Book Review: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina, illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas

If you’re reading this review, you probably know just how petrifying high school can be. Not fitting in, not feeling good enough, getting good grades, romance, friendships, body image. High school is a lot, on top of the struggles with family and identity that are often prevalent as you make the transition into a young adult. Add social media and cyber-bullying into the mix and high school? Yeah, it’s hell.

Meg Medina’s award-winning novel, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, is expertly transformed by Mel Valentine Vargas into a graphic novel that is pertinent to teens of today. It takes elements that were strongest in Medina’s 2013 prose and brings them to life in a revitalizing way. We still feel the yearning, loneliness, and vulnerability that Medina crafted for us through Piddy Sanchez’s story, but Vargas expertly gets us to know Piddy through their contemporary art.

“Meg Medina’s award-winning novel, “Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass”, is expertly transformed by Mel Valentine Vargas into a graphic novel that is pertinent to teens of today. It takes elements that were strongest in Medina’s 2013 prose and brings them to life in a revitalizing way. ”

Piddy Sanchez feels herself slipping, and she feels alone.

Her mom Clara works late, and is doing the best she can to raise Piddy as a single mom. And despite her mom doing everything she can for Piddy, Piddy still feels like a piece of her is missing. Her father is no longer in the picture, choosing instead to live with a second family in the Dominican Republic. Her best friend Mitzi is actually fitting in at her school, and forgetting about Piddy. Her grades are falling, she's skipping class, she’s had to move, and oh yeah, Yaqui Delgado wants to kick her ass.

Though the title is centered around Yaqui, we actually get to know her very little, except that she hates Piddy for being the new girl at school. She can’t stand the way that Piddy shakes her hips when she walks. Piddy isn’t the stereotypical Latina, but she’s just as Latina as the rest of the girls at school. Still, she knows she doesn’t fit in because of her accentless Spanish, her light skin, and her adeptness in the classroom. And Yaqui blames Piddy for talking to Alfredo, a boy that Yaqui has her eyes on.

So, after weeks of bullying, Yaqui finally kicks Piddy’s ass. And posts the fight online for the whole school to see.

We know today just as we did back in 2013 (when Meg Medina’s prose novel was first published) about the intensity of cyberbullying. The fact is, social media has become even more of a staple in young teens’ lives than it was ten years ago. It is proof that young readers, young Latine readers, need Piddy’s story now more than ever.

Yes, Piddy Sanchez is going through it. Kids her age can suck, and the pressure to succeed and fit in threatens to make her head explode. But, the most important thing that Piddy learns through all of this is that she is never alone. She learned how to play piano from her mom, how to dance and shake her hips from Lila, and how to make new friends and try new things from her best friend Mitzi. She has friends and family who love her and will stick up for her no matter what she is going through. With a strong community around her, Piddy learns to stick up for herself and gathers the strength to not give up, even when it feels like the entire world is against her.

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Meg Medina is the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which was also a 2018 Kirkus Prize finalist, and which was followed by two more acclaimed books about the Suárez family: Merci Suárez Can’t Dance and Merci Suárez Plays It Cool. Her young adult novels include Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, which won the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award, and which will be published in 2023 as a graphic novel illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas; Burn Baby Burn, which was long-listed for the National Book Award; and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. She is also the author of picture books Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez, Jumpstart’s 2020 Read for the Record selection; Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, which was a Pura Belpré Author Award Honor Book; and Tía Isa Wants a Car, illustrated by Claudio Muñoz, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award; and the biography for young readers She Persisted: Sonia Sotomayor. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Mel Valentine Vargas is a Queer Cuban-American graphic novelist based in Chicago. They hope to draw the kind of illustrations that their younger self, and others like them, could have seen to feel less alone. Mel Valentine Vargas loves singing in Spanish, playing farming video games, and eating lots of gyoza with their friends.

Illianna Gonzalez-Soto lives in San Diego, CA with her dog Fluffers and her ever-growing #tbr pile. She currently works with ReedPop as a Marketing Coordinator. Follow her on Twitter & Instagram @iliannagsoto.

18 Black Latinx Authors to Keep on Your Radar

Mia Sosa, author of The Worst Best Man

Named one of the Best Romances of 2020 by EW, Cosmo, OprahMag, Buzzfeed, Insider, and NPR! 

Mia Sosa delivers a sassy, steamy #ownvoices enemies-to-lovers novel, perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory, Helen Hoang, and Sally Thorne!

A wedding planner left at the altar? Yeah, the irony isn’t lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina’s offered an opportunity that could change her life. There’s just one hitch… she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials. 

Marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. Then he learns he’ll be working with his brother’s whip-smart, stunning—absolutely off-limits—ex-fiancée. And she loathes him. 

If they can nail their presentation without killing each other, they’ll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina’s ready to dish out a little payback of her own. 

Soon Lina and Max discover animosity may not be the only emotion creating sparks between them. Still, this star-crossed couple can never be more than temporary playmates because Lina isn’t interested in falling in love and Max refuses to play runner-up to his brother ever again...

Aya de Leon, author of Side Chick Nation

Fed up with her married Miami boyfriend, savvy Dulce has no problem stealing his drug-dealer stash and fleeing to her family in the Caribbean. But when she gets bored in rural Santo Domingo, she escapes on a sugar daddy adventure to Puerto Rico. Her new life is one endless party, until she's caught in Hurricane Maria—and witnesses the brutal collision of colonization and climate change, as well as the international vultures who plunder the tragedy for a financial killing, making shady use of relief funds to devastate the island even more. Broke, traumatized, and stranded, Dulce’s only chance to get back to New York may be a sexy, crusading journalist who’s been pursuing her. But is she hustling him or falling for him?

Meanwhile, New York-based mastermind thief Marisol already has her hands full fleecing a ruthless CEO who’s stealing her family’s land in Puerto Rico, while trying to get her relatives out alive after the hurricane. An extra member in her crew could be game-changing, but she’s wary of Dulce’s unpredictability and reputation for drama. Still, Dulce’s determination to get justice draws Marisol in, along with her formidable Lower East Side Women’s Health Clinic’s heist squad. But their race-against-the-clock plan is soon complicated by powerful men who turn deadly when ex-side chicks step out of the shadows and demand to call the shots . . .

Sulma Arzu Brown, author of Bad Hair Does Not Exist

Bad Hair Does Not Exist!/"Pelo Malo No Existe!" - is a book with an anti-bullying message that reinforces respect for individualism. Hispanic and Black children are exposed to the divisive and bullying term, "bad hair," within their own communities.
The term "bad hair" or "pelo malo" is used to describe hair that is usually of curlier texture or of a thick and coarse density. This is irresponsible and often contributes to a child's low self-esteem, dividing both communities and families. The book's purpose is to empower all children by giving them alternate terms to describe their hair, and teaching them the importance of respecting one another's differences.

Ariana Brown, Author of We Are Owed

We Are Owed. is the debut poetry collection of Ariana Brown, exploring Black relationality in Mexican and Mexican American spaces. Through poems about the author's childhood in Texas and a trip to Mexico as an adult, Brown interrogates the accepted origin stories of Mexican identity. We Are Owed asks the reader to develop a Black consciousness by rejecting U.S., Chicano, and Mexican nationalism and confronting anti-Black erasure and empire-building. As Brown searches for other Black kin in the same spaces through which she moves, her experiences of Blackness are placed in conversation with the histories of formerly enslaved Africans in Texas and Mexico. Esteban Dorantes, Gaspar Yanga, and the author's Black family members and friends populate the book as a protective and guiding force, building the "we" evoked in the title and linking Brown to all other African-descended peoples living in what Saidiya Hartman calls "the afterlife of slavery."

