Latinx Book Marketers and Publicists You Should Know

Have you ever felt you’re seeing a book everywhere? One day, the book appears on your social media, but you don’t think much about it. The next day, you see the book’s author on your favorite late-night show, and you think it’s a coincidence. But the next day, while you’re on the subway, you look up, and there it is again! How is this possible? Well, it’s all thanks to book marketers and publicists. 

Although their work is rarely noticed by readers, they play a huge role in getting people to discover and buy books. So in an attempt to recognize their efforts, we’ve put together a short list of Latinx book marketers and publicists. Enjoy!

Rhina Garcia, Publicist, Avid Reader Press

Rhina Garcia is the Publicist at Avid Reader Press, a division of Simon & Schuster. She joined from the Countryman Press imprint at W.W. Norton where she worked on a variety of cookbooks and lifestyle titles including Toya Boudy's Cooking for the Culture, Mary Beth Albright's Eat & Flourish and New York Times bestsellers My Vermont Table by Gesine Bullock-Prado and RecipeTin Eats Dinner by Nagi Maehashi. Prior to that, she worked at the William Morrow imprint at HarperCollins with authors such as Alexis Daria, Karin Slaughter, Rob Kenney, and Rosalind Miles. She holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Florida and an M.S. in Publishing from New York University. Originally from Miami, she currently lives in Brooklyn and enjoys live music, film photography, and bodega cats.

Tiffany Gonzalez, Marketing Manager, Astra House

Tiffany Gonzalez (she/her) is the Marketing Manager at Astra House, an imprint of Astra Publishing House. She previously worked in Production at HarperCollins Publishers. She has worked on the Publicity and Marketing campaign for Dreaming of You by Melissa Lozada-Oliva and on the Marketing campaigns for Becoming Abolitionists by Derecka Purnell, The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkoa Sekiyamah, and The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela. She has earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rutgers University – NB. She’s fluent in Spanish and is excited to bring unique and creative initiatives to fruition. You can follow her on Instagram @wandering_tiff_ and Twitter @wanderingtiff or visit her website at https://www.wanderingtiff.com.

Irene Vázquez, Associate Editor and Publicist, Levine Querido

Irene Vázquez is an Associate Editor and Publicist at Levine Querido. Irene graduated from Yale with a BA in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration and English. Irene read the Percy Jackson series out of order in elementary school by accident and has been passionate about children’s books ever since. Outside of LQ, Irene is a poet and journalist who likes drinking coffee, watching Queen Sugar and reminding folks that the South has something to say. You can visit her website at https://www.irenevazquez.com.

Lulú Martínez, Senior Director of Marketing, One World

Lulú Martínez (she/her) is the Senior Director of Marketing at One World, an imprint of Random House Group. A transplant from Mexico City, she moved to New York to pursue an MS in Publishing at Pace University. She has worked on campaigns for bestselling authors like Zora Neale Hurston, Heather McGhee, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Cathy Park Hong, and Former First Lady Michelle Obama. She is on the board of N+1 Magazine and serves as a mentor at Inkluded, a program that champions diversity in publishing by actively working to train and place young people from excluded groups into their first publishing jobs. She is an avid ultrarunner and amateur vegan baker in her spare time.

Saraciea J. Fennell, Senior Publicity Manager, Tor/Forge Books

Saraciea J. Fennell is a Black Honduran American writer, founder of The Bronx is Reading, and creator of Honduran Garifuna Writers. She is also a book publicist who has worked with many award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors. Fennell is board chair for Latinx in Publishing as well as on the Advisory Board of People of Color in Publishing. Her nonfiction anthology WILD TONGUES CAN’T BE TAMED is available wherever books are sold. Her second book is the horror anthology THE BLACK GIRL SURVIVES IN THIS ONE co-edited with Desiree S. Evans, from Flatiron Books. Visit her website at https://www.saracieafennell.com, and follow her online @sj_fennell, @thebronxisreading, @hondurangarifunawriters.

