets of Old San Juan by crime scene tape, and things only get worse from there.”
The Browning of the New South by Jennifer A. Jones. “Many Latino newcomers are flocking to places like the Southeast, where typically few such immigrants have settled, resulting in rapidly redrawn communities. In this historic moment, Jennifer Jones brings forth an ethnographic look at changing racial identities in one Southern city: Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This city turns out to be a natural experiment in race relations, having quickly shifted in the past few decades from a neatly black and white community to a triracial one.”
Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio (Ecuadorian-USA). “A year in the life of the unforgettable Catalina Ituralde, a wickedly wry and heartbreakingly vulnerable student at an elite college, forced to navigate an opaque past, an uncertain future, tragedies on two continents, and the tantalizing possibilities of love and freedom.”
The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers by Andrew T. Huse, Barbara C. Cruz, and Jeff Houck. “How did the Cuban sandwich become a symbol for a displaced people, win the hearts and bellies of America, and claim a spot on menus around the world? The odyssey of the Cubano begins with its hazy origins in the midnight cafés of Havana, from where it evolved into a dainty high-class hors d’oeuvre and eventually became a hearty street snack devoured by cigar factory workers.”
The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island by Kathleen Alcalá. “Wanting to better understand how we once fed ourselves, and acknowledging that there may be a future in which we could need to do so again, [Alcalá] meets those who experienced the Japanese American internment during World War II, learns the unique histories of the blended Filipino and Native American community, the fishing practices of the descendants of Croatian immigrants, and the Suquamish elder who shares with her the food legacy of the [Bainbridge] island itself.”
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez (Cuban-Mexican-USA). Winner of the 2018 Tomás Rivera Book Award. “There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school—you can’t fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malú (María Luisa, if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School’s queen bee, violates the school’s dress code with her punk rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself. The real Malú loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band, Malú finally begins to feel at home. She’ll do anything to preserve this, which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself!” Middle Grade book.
For Brown Girls With Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez. “[The author] offers wisdom and a liberating path forward for all women of color. She crafts powerful ways to address the challenges Brown girls face, from imposter syndrome to colorism. She empowers women to decolonize their worldview, and defy “universal” white narratives, by telling their own stories.”
Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo (Puerto Rican-USA). “Sisters Anna and Jennie live in a historic bungalow on the Chicago River. They’re tethered to a disquieting past, and with nowhere else to go, nothing can part them from their family home. Not the maddening creaks and disembodied voices that rattle the old walls. Not the inexplicable drownings in the area, or the increasing number of bodies that float by Anna’s window. To stave off loneliness, Anna has a podcast, spinning ghostly tales of Chicago’s tragic history. But when Anna captures the attention of an ardent male listener, she awakens to the possibilities of a world outside. As their relationship grows, so do Jennie’s fears. More and more people are going missing in the river. And then two detectives come calling.”
Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea (Mexican-USA). “[…] an exhilarating World War II epic that chronicles an extraordinary young woman’s heroic frontline service in the Red Cross.”
Last Sunrise in Eterna by Amparo Ortiz (Puerto Rican). “Three teenagers are invited to spend seven days on the secluded island floating off the coast of Puerto Rico to learn the magic of the elves. All they have to do is give up their dreams.” Young Adult book.
Lupe Wong Won’t Dance by Donna Barba Higuera (Mexican-USA). “Lupe Wong is going to be the first female pitcher in the Major Leagues. She’s also championed causes her whole young life. Some worthy like expanding the options for race on school tests beyond just a few bubbles. And some not so much like complaining to the BBC about the length between Doctor Who seasons. Lupe needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who’s Chinacan/Mexinese just like her. So when the horror that is square dancing rears its head in gym? Obviously she’s not gonna let that slide.” Middle Grade book.
Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee (Puerto Rican-Black-Chinese-USA). “Noah Ramirez thinks he’s an expert on romance. He has to be for his popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily ever afters. There’s just one problem—all the stories are fake. What started as the fantasies of a trans boy afraid to step out of the closet has grown into a beacon of hope for trans readers across the globe. When a troll exposes the blog as fiction, Noah’s world unravels. The only way to save the Diary is to convince everyone that the stories are true, but he doesn’t have any proof. Then Drew walks into Noah’s life, and the pieces fall into place: Drew is willing to fake-date Noah to save the Diary. But when Noah’s feelings grow beyond their staged romance, he realizes that dating in real life isn’t quite the same as finding love on the page.” Young Adult book.