Jamie Figueroa, author of Brother, Sister, Mother

In the tourist town of Ciudad de Tres Hermanas, in the aftermath of their mother's passing, two siblings spend a final weekend together in their childhood home. Seeing her brother, Rafa, careening toward a place of no return, Rufina devises a bet: if they can make enough money performing for privileged tourists in the plaza over the course of the weekend to afford a plane ticket out, Rafa must commit to living. If not, Rufina will make her peace with Rafa's own plan for the future, however terrifying it may be.

As the siblings reckon with generational and ancestral trauma, set against the indignities of present-day prejudice, other strange hauntings begin to stalk these pages: their mother's ghost kicks her heels against the walls; Rufina's vanished child creeps into her arms at night; and above all this, watching over the siblings, a genderless, flea-bitten angel remains hell-bent on saving what can be saved.

Eric Velasquez, author of Octopus Stew

The octopus Grandma is cooking has grown to titanic proportions. “¡Tenga cuidado!” Ramsey shouts. “Be careful!” But it’s too late. The octopus traps Grandma! Ramsey must use both art and intellect to free his beloved abuela.

Then the story takes a surprising twist. And it can be read two ways. Open the fold-out pages to find Ramsey telling a story to his family. Keep the pages folded, and Ramsey’s octopus adventure is real.

This beautifully illustrated picture book, drawn from the author’s childhood memories, celebrates creativity, heroism, family, grandmothers, grandsons, Puerto Rican food, Latinx culture and more.

With an author’s note and the Velasquez family recipe for Octopus Stew! Now also available in Spanish!

Aja Monet, author of My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter

My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter is poet Aja Monet’s ode to mothers, daughters, and sisters—the tiny gods who fight to change the world.

Textured with the sights and sounds of growing up in East New York in the nineties, to school on the South Side of Chicago, all the way to the olive groves of Palestine, these stunning poems tackle racism, sexism, genocide, displacement, heartbreak, and grief, but also love, motherhood, spirituality, and Black joy.

Circe Moskowitz, author of Good Mourning

Circe Moskowitz writes science fiction, fantasy and horror. She is the author of Good Mourning and the editor of No Harm Done. Her work has also appeared in the anthology Reclaim the Stars. She currently lives in Kentucky.

Good Mourning: Coming Fall 2024 from Penguin Random House.

Pitched as Schitt's Creek meets HGTV, Black vampire Theo trades in the city and her coven for a quiet, New England inn only to find it more rundown than advertised. After (accidentally!) murdering the current owner, Theo places herself in charge and ends up falling in(n) love: with running a bed and breakfast . . . and with Ronnie, the handywoman, who knows Theo's vampiric secret.

Denise Adusei, author of Cesaria Wears No Shoes

Denise Rosario Adusei grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, making forts, climbing trees, and playing soccer. When she's not writing children's books, she serves as a professional imagineer for preschoolers in Harlem. Her debut picture book, Cesaria Wears No Shoes. is set for publication in spring 2023. In addition to writing children's books, Denise serves as the founding director of a Harlem-based preschool. As a founding member of both #BlackCreatorsInKidlit and #LatinxPitch, Denise is committed to increasing diverse representation in children's literature.

Cesaria Wears No Shoes is coming in 2023

Maya Motayne, author of Nocturna

The first in a sweeping and epic debut fantasy trilogy—set in a stunning Latinx-inspired world—about a face-changing thief and a risk-taking prince who must team up to defeat a powerful evil they accidentally unleashed. Perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi and Leigh Bardugo.

Jasminne Mendez, author of Josefina’s Habichuelas

Young Josefina gives up sweets for Lent and then learns how to make her Dominican family’s traditional Easter dessert.

Hilda Eunice Burgos, author of The Cot in the Living Room

Night after night, a young girl watches her mami set up a cot in the living room for guests in their Washington Heights apartment, like Raquel (who’s boring) and Edgardo (who gets crumbs everywhere). She resents that they get the entire living room with a view of the George Washington Bridge, while all she gets is a tiny bedroom with a view of her sister (who snores). Until one night when no one comes, and it’s finally her chance! But as it turns out, sleeping on the cot in the living room isn’t all she thought it would be.

Alyssa Reynoso Morris, author of Plátanos are Love

Alex Borbolla at Atheneum has acquired world rights to Plátanos are Love by debut author Alyssa Reynoso-Morris, illustrated by Mariyah Rahman, a picture book about a young girl who learns the cultural significance of plantains while cooking alongside her abuela. Publication is scheduled for Spring 23. Kaitlyn Sanchez at Context Literary Agency represented the author, and Christy Ewers at The CAT Agency represented the illustrator.

Plátanos are Love coming 2023

Lorraine Avila, author of Malcriada & Other Stories

In the middle of the Caribbean Sea, aboard an illegal voyage from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico, a twelve year old learns her name; a former cacao farmer finds a constellation on his lover’s thighs; best friends become strangers and find the essence of themselves in the face of deception; an old man exchanges his homeland for a New York City bodega storefront; preteen boys grapple with authority; female cousins come to terms with their first shared sexual experience; an alcoholic woman finds serenity at the bottom of the sea; feminism is deconstructed by opposing views; on the back of a motorcycle, self awareness is found; and a woman discovers that healing is a series of choices.

Darrel Alejandro Holnes, author of Stepmotherland

Winner of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, Stepmotherland, Darrel Alejandro Holnes’s first full-length collection, is filled with poems that chronicle and question identity, family, and allegiance. This Central American love song is in constant motion as it takes us on a lyrical and sometimes narrative journey from Panamá to the USA and beyond. The driving force behind Holnes’s work is a pursuit for a new home, and as he searches, he takes the reader on a wild ride through the most pressing political issues of our time and the most intimate and transformative personal experiences of his life. Exploring a complex range of emotions, this collection is a celebration of the discovery of America, the discovery of self, and the ways they may be one and the same.

Naima Coster, author of What’s Mine and Yours

A community in the Piedmont of North Carolina rises in outrage as a county initiative draws students from the largely Black east side of town into predominantly white high schools on the west. For two students, Gee and Noelle, the integration sets off a chain of events that will tie their two families together in unexpected ways over the next twenty years.

Elizabeth Acevedo, author of Inheritance: A Visual Poem

In her most famous spoken-word poem, author of the Pura Belpré-winning novel-in-verse The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the complexities of Black hair and Afro-Latinidad—the history, pain, pride, and powerful love of that inheritance.

Saraciea J. Fennell, Editor of Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed

In Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed, writers from across the Latinx diaspora interrogate the different myths and stereotypes about this rich and diverse community. From immigration to sexuality, music to language, and more, these personal essays and poems are essential additions to the cultural conversation, sure to inspire hope and spark dialogue.

The bestselling and award-winning contributors include Elizabeth Acevedo, Cristina Arreola, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Naima Coster, Natasha Diaz, Khalil Haywood, Zakiya Jamal, Janel Martinez, Jasminne Mendez, Meg Medina, Mark Oshiro, Julian Randall, Lilliam Rivera, and Ibi Zoboi.

Illianna Gonzalez-Soto lives in San Diego, CA with her dog Fluffers and her ever-growing #tbr pile. She currently works with Scholastic as a Marketing Assistant. You can follow her on Twitter (@Annalilli15) and Instagram (@librosconillianna).

February 2022 Latinx Releases

On-Sale February 1st, 2022

RAMÓN AND JULIETA by Alana Quintana Albertson | Adult Romance | 2/1/2022

When fate and tacos bring Ramón and Julieta together on the Day of the Dead, the star-crossed pair must make a choice: accept the bitter food rivalry that drives them apart or surrender to a love that consumes them—perfect for fans of Jane the Virgin!

Ramón Montez always achieves his goals. Whether that means collecting Ivy League degrees or growing his father’s fast-food empire, nothing sets Ramón off course. So when the sexy señorita who kissed him on the Day of the Dead runs off into the night with his heart, he determines to do whatever it takes to find her again. 
 