Antonio Gonzalez Cerna, Marketing Director, Levine Querido

Antonio Gonzalez Cerna (he/him) is the Marketing Director at Levine Querido. He has 15 years of experience developing marketing, advertising, and social media strategies for adult and children’s book publishers such as Hachette Book Group, Penguin Books USA, and Scholastic, as well as for non-profit institutions including the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Lambda Literary Foundation. An advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equality, he has proudly served on the Children’s Book Council Diversity Committee, Lambda Literary Awards Host Committee, and is a founding member of Latinx in Publishing. He’s passionate about graphic novels, graffiti, and guacamole.

Giselle Gonzalez, Publicist, Tor/Forge Books

Giselle Gonzalez (she/her) is the Publicist at Tor/Forge Books. She was born and raised in Miami but is now located in NYC. A romantic at heart, her favorite books to read offer an escape. When she isn’t working in book publicity, she’s catching the first flight out to start a new adventure. You can visit her blog at https://www.hopelessbooklover.com.

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Elizabeth Cervantes is a proud Mexican book lover. She has a bachelor’s in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and is currently working on obtaining her master’s in Publishing at Pace University. When she is not studying and reading for her classes, you can find her crying, swooning, or locking her doors while reading children’s books, romance novels, and mysteries/thrillers.

Most Anticipated July 2024 Releases

Summer is officially here! We hope you take some time to rest, enjoy the sun, and with it, a good book. Check out our most anticipated releases and make sure to pick up one (or more – we won’t judge) of these books to enjoy while on your summer adventures. 

The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez

There’s no better way to combat the heat than with more heat, and this debut romance novel brings just that!

Librarian Marcela Ortiz has been secretly in love with her best friend for years—and when he gets engaged, she knows she needs to move on. But before she gets the chance, she must deal with a bigger problem: Theo Young, ex-NFL player and older brother of the man she’s in love with. When she discovers Theo's plans to confess his feelings for his brother’s fiancée at their engagement party, Marcela convinces him to sleep off his drunken almost-mistake at her place. But when they arrive at a family brunch the next day together, everyone wrongly assumes they hooked up.

Theo needs a cover for his feelings for the bride and Marcela needs a distraction from her feelings for the groom, so they decide to roll with the lie. Until one night, they take it a step further and begin a rebound relationship that may be working a little too well. 

How to Eat a Mango by Paola Santos|Illustrated by Juliana Perdomo

Carmencita doesn’t want to help Abuelita pick mangoes; she doesn’t even like them!

But Abuelita adores mangoes, and patiently, she teaches Carmencita the right way to eat them. Together, they listen to the tree’s leaves, feel its branches and roots, and smell and feel the sweet, smooth fruits. Each step is a meditation on everything Mamá Earth has given, and in the Earth’s love, Carmencita feels the love of her family.

When they finally bite in, Carmencita understands. The mangoes are more than just mangoes… and she’s ready for another!

How to Eat a Mango’s delicious story and artwork will leave you craving the sweet golden fruit, a perfect snack for this time of year. 

Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

When Catalina is admitted to Harvard, it feels like the fulfillment of destiny: a miracle child escapes death in Latin America, moves to Queens to be raised by her undocumented grandparents, and becomes one of the chosen. But nothing is simple for Catalina. Now a senior, she faces graduation to a world that has no place for the undocumented.

She infiltrates the school’s elite subculture and is both fascinated and repulsed. Craving a great romance, Catalina finds herself drawn to a fellow student, a budding anthropologist eager to teach her about the Latin American world she was born into but never knew, even as her life back in Queens begins to unravel. And every day, the clock ticks closer to the abyss of life after graduation. Can she save her family? Can she save herself? What does it mean to be saved?

Brash and daring, Catalina is sure to pull you in until the very last page. 