Memories from Limón by Edo Brenes (Costa Rican). “Ramiro leaves the British drizzle and his beloved fiancé Yoss to investigate his family history back home in Costa Rica. What starts as an innocent fascination with an old family photo album leads to conversations with the older generations and revelations he is not prepared for: recounting tales of everything from affairs to adventurous escapades, all while taking time to share a laugh over life’s messier moments.” Graphic book.
Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie (Colombian-Cuban-USA). “Ophelia Rojas knows what she likes: her best friends, Cuban food, rose-gardening, and boys – way too many boys. Her friends and parents make fun of her endless stream of crushes, but Ophelia is a romantic at heart. She couldn’t change, even if she wanted to. So when she finds herself thinking more about cute, quiet Talia Sanchez than the loss of a perfect prom with her ex-boyfriend, seeds of doubt take root in Ophelia’s firm image of herself.” Young Adult book.
The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez by Rudy Ruiz (Mexican-USA). “In the 1950s, tensions remain high in the border town of La Frontera. Penny loafers and sneakers clash with boots and huaraches. Bowling shirts and leather jackets compete with guayaberas. Convertibles fend with motorcycles. Yet amidst the discord, young love blooms at first sight between Fulgencio Ramirez, the son of impoverished immigrants, and Carolina Mendelssohn, the local pharmacist’s daughter. But as they’ll soon find out, their bonds will be undone by a force more powerful than they could have known.”
The Self-Made Widow by Fabian Nicieza (Argentinian-USA). “After mother of five and former FBI profiler Andie Stern solved a murder—and unraveled a decades-old conspiracy—in her New Jersey town, both her husband and the West Windsor police hoped that she would set aside crime-fighting and go back to carpools, changing diapers, and lunches with her group of mom-friends, who she secretly calls The Cellulitists. Even so, Andie can’t help but get involved when the husband of Queen Bee Molly Goode is found dead. Though all signs point to natural causes, Andie begins to dig into the case and soon risks more than just the clique’s wrath, because what she discovers might hit shockingly close to home.”
Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America by Gustavo Arellano. “[…] Gustavo Arellano presents a tasty trip through the history and culture of Mexican food in this country, uncovering great stories and charting the cuisine’s tremendous popularity north of the border.”
The Things We Didn’t Know by Elba Iris Pérez (Puerto Rican-USA). “Andrea Rodríguez is nine years old when her mother whisks her and her brother, Pablo, away from Woronoco, the tiny Massachusetts factory town that is the only home they’ve known. With no plan and no money, she leaves them with family in the mountainside villages of Puerto Rico and promises to return. Months later, when Andrea and Pablo are brought back to Massachusetts, they find their hometown significantly changed. As they navigate the rifts between their family’s values and all-American culture and face the harsh realities of growing up, they must embrace both the triumphs and heartache that mark the journey to adulthood.”
The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela (Colombian-Salvadoran-USA). “[…] Andrés, a gay Latinx professor, returns to his suburban hometown in the wake of his husband’s infidelity. There he finds himself with no excuse not to attend his twenty-year high school reunion, and hesitantly begins to reconnect with people he used to call friends. Over the next few weeks, while caring for his aging parents and navigating the neighborhood where he grew up, Andrés falls into old habits with friends he thought he’d left behind.”
Twice a Quinceañera by Yamile Saied Méndez (Argentinian-Syrian-Lebanese-USA). “One month short of her wedding day—and her thirtieth birthday—Nadia Palacio finds herself standing up to her infuriating, cheating fiancé for the first time in . . . well, ever. But that same courage doesn’t translate to breaking the news to her Argentinian family. She’s hyperventilating before facing them when she glimpses a magazine piece about a Latina woman celebrating herself—with a second quinceañera, aka Sweet 15! And that gives Nadia a brilliant idea . . .”
Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson (Puerto Rican-USA). “Veronica Mars meets The Craft when a teen girl investigates the suspicious deaths of three classmates and accidentally ends up bringing them back to life to form a hilariously unlikely–and unwilling–vigilante girl gang.” Young Adult book.
Where They Burn Books, They Also Burn People by Marcos Antonio Hernandez (Mexican-USA). “1549. Convinced he’s destined to fulfill a whispered prophecy, Friar Diego de Landa labors to convert the Maya of the Yucatan Peninsula. Discovering a brutal Spanish landowner persecuting the native population, Friar Diego determines to protect them and punish the cruel man. But when he repatriates thousands of Maya and uproots centuries of indigenous traditions, the priest’s obsession may end up destroying them all. 2010. Cortez Vuscar is convinced his father will return if he can grow their church’s congregation. Certain he’s found his true love and believing they can attract churchgoers together, Cortez sets out to win her from her wealthy and unfaithful boyfriend. But his fascination with the famous literature she’s reading infects his mind with a deadly descent into madness…”
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