Celebrity chef Julieta Campos has sacrificed everything to save her sea-to-table taqueria from closing. To her horror, she discovers that her new landlord is none other than the magnetic mariachi she hooked up with on Dia de los Muertos. Even worse, it was his father who stole her mother’s taco recipe decades ago. Julieta has no choice but to work with Ramón, the man who destroyed her life’s work—and the one man who tempts and inspires her. 
 
As San Diego’s outraged community protests against the Taco King takeover and the divide between their families grows, Ramón and Julieta struggle to balance the rising tensions. But Ramón knows that true love is priceless and despite all of his successes, this is the one battle he refuses to lose.

On-Sale February 8th, 2022

OPHELIA AFTER ALL by Racquel Marie | Young Adult | 2/8/2022

A teen girl navigates friendship drama, the end of high school, and discovering her queerness in Ophelia After All, a hilarious and heartfelt contemporary YA debut by author Racquel Marie.

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. Add to that the impending end of high school and the fracturing of her once-solid friend group, and things are spiraling a little out of control. But the course of love—and sexuality—never did run smooth. As her secrets begin to unravel, Ophelia must make a choice between clinging to the fantasy version of herself she’s always imagined or upending everyone’s expectations to rediscover who she really is, after all.

JAWBONE by Mónica Ojeda | Translation | 2/8/2022

Fernanda and Annelise are so close they are practically sisters: a double image, inseparable. So how does Fernanda end up bound on the floor of a deserted cabin, held hostage by one of her teachers and estranged from Annelise?

When Fernanda, Annelise, and their friends from the Delta Bilingual Academy convene after school, Annelise leads them in thrilling but increasingly dangerous rituals to a rhinestoned, Dior-scented, drag-queen god of her own invention. Even more perilous is the secret Annelise and Fernanda share, rooted in a dare in which violence meets love. Meanwhile, their literature teacher Miss Clara, who is obsessed with imitating her dead mother, struggles to preserve her deteriorating sanity. Each day she edges nearer to a total break with reality.

Interweaving pop culture references and horror concepts drawn from Herman Melville, H. P. Lovecraft, and anonymous “creepypastas,” Jawbone is an ominous, multivocal novel that explores the terror inherent in the pure potentiality of adolescence and the fine line between desire and fear.

NO FILTER AND OTHER LIES by Crystal Maldonado | Young Adult | 2/8/2022

Twenty one-year-old Max Monroe has it all: beauty, friends, and a glittering life filled with adventure. With tons of followers on Instagram, her picture-perfect existence seems eminently enviable.

Except it’s all fake.

Max is actually 16-year-old Kat Sanchez, a quiet and sarcastic teenager living in drab Bakersfield, California. Nothing glamorous in her existence—just sprawl, bad house parties, a crap school year, and the awkwardness of dealing with her best friend Hari’s unrequited love.

But while Kat’s life is far from perfect, she thrives as Max: doling out advice, sharing beautiful photos, networking with famous influencers, even making a real friend in a follower named Elena. The closer Elena and “Max” get—texting, Snapping, and even calling—the more Kat feels she has to keep up the façade.

But when one of Max’s posts goes ultra-viral and gets back to the very person she’s been stealing photos from, her entire world – real and fake — comes crashing down around her. She has to figure out a way to get herself out of the huge web of lies she’s created without hurting the people she loves.

But it might already be too late.

UNBETROTHED by Candice Pedraza Yamnitz | Young Adult | 2/8/2022

Around Agatha Sea, princesses are poised, magically gifted, and betrothed.

 So, when seventeen-year-old Princess Beatriz still fails to secure a betrothal, her parents hold a ball. Forming an alliance could mean the difference between peace and war, but Beatriz doesn't want just any suitor.She's in love with her best friend, Prince Lux. Marrying Prince Lux will always be a silly dream as long as she has no magical gift.

Princess Beatriz will do whatever it takes to obtain a touch of magic, including making a deadly oath to go on a quest to Valle de Los Fantasmas. A valley where no one comes out alive.

If she can manage to succeed, Princess Beatriz could have everything she desires and secure peace for her kingdom. If she fails, she’ll lose not only her greatest dream but also her kingdom, and maybe even her own life.

On-Sale February 15th, 2022

RECLAIM THE STARS: 17 TALES ACROSS REALMS & SPACE edited by Zoraida Córdova | Young Adult | 2/15/2022

From stories that take you to the stars, to stories that span into other times and realms, to stories set in the magical now, Reclaim the Stars takes the Latin American diaspora to places fantastical and out of this world.

Follow princesses warring in space, haunting ghost stories in Argentina, mermaids off the coast of the Caribbean, swamps that whisper secrets, and many more realms explored and unexplored; this stunning collection of seventeen short stories breaks borders and realms to prove that stories are truly universal.

Reclaim the Stars features both bestselling and acclaimed authors as well as two new voices in the genres: Vita Ayala, David Bowles, J.C. Cervantes, Zoraida Córdova, Sara Faring, Romina Garber, Isabel Ibañez, Anna-Marie McLemore, Yamile Saied Méndez, Nina Moreno, Circe Moskowitz, Maya Motayne, Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez, Daniel José Older, Claribel A. Ortega, Mark Oshiro and Lilliam Rivera.

RIMA’S REBELLION: COURAGE IN A TIME OF TYRANNY by Margarita Engle | Young Adult | 2/15/2022

An inspiring coming-of-age story from award-winning author Margarita Engle about a girl falling in love for the first time while finding the courage to protest for women’s right to vote in 1920s Cuba.

Rima loves to ride horses alongside her abuela and Las Mambisas, the fierce women veterans who fought during Cuba’s wars for independence. Feminists from many backgrounds have gathered in voting clubs to demand suffrage and equality for women, but not everybody wants equality for all—especially not for someone like Rima. In 1920s Cuba, illegitimate children like her are bullied and shunned.

Rima dreams of a day when she is free from fear and shame, the way she feels when she’s riding with Las Mambisas. As she seeks her way, Rima forges unexpected friendships with others who long for freedom, especially a handsome young artist named Maceo. Through turbulent times, hope soars, and with it…love.

On-Sale February 22nd, 2022

HOW TO DATE A FLYING MEXICAN: NEW AND COLLECTED STORIES by Daniel A. Olivas | Adult Fiction | 2/22/2022

How to Date a Flying Mexican is a collection of stories derived from Chicano and Mexican culture but ranging through fascinating literary worlds of magical realism, fairy tales, fables, and dystopian futures. The characters confront—both directly and obliquely—questions of morality, justice, and self-determination.

The collection is made up of Daniel A. Olivas’s favorite previously published stories, along with two new stories—one dystopian and the other mythical—that challenge the Trump administration’s anti-immigration rhetoric and policies. Readers will encounter a world filled with both the magical and the quotidian: a man with twelve fingers who finds himself on a mystical date with a woman, God who appears in the form of a scrawny chicken, a woman who bravely fights back against her abuser, and Aztec gods searching for relevance after the Spanish conquest—just to name a few of the unforgettable characters populating these pages. The book draws together some of Olivas’s most unforgettable and strange tales, allowing readers to experience his very distinct, and very Chicano, fiction.

THE BOOK OF WANDERERS by Reyes Ramirez | Adult Fiction | 2/22/2022

What do a family of luchadores, a teen on the run, a rideshare driver, a lucid dreamer, a migrant worker in space, a mecha soldier, and a zombie-and-neo-Nazi fighter have in common?

Reyes Ramirez’s dynamic short story collection follows new lineages of Mexican and Salvadoran diasporas traversing life in Houston, across borders, and even on Mars. Themes of wandering weave throughout each story, bringing feelings of unease and liberation as characters navigate cultural, physical, and psychological separation and loss from one generation to the next in a tumultuous nation.