My Mother Cursed My Name by Anamely Salgado Reyes 

For generations, the Olivares women have sought to control their daughters’ destinies, starting with their names. In life, Olvido constantly clashed with her carefree daughter. Then teenage Angustias discovered she was pregnant and left her mother’s home in search of her own. Ten years later, Felicitas finally meets her estranged grandmother and is terribly disappointed when Olvido is nothing like a grandmother should be. She is strict, cold, and…dead.

Now, Olvido is convinced the only way her spirit will cross over is if she resolves her unfinished business—to make sure Angustias is in a better place regarding family, job, husband, and God—and Felicitas is the only person who can see or hear her. 

As Olvido attempts to puppeteer her granddaughter to “fix” Angustias’s life from beyond the grave, all three Olivares girls are forced to learn how to actually listen to one another and learn the true definition of home.

My Mother Cursed My Name is a charming and magical journey you won’t want to miss!

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Elizabeth Cervantes is a proud Mexican book lover. She has a bachelor’s in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and is currently working on obtaining her master’s in Publishing at Pace University. When she is not studying and reading for her classes, you can find her crying, swooning, or locking her doors while reading children’s books, romance novels, and mysteries/thrillers.

Latinx Book Editors You Should Know

Contrary to popular belief, publishing is so much more than just the authors and illustrators. A whole set of people works behind the scenes to make sure we, the readers, get great books.

We wanted to spotlight these book publishing professionals, starting with editors. Continue reading for a list of Latinx editors currently accepting submissions. 

Kiara Valdez, Editor, First Second

Kiara Valdez (she/her) is an Afro-Dominican writer and an editor at First Second, Macmillan. She was born and raised in New York City and has been an avid comics reader all her life. She graduated from Williams College with a double major in English Literature and Japanese, and spends her free time reading, writing, and enjoying various hobbies.

She is only looking for graphic novels and is mostly focused on middle grade and young adult. She is open to all genres but is especially interested in magical realism, memoir, #ownvoices stories (especially those from Latinx and Black creators), and stories with LGBTQ+ characters and romance. She likes stories that feel contemporary, real, and are grounded in our world regardless of the genre. 

Find more information about her manuscript wishlist here. 

Nicole Luongo, Editor, Park Row Books

Nicole Luongo (she/her) is an editor at Park Row Books, HarperCollins. Nicole joined the Park Row team in 2021, after interning at Foundry Literary & Media, Pegasus Books, Blair Publishing, and Mango Publishing. She has a Joint Honors B.A. in English Literature and International Development, with a minor in Spanish, from McGill University. 

On the fiction side, Nicole is drawn to voice-driven, contemporary upmarket “book club” fiction featuring strong female protagonists, psychological thrillers that subvert the genre (i.e. unreliable female narrators, female perpetrators, etc.), select coming-of-age stories and select historical fiction, with an emphasis across all genres on amplifying underrepresented voices. While she doesn’t acquire genre fiction, she loves genre-adjacent fiction—speculative fiction, magical realism (especially those based on cultural folklore), feminist dystopian, etc. In the nonfiction space, Nicole is drawn to standout, accessible narrative nonfiction and compelling memoirs geared towards a female readership. 

Read her full manuscript wishlist here. 

Jenny Lopez, Assistant Editor, Sourcebooks Fire and Sourcebooks Young Readers

Jenny Lopez (she/her) is the assistant editor at Sourcebooks Fire and Sourcebooks Young Readers. She believes that stories hold so much power—to connect, to save, and to change us for the better. 

Jenny is currently looking to acquire middle grade and young adult novels and is passionate about working with BIPOC and traditionally marginalized creators. Because of her background and identities, she is especially excited to acquire stories from queer and Latinx/Latine voices!

Overall, she is interested in diverse and inclusive stories across all genres. Jenny loves stories with complex characters, immersive worldbuilding, and has a soft spot for anything speculative—especially fantasy and horror.

Read the specifics on her manuscript wishlist here. 

Nadxieli Nieto, Executive Editor, Flatiron Books

Nadxieli Nieto (she/they) is an executive editor at Flatiron Books, Macmillan. She edits literary and upmarket fiction, select nonfiction, and art books. She is also the former director of PEN America's Literary Awards and is on the board of Latinx in Publishing.

She is currently looking for upmarket and literary fiction, YA, and select nonfiction, with a focus on work by Latinx authors and BIPoC. Nadxieli is drawn to innovative, language-driven work in fiction, often with weird or speculative elements, and idea-driven, researched nonfiction on culture, feminism, immigration, and the environment. She is not currently seeking memoirs.

For more information on her manuscript wishlist, visit her website. 

Crystal Castro, Assistant Editor, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Crystal Castro (she/her) is an Assistant Editor at  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Hachette Book Group. She is currently seeking MG and YA titles for her list, specifically thrillers, mysteries, horror, fantasy, and adventure. Crystal is drawn to character-driven narratives and voicey manuscripts where she can get a sense of the main character’s personality from the first page. She is also looking for debut projects from BIPOC authors, hoping to bring more Puerto Rican voices to her imprint. 

Read her detailed manuscript wishlist here. 

Toni Kirkpatrick, Senior Acquisitions Editor, Crooked Lane Books / Alcove Press

Toni Kirkpatrick began her publishing career at St. Martin’s Press, where she worked for more than a decade acquiring crime and other commercial fiction. She joined Crooked Lane Books and Alcove Press in 2019. She serves on the board of Latinx in Publishing.

For Crooked Lane: She is looking for clever traditional mysteries that may or may not lend themselves to punny titles, grittier mysteries, noir, suspense, and thrillers. She is intrigued by crime fiction that explores social issues or moral questions.

For Alcove Press: She is looking for book club fiction that is sexy, humorous, and/or haunting. She would love to find stories that highlight contemporary women’s issues, family dynamics, friendship, motherhood, and the immigrant or multicultural experience.

Visit the Crooked Lane Books website to read more about her manuscript wishlist. 

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Elizabeth Cervantes is a proud Mexican book lover. She has a bachelor’s in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and is currently working on obtaining her master’s in Publishing at Pace University. When she is not studying and reading for her classes, you can find her crying, swooning, or locking her doors while reading children’s books, romance novels, and mysteries/thrillers.

6 Latinx Books to Read This Pride Month

Happy Pride Month! Celebrate with us by reading one of these amazing titles featuring LGBTQIA+ characters written by Latinx members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Make sure to add the rest to your TBR list to read later, because we should be reading LGBTQIA+ literature all year round. 

When We Love Someone We Sing to Them: Cuando Amamos Cantamos by Ernesto Javier Martínez|Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez|Translated by Jorge Gabriel Martínez Feliciano

When We Love Someone We Sing to Them is a bilingual picture book about the Mexican tradition of singing to family and loved ones and a young boy who asks his father if there is a song for a boy who loves a boy. Reframing a treasured cultural tradition, this story perfectly brings tradition and inclusion into the conversation.

The One Who Loves You the Most by medina

I have never felt like I belonged to my body. Never in the way rhythm belongs to a song or waves belong to an ocean.

It seems like most people figure out where they belong by knowing where they came from. When they look in the mirror, they see their family in their eyes, in their sharp jawlines, in the texture of their hair. When they look at family photos, they see faces of people who look like them. They see faces of people who they'll look like in the future.

For me, I only have my imagination.

But I'm always trying.

Twelve-year-old Gabriela is trying to find their place in the world. In their body, which feels less and less right with each passing day. As an adoptee, in their all-white family. With their mom, whom they love fiercely and do anything they can to help with her depression. And at school, where they search for friends.

A new year will bring a school project, trans and queer friends, and a YouTube channel that help Gabriela find purpose in their journey. 