The Book of Wanderers deeply explores Houston, a Gulf Coast metropolis that incorporates Southern, Western, and Southwestern identities near the borderlands with a connection to the cosmos. As such, each story becomes increasingly further removed from our lived reality, engaging numerous genres from emotionally touching realist fiction to action-packed speculative fiction, as well as hallucinatory realism, magical realism, noir, and science fiction.

Fascinating characters and unexpected plots unpack what it means to be Latinx in contemporary—and perhaps future—America. The characters work, love, struggle, and never stop trying to control their reality. They dream of building communities and finding peace. How can they succeed if they must constantly leave one place for another? In a nation that demands assimilation, how can they define themselves when they have to start anew with each generation? The characters in The Book of Wanderers create their own lineages, philosophies for life, and markers for their humanity at the cost of home. So they remain wanderers . . . for now.

Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed is Out Today!

Saraciea J. Fennell is a Black Honduran writer and the founder of The Bronx is Reading. She is also a book publicist who has worked with many award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors. Fennell sits on the board for Latinx in Publishing as well as on the Advisory Board of People of Color in Publishing. She lives in the Bronx with her family and dog, Oreo.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Saraciea about her newly released anthology, Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed, which features 15 distinct voices from the Latinx diaspora. This anthology is the perfect mix of well-established writers and up-and-coming voices, and perfectly captures the diversity of the Latinx diaspora community.

Illianna Gonzalez-Soto (IGS): Saraciea! It’s pub day and your anthology, WILD TONGUES CAN’T BE TAMED, is out now! How are you feeling now that the anthology is out into the hands of readers?

Saraciea Fennell (SF): I’m buzzing with so much excitement. It’s been amazing to see the response from reviewers, bloggers, and social media influencers. Now I’m pumped to see what readers and my family and friends will think of the collection, plus I so can’t wait to talk to readers to see which pieces resonate with them and why.

IGS: Tell readers what this anthology is unleashing? The title itself is a statement that refuses to be ignored. How did the work of Gloria Anzaldúa influence this anthology for you?

 SF: This anthology is about to shake things up for the latinx canon! Anzaldúa’s book Borderlands was groundbreaking in its own right and I see Wild Tongues in the same vein. I think really just writers like Anzaldúa having the audacity to unapologetically write their truths and subvert stereotypes in our community is the greatest influence for this book.

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IGS: How does the word “diaspora” resonate with you and why was it important to you to make sure these15 voices from the diaspora were heard when there exist 33 Latin American countries? I can only imagine that your process for selecting these specific writers was difficult, if only for the simple but hard fact that many voices —Central & South American voices, Black Latinx voices especially—are often noticeably absent from the literary conversation.

SF: The word diaspora automatically disrupts what someone thinks when it’s next to the word Latinx. You kind of know right from the beginning that this collection is going to feature a diverse group of contributors. It was extremely hard to narrow down the list of contributors, but I wanted to make sure there was space for underrepresented voices that never receive the space they deserve, while also balancing it out with well known writers like Meg Medina, Ibi Zoboi, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, and Naima Coster. I wanted this anthology to be accessible to young people, but also to crossover to the adult space and I think it accomplishes that. Do these 15 voices cover the full latin american experience? Absolutely not, but it’s a start, and who knows, maybe one day I’ll be able to do a follow-up to this anthology and include more voices from the diaspora.

 IGS: Is there a reason that nonfiction was the genre through which you chose to funnel this anthology? Was nonfiction the best way you were able to make the discussion of Latinidad and its stereotypes more visible?

SF: There is a ton of fiction that features our community (granted there are still experiences yet to be told in fiction, especially when it comes to Central American representation), and I felt that it would be more impactful to have this be nonfiction because there’s nothing like it on the market - sure there’s nonfiction featuring specific experiences from specific countries, but nothing featuring a wide-range of writers from the diaspora. There’s also something about nonfiction and its ability to connect with readers in a direct and personal way that you don’t really get with fiction, so I hope that readers of Wild Tongues feel a deeper connection to this body of work because it’s our real life experiences and that tends to offer up validation in ways that fiction just can’t.

 IGS: Did you feel pressure to make sure that the identities reflected in the anthology were represented as accurately as possible? If so, how did that pressure create tension with your own identity as a Garifuna and as a Black Honduran?

SF: Honestly, I didn’t really feel pressure because this is a nonfiction anthology and everyone’s lived experiences are always going to vary, and I think that’s the most beautiful thing about this collection. As for me and my identities, I’m still learning about my ancestry and I felt that was important to note in my essay.

“I don’t want anyone reading this anthology to think that the experiences reflected when it comes to identity and culture is the end all be all because it isn’t, instead I want folks to know that the diaspora is vast and shapes people in our community in different ways. ”

I did feel pressure to make sure the Spanish dialects and languages were as accurate as possible though!

 IGS: How did you approach writing your essay, “Half in, Half out?” In the 4th annual Bronx Book Festival interview, you talk about how this piece was a moment in your life where identity and culture were beginning to take shape, and how knowing your roots helped you to begin to dictate your own identity. I’m wondering if writing this piece came naturally for you and how you went about exploring the topics of identity, ancestry, and culture?

 SF: Writing Half In, Half Out came naturally to me, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t challenging! It took me some time to sift through my memories from childhood and to focus on what I wanted to include in the essay and what I wanted to leave out. There are so many countless examples of experiences that I could’ve included, but ultimately decided not to. I wanted to focus on the moments where society forced me to figure out my identity and culture, because otherwise the world was going to swallow me up whole and I would just be lost not knowing where I really came from and etc.

 IGS: How does your essay align with other works you have written, and are currently working on writing? What can we expect to see from you next?

 SF: My essay touches on a lot of things I tend to feature in my writing: siblings, hair, colorism and anti-Blackness, and that sense of finding one's place in the world. I’m currently hoping to have upcoming projects featuring an adult essay collection, and eventually my debut YA novel, the future is looking very exciting!

IGS: Picture your ideal literary scene: what stories do you imagine flooding the minds and homes of readers around the world and how can authors and publishers do the work to ensure that more stories like those are published?

 SF: For me it’s not necessarily the ideal literary scene but instead representation of underrepresented people/characters that come from where I come from. Where are the Hondurans in literature? Where is the character that reflects what it’s like to be a Black Honduran growing up in Brooklyn, the Bronx, elsewhere? Where is the Latinx person who is queer and Jewish and etc.

“There are so many untold stories from our community and that’s what I want to see flooding the minds and homes of readers. I’m so tired of reading about the same Latinx experiences, we need and deserve variety. ”

IGS: What resources can you point readers to so that we can find more literature like this revolutionary anthology? If there are outside authors or works from those within this anthology that we all should add to our TBRs, drop those recommendations here!

 SF: I’m always looking for resources myself, so I would recommend of course Latinx in Publishing, We Need Diverse Books, and places like Goodreads, you’d be surprised at the diverse listicles on there, I know I certainly was, ha! You should definitely go and follow all of the contributors in this anthology and read their work, and for the others who don’t have books out yet, invest in their career by following them on social media and championing them when recommending new voices to discover.

 IGS: Do you have final advice for the next generation of Latinx and BIPOC writers and readers who will see themselves reflected in WILD TONGUES, but who are still struggling to reconcile their identities within Latinx and white spaces?

 SF: Such a great question! I encourage the next generation of writers to be kind to themselves. It’s hard navigating the world, but especially as a person of color. Trying to make it in the publishing industry is no different, stay as true to yourself as you can and set boundaries, step away when you need to and build community so you have folks to lean on to ask for advice and to help you find a way forward as you navigate these spaces.

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Visit TheBronxisReading.com and follow Saraciea online @sj_fennell & @thebxisreading.

Stay connected to the contributors in the anthology:

Mark Oshiro: https://www.markoshiro.com/

Naima Coster: https://www.naimacoster.com/

Natasha Diaz: https://natashaerikadiaz.com/about/

Meg Medina: https://megmedina.com/

Julian Randall: https://juliandavidrandall.com/

Ibi Zoboi: https://www.ibizoboi.net/

Cristina Arreola: https://www.cristinaarreola.com/

Khalil Haywood: https://twitter.com/DamnPOPS

Zakiya N. Jamal: https://zakiyanjamal.com/

Lilliam Rivera: https://www.lilliamrivera.com/

Jasminne Mendez: https://www.jasminnemendez.com/

Ingrid Rojas Contreras: https://www.ingridrojascontreras.com/

Janel Martinez: https://www.janelmartinez.com/

Elizabeth Acevedo: http://www.acevedowrites.com/

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Illianna Gonzalez-Soto lives in San Diego, CA with her dog Fluffers and her ever-growing #tbr pile. You can follow her on Twitter (@Annalilli15) and Instagram (@librosconillianna).

October Most Anticipated Reads

Grab your fuzzy blanket, some hot apple cider, and crawl into your favorite book nook with our most anticipated reads for October! 🍂

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THIS FIERCE BLOOD | ADULT FICTION, LITERARY

by Malia Márquez (Acre Books)

A multicultural saga, This Fierce Blood follows three generations of women in the Sylte family.

In rural late-nineteenth-century New England, Wilhelmina Sylte is a settler starting a family with her Norwegian immigrant husband. When she forms an inexplicable connection with a mountain lion and her cubs living near their farm, Mina grapples with divided loyalties and the mysterious bond she shares with the animals.

In 1927 in southern Colorado, Josepa is accused of witchcraft by a local priest for using the healing practices passed down from her Native mother. Fighting for her family's reputation and way of life, Sepa finds strength in worldly and otherworldly sources.

When Magdalena, an ecologist, inherits her great-grandmother Wilhelmina's Vermont property, she and her astrophysicist husband decide to turn the old farm into a summer science camp for teens. As Magda struggles with both personal and professional responsibilities, the boundary between science and myth begins to blur.

Rich in historical and cultural detail, This Fierce Blood combines magical realism with themes of maternal ancestral inheritance, and also explores the ways Hispano/Indigenous traditions both conflicted and wove together, shaping the distinctive character of the American Southwest. Readers of Téa Obreht and Ruth Ozeki will find much to admire in this debut novel.

CERTAIN DARK THINGS | FANTASY, HORROR

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Macmillan/Nightfire)

From Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic, comes Certain Dark Things, a pulse-pounding neo-noir that reimagines vampire lore.

Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized.

Atl needs to quickly escape the city, far from the rival narco-vampire clan relentlessly pursuing her. Her plan doesn't include Domingo, but little by little, Atl finds herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. As the trail of corpses stretches behind her, local cops and crime bosses both start closing in.

Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?

EVERYTHING WITHIN AND IN BETWEEN | YOUNG ADULT CONTEMPORARY

by Nikki Barthelmess (HarperCollins/Harper)

Color Me In meets I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter in Everything Within and In Between, a deeply honest coming-of-age story about reclaiming a heritage buried under assimilation, the bonds within families, and defining who you are for yourself.

For Ri Fernández's entire life, she's been told, "We live in America and we speak English." Raised by her strict Mexican grandma, Ri has never been allowed to learn Spanish.

What's more, her grandma has pulled Ri away from the community where they once belonged. In its place, Ri has grown up trying to fit in among her best friend's world of mansions and country clubs in an attempt try to live out her grandmother's version of the "American Dream."

In her heart, Ri has always believed that her mother, who disappeared when Ri was young, would accept her exactly how she is and not try to turn her into someone she's never wanted to be. So when Ri finds a long-hidden letter from her mom begging for a visit, she decides to reclaim what Grandma kept from her: her heritage and her mom.

But nothing goes as planned. Her mom isn't who Ri imagined she would be and finding her doesn't make Ri's struggle to navigate the interweaving threads of her mixed heritage any less complicated. Nobody has any idea of who Ri really is--not even Ri herself. 

Everything Within and In Between is a powerful new young adult novel about one young woman's journey to rediscover her roots and redefine herself from acclaimed author Nikki Barthelmess.

THE LAST CUENTISTA | MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL

by Donna Barba Higuera (Levine Querido)

Había una vez . . .

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.

Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether.

Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

Pura Belpré Honor-winning author Donna Barba Higuera presents us with a brilliant journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us human.

MIOSOTIS FLORES NEVER FORGETS | MIDDLE GRADE CONTEMPORARY

by Hilda Eunice Burgos (Lee & Low/Tu Books)

Perfect for fans of Meg Medina and Barbara O'Connor, this heartfelt novel about family, pets, and other things we hold close is one that you'll never forget.

Miosotis Flores is excited about three things: fostering rescue dogs, goofy horror movies, and her sister Amarilis's upcoming wedding. School? Not on that list. But her papi cares about school more than anything else, so they strike a deal: If Miosotis improves her grades in two classes, she can adopt a dog of her own in the summer.

Miosotis dives into her schoolwork, and into nurturing a fearful little pup called Freckles. Could he become her forever dog? At the same time, she notices Amarilis behaving strangely--wearing thick clothes in springtime, dropping her friends in favor of her fiancé, even avoiding Miosotis and the rest of their family.

When she finally discovers her sister's secret, Miosotis faces some difficult choices. What do you do if someone is in danger, but doesn't want your help? When should you ask for support, and when should you try to handle things on your own? And what ultimately matters most--what Miosotis wants, or what's right for the ones she loves?

An Exclusive Interview with The Playwright's House Author, Dariel Suarez

Dariel Suarez was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1997. His debut story collection, A Kind of Solitude, received the 2017 Spokane Prize for Short Fiction and the 2019 International Latino Book Award for Best Collection of Short Stories. Dariel is an inaugural City of Boston Artist Fellow and Education Director at GrubStreet. His prose has appeared in numerous publications, including the Threepenny Review, Prairie Schooner, the Kenyon Review, and the Caribbean Writer, where he was awarded the First Lady Cecile de Jongh Literary Prize. Dariel earned his MFA in Fiction at Boston University and currently resides in the Boston area with his wife and daughter.

I met Dariel during my time as a Marketing and Media intern with Red Hen Press. His debut novel, The Playwright’s House, immediately caught my eye because of the mystery and enlightening look into life in Cuba during the Special Period. We had the wonderful opportunity to speak with one another about the inspirations for his novel, writing advice for young Latinx writers, and his passion for music.

Read on for an exclusive excerpt from The Playwright’s House and for an inside look at photos which inspired the setting of the novel!

exclusive excerpt

(from Chapter 6)

Serguey remembered their home taking on a lively atmosphere following the last session with the child psychologist, when Felipe told his sons they had to turn the page toward a new life, cherishing the positive memories of their mother. During weekends, instead of making good on a weekday promise of a trip to the beach or the zoo, Felipe hosted dinner parties for his colleagues. People acted out scenes from their favorite plays and made fun of the obtuse administrators at the cultural centers where they worked. Once in a while someone would bring an acoustic guitar and play Nueva Trova songs. Felipe, however, rarely let his boys be a part of the celebrations, which made the few times he allowed them to remain particularly notable. Serguey recalled the laughter, the smoke snaking up from the ashtrays, he and his brother dancing for the crowd. These moments had washed over the otherwise dull, solitary lives they led under their father’s supervision.