This Is Me Trying by Racquel Marie

Growing up, Bryce, Beatriz, and Santiago were inseparable. But when Santiago moved away before high school, their friendship crumbled. Three years later, Bryce is gone, Beatriz is known as the dead boy’s girlfriend, and Santiago is back.

The last thing Beatriz wants is to reunite with Santiago, who left all her messages unanswered while she drowned alone in grief over Bryce’s death by suicide. Even if she wasn’t angry, Santiago’s attempts to make amends are jeopardizing her plan to keep the world at arm’s length―equal parts protection and punishment―and she swore to never let anyone try that again.

Santiago is surprised to find the once happy-go-lucky Bea is now the gothic town loner, though he’s unsurprised she wants nothing to do with him. But he can’t fix what he broke between them while still hiding what led him to cut her off in the first place, and it’s harder to run from his past when he isn’t states away anymore.

The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes 

Ariana Ruiz wants to be noticed. But as an autistic girl who never talks, she goes largely ignored by her peers—despite her bold fashion choices. So when cute, popular Luis starts to pay attention to her, Ari finally feels seen.

Luis’s attention soon turns to something more, and they have sex at a party—while Ari didn’t say no, she definitely didn’t say yes. Before she has a chance to process what happened and decide if she even has the right to be mad at Luis, the rumor mill begins churning—thanks, she’s sure, to Luis’s ex-girlfriend, Shawni. Boys at school now see Ari as an easy target, someone who won’t say no. 

Then Ari finds a mysterious note in her locker that eventually leads her to a group of students determined to expose Luis for the predator he is. To her surprise, she finds genuine friendship among the group, including her growing feelings for the very last girl she expected to fall for. But in order to take Luis down, she’ll have to come to terms with the truth of what he did to her that night—and risk everything to see justice done.

A Tiny Piece of Something Greater by Jude Sierra

Reid Watsford has a lot of secrets and a past he can’t quite escape. While staying at his grandmother’s condo in Key Largo, he signs up for introductory dive classes, where he meets Joaquim Oliveira, a Brazilian dive instructor with wanderlust. Driven by an instant, magnetic pull, what could have been just a hookup quickly deepens. As their relationship evolves, they must learn to navigate the challenges of Reid’s mental illness—on their own and with each other.

Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis

In 1977 Uruguay, a military government crushed political dissent with ruthless force. In this environment, where the everyday rights of people are under attack, homosexuality is a dangerous transgression to be punished. And yet Romina, Flaca, Anita "La Venus," Paz, and Malena—five cantoras, women who "sing"—somehow, miraculously, find one another. Together, they discover an isolated, nearly uninhabited cape, Cabo Polonio, which they claim as their secret sanctuary. Over the next thirty-five years, their lives move back and forth between Cabo Polonio and Montevideo, the city they call home, as they return, sometimes together, sometimes in pairs, with lovers in tow, or alone. And throughout, again and again, the women will be tested—by their families, lovers, society, and one another—as they fight to live authentic lives.

Cantoras is a breathtaking portrait of queer love, community, forgotten history, and the strength of the human spirit.

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Elizabeth Cervantes is a proud Mexican book lover. She has a bachelor’s in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and is currently working on obtaining her master’s in Publishing at Pace University. When she is not studying and reading for her classes, you can find her crying, swooning, or locking her doors while reading children’s books, romance novels, and mysteries/thrillers.

5 Latinx Books Showcasing Supportive Father Figures

With Father’s Day just around the corner, reflecting on the father figures in our lives is inevitable. Here is a list of books that show the beautiful, and sometimes complex, relationships we have with them. 

My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero|Illustrated by Zeke Peña 

When Daisy Ramona zooms around her neighborhood with her papi on his motorcycle, she sees the people and places she's always known. She also sees a community that is rapidly changing around her.

But as the sun sets purple-blue-gold behind Daisy Ramona and her papi, she knows that the love she feels will always be there.