As with Felipe’s current predicament, he hadn’t wanted to involve his sons in his personal affairs. During their childhood, he had given them fleeting kisses on the head, dismissive sighs at their misbehavior, quick waves of the hand in the mornings. He had, very seldom, shown them books, paintings, played them music—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, Picasso’s Guernica, Bola de Nieve’s “Ay Mama Inés”—but he never related them to their actual lives, never linked what he shared to their daily struggle of growing up motherless. It was as if he believed that exposing young boys to art would be curative and edifying on its own. He never discussed his own work, either, not in the dim light of their bedroom or the ash-ridden air engulfing his writing desk, intimate places where their young minds would have been perceptive, prone to remember. He reserved himself—the vulnerable Felipe, the thoughtful and authoritative Felipe—for his circle of artist friends, for the stage he directed. Serguey and Victor had spent their lives watching like intrigued spectators, wondering about this figure that was their father.

This excerpt is from The Playwright's House by Dariel Suarez (Red Hen Press 2021). Reprinted with permission from the publisher.

El Vedado

Where Serguey lives with Anabel

El Vedado, Cuba

(from afar)

Havana, Cuba

Houses clustered together, as described by Serguey.

El Capitolio- Havana,Cuba

Havana Suburb- Havana, Cuba

Hotel Nacional- Havana, Cuba

Havana Police - Havana, Cuba

Havana, Cuba

Havana police harassing vendors.

Havana, Cuba

A park with WiFi.

Countryside, Cuba

Bodega, Cuba

Cuba

Cuba

Heladeria Coppelia- Havana, Cuba

Havana, Cuba

Old Havana.

Cuba

Childhood hangout spot for author, Dariel Suarez.

Cuba

Park where author Dariel Suarez played as a child.

Cuba

Elementary School of author, Dariel Suarez.

Havana, Cuba

Neighborhood where author Dariel Suarez grew up.

Havana, Cuba

Street where author Dariel Suarez grew up.

Havana, Cuba

Author Dariel Suarez in Paseo del Prado.

Havana, Cuba

A young Dariel Suarez saying ‘hi’ to his uncle in his Soviet-era Moskvich.

Havana, Cuba

A very old rationing booklet.

Photo credit: Dariel Suarez

Interview

Author Dariel Suarez

Illianna Gonzalez-Soto (IGS): Dariel, do you mind telling me a little bit about your debut novel, The Playwright’s House (Red Hen Press, June 2021)? Who or what were your inspirations for this story which is fiction, but which may be partly based on your real life experiences in Cuba?

 Dariel Suarez (DS): I wanted to explore the complicated intersection between arts and politics in Cuba through the lends of a fractured family. It also felt important to highlight the reality for political prisoners on the island, and the nuances of contemporary life there. Some of the places and people are inspired by my own experiences growing up in Havana, but the vast majority of the book came from research and imagination.

IGS: State surveillance, freedom of artistic expression, estrangement, love, differences between class and wealth. These are some common themes present within The Playwright’s House. Can you speak more to how the characters reflect these themes within the novel?

 DS: Every character in the book is contending with both internal and external forces. A place like Cuba makes it very difficult to ignore the social, economic, and political reality of the country, as it constantly impacts most people. I also wanted to show the subtle differences in class and culture, to counteract the more stereotypical or monolithic thinking about the country for those who aren’t as familiar with it.

IGS: Jumping off the last question, it seems like love and estrangement are especially prevalent. The brothers, Serguey and Victor, begin the novel completely at odds. This is also true for their relationship with their father as well. Can you speak more about how the brother’s relationship with each other evolves throughout the novel? Why was their relationship as siblings central to pushing the plot forward?

 DS: The relationship between Serguey and Victor was the main engine for the novel as I wrote it. They have so much to contend with in their past—resentment, violence, jealousy—while trying to help their father. I feel like through their shared journey, they give themselves a chance at reconciliation and redemption, even if they don’t always see eye to eye.

IGS: The father is especially engaging as a character, if not only for his part as a playwright. Serguey seems especially opposite to the dramaturgist because of his career as a lawyer. Why were you drawn to center this story on the art form of theater as opposed to a painter, or a poet, a novelist, or a musician such as yourself?

 DS: Theater in a place like Cuba serves many functions: escapism, experimentation, cultural expression, and sometimes, subversion. It can be a way for artists to engage with some of their social and political frustrations they feel, but there’s always a risk when you do so there. For a renowned director to be arrested, it’s a very public event, harder for the government to hide. All of these things provide a strong platform on which to build a larger story and explore the different layers and staked of being an outspoken artist in Cuba.

IGS: There are also many supporting characters who aid the brothers in investigating the imprisonment of their playwright father. Ana (Serguey’s wife) and her family, the Catholic priest, Kiko (internet extraordinaire), a Santeria priestess, and Claudia (journalist and activist). What purpose do each of these roles play in portraying the realities of a Cuba that existed 20 years ago and which still may exist today?

DS: Having a broad cast of characters allowed me to delve into different areas of Cuban society and to present either opportunities or obstacles for Sergey, the protagonist. These characters gave the plot some energy and kept the story grounded in the inter-personal, despite the external forces at play. Moreover, I wanted to show some diversity in the Cuban experience, which often tends to be oversimplified or looked at through a singular lens.

IGS: What research went into creating your novel? Certainly this novel is based on a very key historical reality in Cuba, The Special Period, which existed until roughly twenty years ago. Along with the Castros, are there other specific figures which may have stood as inspirations for your work?

 DS: I wasn’t focusing on any one person’s life, but a lot of what takes place in the novel was inspired by research. There are numerous reported accounts of government oppression and abuse, of artists being arrested or forced into exile, of the Church being involved in assisting political prisoners, of independent journalists using social media and blogs to bring attention to what’s happening in Cuba. I wanted the freedom to explore and take the story where it needed to go, so my approach was grounded in compiling lots of information and examples, then infusing what felt most useful and earned by the narrative and characters.

IGS: You immigrated with your family to the United States when you were fourteen. Can you talk about what being between worlds (Cuba and the United States) was like as the author of a story primarily set in Cuba? What political or cultural similarities/differences do you see reflected within your work?

DS: Questions of identity are inevitable when you migrate permanently, especially after having had an entire childhood and early adolescence in a different country. Cuba is my birthplace, my native culture. Writing about it is a way to not just feel closer to it, but to interrogate my relationship with and perception of it as someone who no longer lives there. It’s also an opportunity to give voice to certain people and issues that writers on the island wouldn’t be able to do for political reasons.

IGS: I’ve read your LitHub article. Can you speak to how being a non-native English speaker impacted your career as a writer, especially when writing The Playwright’s House? Do you have advice for native Spanish speakers hoping to publish in a predominately American / English language landscape?

 DS: I don’t know if I’m in a position to give advice, since individual experiences tend to vary, especially with something as complex as language. I’ll say that, for me, becoming clear on my intended audience, how I define cultural authenticity in my work, and my use of language has been a long road. My recommendation would be to read as widely as possible, especially when it comes to contemporary international literature. That was life-changing for me, because it helped clarify my own artistic sensibility and approach, and resist some of the more harmful (e.g. culturally myopic) feedback I received in the U.S.

IGS: You're not only an insanely talented writer, but a musician as well. How do the two artforms inform each other? What advice would metalhead Dariel Suarez say to writer extraordinaire Dariel Suarez? Is there a song, album, or playlist that is quintessentially The Playwright’s House?

Metalhead Dariel Suarez

DS: Haha! Metalhead Dariel would definitely not call writer Dariel “extraordinaire.” Music taught me to be patient and to treat art as a craft. If you don’t put in the time with an instrument, it will show. The only way to get better is through dedicated—and sometimes grueling—practice. Music also taught me to collaborate, to be open-minded, to explore in search of something better and not settle for the first idea (a nice melody or riff is something to build on, not the final product). Teaching myself to play guitar was literally painful. My fingers bled, my hand and arm muscles hurt. All those metaphors people love to throw around about how hard writing can be feel quite real with music. So by the time I decided to become a writer, I wasn’t looking for shortcuts or going after some romanticized version of the art-form. I was ready to put in the work. 

IGS: You serve as the Educational Director with GrubStreet. What final advice or tips do you have for aspiring Latinx writers with a hope to publish their works?