With vivid illustrations and text bursting with heart, My Papi Has a Motorcycle is a young girl's love letter to her hardworking dad and to memories of home that we hold close in the midst of change.

Abuelo, the Sea, and Me by Ismée Williams|Illustrated by Tatiana Gardel 

When this grandchild visits her abuelo, he takes her to the ocean. In summer, they kick off their shoes and let the cool waves tickle their toes. In winter, they stand on the cliff and let the sea spray prick their noses and cheeks. No matter the season, hot or cold, their favorite place to spend time together is the beach.

It’s here that Abuelo is able to open up about his youth in Havana, Cuba. As they walk along the sand, he recalls the tastes, sounds, and smells of his childhood. And with his words, Cuba comes alive for his grandchild.

Stef Soto, Taco Queen by Jennifer Torres

Tacos. Burritos. Guacamole. Estefania "Stef" Soto is itching to shake off the onion-and-cilantro embrace of Tia Perla, her family's taco truck. Although Papi is always ready to comfort her with his food, Stef wants nothing more than for him to get a normal job and for the taco truck to be a distant memory. Then maybe everyone at school will stop calling her the Taco Queen.

But when her family's livelihood is threatened, and it looks like her wish will finally come true, Stef surprises everyone (including herself) by becoming the truck's unlikely champion. In this fun and heartfelt novel, Stef will discover what matters most and ultimately embrace her identity, even if it includes old Tia Perla.

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa

Finding home. Falling in love. Fighting to belong.

The Santos Vista neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, is all Ander Martínez has ever known. The smell of pan dulce. The mixture of Spanish and English filling the streets. And, especially their job at their family's taquería. It's the place that has inspired Ander as a muralist, and, as they get ready to leave for art school, it's all of these things that give them hesitancy. That give them the thought, are they ready to leave it all behind?

To keep Ander from becoming complacent during their gap year, their family "fires" them so they can transition from restaurant life to focusing on their murals and prepare for college. That is, until they meet Santiago López Alvarado, the hot new waiter. Falling for each other becomes as natural as breathing. Through Santi's eyes, Ander starts to understand who they are and want to be as an artist, and Ander becomes Santi's first steps toward making Santos Vista and the United States feel like home.

Until ICE agents come for Santi, and Ander realizes how fragile that sense of home is. How love can only hold on so long when the whole world is against them. And when, eventually, the world starts to win.

Featuring a dad who undoubtedly supports his children’s preferences and decisions, Ander & Santi Were Here will warm up your heart this Father’s Day. 

The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea

"All we do, mija, is love. Love is the answer. Nothing stops it. Not borders. Not death."

In his final days, beloved and ailing patriarch Miguel Angel de La Cruz, affectionately called Big Angel, has summoned his entire clan for one last legendary birthday party. But as the party approaches, his mother, nearly one hundred, dies, transforming the weekend into a farewell doubleheader. Among the guests is Big Angel's half brother, known as Little Angel, who must reckon with the truth that although he shares a father with his siblings, he has not, as a half gringo, shared a life.

Across two bittersweet days in their San Diego neighborhood, the revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of Big Angel and his mother, and recounting the many inspiring tales that have passed into family lore, the acts both ordinary and heroic that brought these citizens to a fraught and sublime country and allowed them to flourish in the land they have come to call home.

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Elizabeth Cervantes is a proud Mexican book lover. She has a bachelor’s in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and is currently working on obtaining her master’s in Publishing at Pace University. When she is not studying and reading for her classes, you can find her crying, swooning, or locking her doors while reading children’s books, romance novels, and mysteries/thrillers.

Most Anticipated June 2024 Releases

We’ve hit the mid-year mark (crazy, right?), and the great books keep coming. Here are some of our most anticipated releases for June that would look lovely on your TBR list 😉.