DS: Seek out your community. You don’t have to go at it alone. Read as widely as possible, and by that I mean in terms of country, identity, lived experience, style, time period. Consume art with a critical eye and put into your tool box that which speaks to your own sensibility and interests the most. Don’t let others define you as a writer or tell you what you should ultimately write, or for whom. Go after the questions, people, and places you’re intrigued about. Trust that all you need is dedication and persistence, especially in the face of obstacles or failure. Those who push forward are the ones who break through.

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To stay updated with Dariel Suarez, follow him here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarielSuarez1

Website: https://darielsuarez.com/

Illianna Gonzalez-Soto graduated from Earlham College in 2020, where she served as an editor for The Crucible. She obtained a BA in English and a minor in creative writing. She currently lives in San Diego, CA where she serves as a Media & Marketing intern at Red Hen Press and Latinx in Publishing. You can follow her on Twitter (@Annalilli15) and Instagram (@librosconillianna).

Exclusive Sneak Peek of Acclaimed Poet Elisabet Velasquez's debut, WHEN WE MAKE IT

Latinx in Publishing is pleased to exclusively reveal an excerpt from When We Make It by debut author and critically acclaimed poet Elisabet Velasquez.

An unforgettable young adult debut novel-in-verse that redefines what it means to “make it,” touching on themes of mental illness, sexual assault, food insecurity and gentrification, in the Nuyorican literary tradition of Nicholasa Mohr and the work of contemporary writer Elizabeth Acevedo.

Sarai is a first-generation Puerto Rican eighth grader who can see with clarity the truth, pain, and beauty of the world both inside and outside her Bushwick apartment. Together with her older sister Estrella, she navigates the strain of family traumas and the systemic pressures of toxic masculinity and housing insecurity in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn. Sarai questions the society around her, her Boricua identity, and the life she lives with determination and an open heart, learning to celebrate herself in a way that she has been denied.

When We Make It is a love letter to girls who were taught to believe they would not make it at all. The verse is evocative and insightful, and readers are sure to be swept into Sarai’s world and rooting for her long after they close the book.

Read on for an exclusive excerpt of When We Make It by Elisabet Vasquez!

Lucky

In Bushwick, the reporters double park

to shoot the latest crime scene & then bounce

quick before their news vans get tagged up.

The teachers find their car radios missing

and blame the worst student they have.

Pero, the teachers and the reporters, they get to leave.

Back to their “good” neighborhoods

with boring-ass walls and vehicles

they don’t have to piece back together like a puzzle.

They’ll have a nice dinner with their predictable family

and talk about their wack-ass day in Bushwick

& somebody will say: You’re lucky you don’t live there.

Someone else will echo: Imagine?!

& they think they can imagine because fear

got them believing they know what it means to be safe.

I mean, it’s one thing to feel danger.

& maybe it’s another thing

to work in it.

& maybe it’s another thing altogether

to live with it.

But it’s something else completely

to be the thing everyone is afraid of.

We Ain’t Afraid

Estrella says:

We ain’t afraid of nothing.

We ain’t afraid of nothing.

We ain’t afraid of nothing.

I say:

Some days though,

shit is scary.

Not gonna front

like shit ain’t scary.

Estrella says:

Damn, yo, what’s so scary?

That’s just Corner Boy Jesus and his friends.

I say:

Shit. That’s 5-0. Ayo!

They’re creeping around the corner.

I tell Estrella & the corner boys to run. Run!

Estrella & the corner boys say:

Run? We ain’t running.

Snitch? We ain’t snitching.

Estrella says:

Yo, chill, we’ll be aight.

Yo, chill, we’ll be okay.

& even when we not

we are. You know what I mean?

& I know exactly what she means

’cause it’s just like being afraid.

Even when we not we are.

Even when we not we are.

But I don’t say that.

Nah.

I don’t say that.

Neighbors

Bushwick is full of hip-hop & salsa.

 Cuchifritos & soul food.

 Nail & hair salons.

 Bootleg CD vendors & tamale ladies on the corner.

 We are all the same in our difference.

 No matter how we got to be neighbors here

 We all know we lived somewhere else first.

 I know this because on the occasion that

 Our eyes lock for more than a moment

 Our mouths ask each other the same question.

 Where you from? Like nice to meet you.

 Where you from? Like what block?

 Where you from? Like what country?

 Where you from? Like what God?

 Where you from? Like where you been?

 Where you from? Like where you going?

 Where you from? Like who you missing?

 Where you from? Like why you here?

 Where you from? Like have you gone back?

 Where you from? Like what did you leave behind?

Pronunciation

We can tell who is from the neighborhood
and who isn’t by the way they pronounce
street names. We pronounce Graham Avenue
not like the cracker (GRAM) but like if
the first half of the word got stuck in your mouth
and you had to breathe out to let out the second
(GRAA-HAM). Some people say we are saying
it wrong but they are just jealous our accents
want every letter to be heard because isn’t that the worst
thing? To exist so plainly in sight and still be ignored.

Used with permission from Penguin Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Copyright (c) Elisabet Velasquez, 2021.

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Elisabet Velasquez is a Boricua writer born in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Her work has been featured in Muzzle Magazine, Winter Tangerine, Latina Magazine, We Are Mitú, Tidal and more. She is a 2017 Poets House fellow and the 2017 winner of the Button Poetry Video Contest. Her work is featured in Martín Espada’s anthology What Saves Us: Poems of Empathy and Outrage in the Age of Trump. Elisabet lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, and When We Make It is her debut novel.

Review: Lost in the Never Woods

A distinct retelling of the original story of a boy who never wants to grow up by J.M. Barrie, Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas is a mysterious tale filled with the seemingly familiar characters we know and love. Set in Astoria, Oregon (perhaps a similar walking ground for Thomas themself, who now lives in Portland), Peter Pan makes his reappearance in Wendy’s imagination— or so she believes. 

It’s been five years since the fateful day when Wendy and her younger brothers disappear in the woods behind their home. Sorrow fills the Darling family when Wendy returns to her parents after a period of being missing and her brothers do not. Unable to recall what happened to her or her brothers, Wendy and her parents must now relive the guilt, grief, and separation that continues to affect their small family when children begin to go missing in their small town. 

A car crash into a mysterious figure leaves Wendy shaken as she meets the boy from the stories she’s told in her childhood. It’s Peter Pan, but is it really? Older now, Peter must wrestle with his own shadows— figuratively and literally. He’s come in search of Wendy, the only one who can help him sew his shadow back on and hopefully save Neverland. Along their quest to find his shadow, Wendy and Peter respark their connection from Wendy’s childhood. Together, they confront the Never Woods and learn that growing up comes with hardship, tragedy, and grief, but that it doesn’t have to lose the wonder of their youth.  

Credit: Illianna Gonzalez-Soto

Entirely different from Cemetery Boys, Thomas still adds hints of Latinx flair within Lost in the Never Woods. Wendy’s best friend Jordan is Latinx, though that fact is not central to the storyline. What is prevalent, however, is Jordan’s steadfast support for her friend. Her encouragement of Wendy’s dream to be a pediatrician is a reassuring force when everything else in Wendy’s life is out of sorts. Both 18 with college on the horizon, Wendy and Jordan prove that their friendship can outlast their hardships. 

This is the perfect retelling which completely reimagines the classic tale of Peter Pan. Thomas makes the story their own with mysterious twists, dark secrets, and painful truths. This is the perfect tale for learning to cope with grief. Touching upon the psychological effects of tragedy and death, we see a very real and very adult version of Peter Pan as Wendy Darling moves through anxiety, depression, grief, and recovery. Though the story deals with adult topics, the adolescence of Peter and Wendy gives a key perspective for any teen who may also be dealing with similar issues. 

Mixed with playfulness and wonder, we see that growing up may not be so bad if you continue to have faith, trust, and just a little bit of pixie dust.

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Aiden Thomas is a trans, Latinx, New York Times bestselling author of young adult novels. They received an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. Originally from Oakland, California, they now make their home in Portland, OR. Aiden is notorious for not being able to guess the endings of books and movies, and organizes their bookshelves by color.

To stay updated with their latest works, follow them here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aidenschmaiden

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aidenschmaiden/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aidenschmaiden?

Website: https://www.aiden-thomas.com/

Illianna Gonzalez-Soto graduated from Earlham College in 2020, where she served as an editor for The Crucible. She obtained a BA in English and a minor in creative writing. She currently lives in San Diego, CA where she serves as a Media & Marketing intern at Red Hen Press and Latinx in Publishing. You can follow her on Twitter (@Annalilli15) and Instagram (@librosconillianna).

June 2021 Most Anticipated Reads

It’s starting to get warmer which means reading on the beach with your favorite book and a cool drink in hand. Scroll below for our list of the most anticipated Latinx reads for June and snag one for yourself (just in time for summer)! Check here for our full list of June 2021 Latinx Releases.

MILES MORALES: SHOCK WAVES | Middle Grade

by Jason Reynolds; illustrated by Pablo Leon (Graphix/Scholastic)

Miles Morales is a normal school kid who happens to juggle school at Brooklyn Visions Academy while swinging through the streets of Brooklyn as Spider-Man. After a disastrous earthquake strikes his birthplace of Puerto Rico, Miles springs into action to help set up a fundraiser for the devastated island. But when a new student's father goes missing, Miles begins to make connections between the disappearance and a giant corporation sponsoring Mile's fundraiser. Who is behind the disappearance, and how does that relate to Spider-Man?

A true middle grade graphic novel that just happens to star one of Marvel's most popular characters, exciting new voice Justin A. Reynolds (Opposite of Always) creates a riveting story that will connect with new and well-versed comics readers alike.

SHE PERSISTED: SONIA SOTOMAYOR| Middle Grade

by Meg Medina and Chelsea Clinton; illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint (Penguin Random House)

In this chapter book biography by Meg Medina, the award-winning author of Merci Suarez Changes Gears and Mango, Abuela, and Me, readers learn about the amazing life of Sonia Sotomayor–and how she persisted.

Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in the history of the United States, but her road there wasn’t easy. She overcame many challenges along the way, including a diagnosis of diabetes at age seven. But she didn’t let that stop her from achieving her dream and inspiring children all over the world to work hard and believe in themselves.

Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton!

THE COT IN THE LIVING ROOM | Picture Book

by Hilda Eunice Burgos; illustrated by Gaby D'Alessandro (Kokila/Penguin Random House)

Night after night, a young girl watches her mami set up a cot in the living room for guests in their Washington Heights apartment, like Raquel (who’s boring) and Edgardo (who gets crumbs everywhere). She resents that they get the entire living room with a view of the George Washington Bridge, while all she gets is a tiny bedroom with a view of her sister (who snores). Until one night when no one comes, and it’s finally her chance! But as it turns out, sleeping on the cot in the living room isn’t all she thought it would be.

With charming text by Hilda Eunice Burgos and whimsical illustrations by Gaby D’Alessandro, The Cot in the Living Room is a celebration of the ways a Dominican American community takes care of one another while showing young readers that sometimes the best way to be a better neighbor is by imagining how it feels to spend a night sleeping on someone else’s pillow.

FIRE WITH FIRE| Young Adult

by Destiny Soria (HMH)

Raised to be fierce dragon slayers, two sisters end up on opposite sides of the impending war when one sister forms an unlikely, magical bond with a dragon in this standalone YA contemporary fantasy that's perfect for fans of Slayer and Sorcery of Thorns.

Dani and Eden Rivera were both born to kill dragons, but the sisters couldn't be more different. For Dani, dragon slaying takes a back seat to normal high school life, while Eden prioritizes training above everything else. Yet they both agree on one thing: it's kill or be killed where dragons are concerned.

Until Dani comes face-to-face with one and forges a rare and magical bond with him. As she gets to know Nox, she realizes that everything she thought she knew about dragons is wrong. With Dani lost to the dragons, Eden turns to mysterious and alluring sorcerers to help save her sister. Now on opposite sides of the conflict, each sister will do whatever it takes to save the other. But the two are playing with magic that is more dangerous than they know, and there is another, more powerful enemy waiting for them both in the shadows.

SIMONE BREAKS ALL THE RULES| Young Adult

by Debbie Riguad (Scholastic)

Simone Thibodeaux's life is sealed in a boy-proof container.

Her strict Haitian immigrant parents enforce no-dating rules and curfews, and send Simone to an all-girls school. As for prom? Simone is allowed to go on one condition: her parents will select her date (a boy from a nice Haitian immigrant family, obviously).

Simone is desperate to avoid the humiliation of the set up — especially since she's crushing on a boy she knows her parents wouldn't approve of. With senior year coming to a close, Simone makes a decision. She and her fellow late-bloomer friends will create a Senior Year Bucket List of all the things they haven't had a chance to do. On the list: kissing a boy, sneaking out of the house, skipping class (gasp!), and, oh yeah — choosing your own prom date.

But as the list takes on a life of its own, things get more complicated than Simone expected. She'll have to discover which rules are worth breaking, and which will save her from heartbreak.

FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES FROM THE SUN| Young Adult

by Jonny Garza Villa (Amazon Publishing)

Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate. Get into UCLA. And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life.

Then in one reckless moment, with one impulsive tweet, his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet. The downside: the whole world knows, and Jules has to prepare for rejection. The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self.

Then Mat, a cute, empathetic Twitter crush from Los Angeles, slides into Jules’s DMs. Jules can tell him anything. Mat makes the world seem conquerable. But when Jules’s fears about coming out come true, the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away. Jules has to face them alone.

Jules accidentally propelled himself into the life he’s always dreamed of. And now that he’s in control of it, what he does next is up to him.

Sala Sundays with Alison Macke

Latinx in Publishing (LxP): What do you do?

Alison Macke (AM): I'm the Senior Legal Compliance Associate at Macmillan Publishers. I work on promotions and data privacy compliance, which can be a lot of legalese but it means I get to work with every marketing department in the company, and I also work with people at every level of the company.

LxP: How did you get started?

AM: I used to work at a mid size law firm as a paralegal and was looking for a new job when I received a targeted email from LinkedIn which said I might be a good fit for an open role at Macmillan in the legal department. I almost didn’t apply because I was trying to pivot away from law since I knew I didn’t want to go to law school and didn’t want to get stuck being a paralegal. I think LinkedIn’s algorithm saw that my old job had the word compliance in the title and took it from there, but I always wanted to work in book publishing so I was excited and decided to just apply and see what happened, especially since I'd kind of written it off as an impossibility since I didn't have the right internships in college.

LxP: What do you wish you knew before getting into the industry?

AM: I wish I'd known more about the "behind the scenes" departments at publishing houses. Legal is definitely one of those departments, but there are truly so many people who bring a book to readers and not every part is as "exciting" as editorial or marketing or publicity who are quite forward facing by nature. If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have written it off! So thanks, LinkedIn!

LxP: What book are you currently working on or reading?

AM: My reading has been all over the place recently, but I'm in the middle of Just Us by Claudia Rankine and I'm also listening to Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford. Highly recommend both--Rankine's writing is just *chef's kiss* and Ford's writing and narration are a searing spotlight on her upbringing.

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Alison grew up in northern Illinois and now lives and works in NYC where she reads, writes, consumes art in pretty much any form, and is constantly on the lookout for baked goods or ice cream. She graduated with a B.S. in Linguistics and Psychology from Barnard College and has worked at Macmillan since 2017. Follow her on Twitter @alison_macke or on Instagram @ageekyreader.