Isabel and The Rogue by Liana De la Rosa

The second installment of the Luna Sisters series is finally here! This is the perfect read for all romance lovers, regardless of whether you’ve read the first book (Ana María and The Fox) or not.

Isabel Luna Valdés has long since resigned herself to being the “forgotten” Luna sister. But thanks to familial connections to the Mexican ambassador in London, wallflower Isabel is poised to unearth any British intelligence hidden by the ton that might aid Mexico during the French Occupation. Though she slips easily from crowded ballrooms into libraries and private studies, Isabel’s search is hampered by trysting couples and prowling rogues—including the rakish Captain Sirius Dawson.

The Sons of El Rey by Alex Espinoza

As June is also Pride Month, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to highlight this powerful title exploring LGBTQIA+ themes.

Ernesto Vega has lived many lives, from pig farmer to construction worker to famed luchador El Rey Coyote, yet he has always worn a mask. He was discovered by a local lucha libre trainer at a time when luchadores—Mexican wrestlers donning flamboyant masks and capes—were treated as daredevils or rock stars. Ernesto found fame, rapidly gaining name recognition across Mexico, but at great expense, nearly costing him his marriage to his wife Elena.

Years later, in East Los Angeles, his son, Freddy Vega, is struggling to save his father’s gym while Freddy’s own son, Julian, is searching for professional and romantic fulfillment as a Mexican American gay man refusing to be defined by stereotypes.

Brownstone by Samuel Teer | Illustrated by Mar Julia

Almudena has always wondered about the dad she never met.

Now, with her white mother headed on a once-in-a-lifetime trip without her, she’s left alone with her Guatemalan father for an entire summer. Xavier seems happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. And all along, she must navigate the language barrier of his rapid-fire Spanish—which she doesn’t speak.

As Almudena tries to adjust to this new reality, she gets to know the residents of Xavier’s Latin American neighborhood. Each member of the community has their own joys and heartbreaks as well as their own strong opinions on how this young Latina should talk, dress, and behave. Some can’t understand why she doesn’t know where she comes from. Others think she’s “not brown enough” to fit in.

Fixing a broken building is one thing, but turning these stubborn individuals into a found family might take more than this one summer.

Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima

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.

Lima lures readers into surreal pockets of the United States and Brazil where they’ll find bite-size Americans in vending machines and the ghosts of people who are not dead. Once there, she speaks to modern Brazilian-American immigrant experiences–of ambition, fear, longing, and belonging―and reveals the porousness of storytelling and of the places we call home.

With humor, an exquisite imagination, and a voice praised as “singular and wise and fresh” (Cathy Park Hong), Lima joins the literary lineage of Bulgakov and Lispector and the company of writers today like Ted Chiang, Carmen Maria Machado, and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

With nine stories, Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil is perfect for readers looking to get spooked.

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Elizabeth Cervantes is a proud Mexican book lover. She has a bachelor’s in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and is currently working on obtaining her master’s in Publishing at Pace University. When she is not studying and reading for her classes, you can find her crying, swooning, or locking her doors while reading children’s books, romance novels, and mysteries/thrillers.

Latinx Books That Make for the Perfect Graduation Gift

Graduation season is upon us, and there is no better gift (in our opinion) than a good book. Continue reading for books that make great graduation gifts for elementary, high school, and college graduates.

Elementary Graduates

What Will You Be? by Yamile Saied Méndez | Illustrated by Kip Alizadeh

What Will You Be? is a lyrical picture book about the common question: What will you be when you grow up? In it, a young girl dreams about all the endless possibilities, sparking a sense of wonder, curiosity, and growth. With her abuela’s loving guidance, she learns her potential is limitless.

The Spark in You by Andrea Pippins

There is a spark in you!

The spark in you shines when you smile. It sparkles when you dance. It glimmers and shimmers, zings, and pops! Your spark is festive and joyous and burns brightest when you are authentically being you.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of Carnival, a little girl uses all her creative energy to get ready for the big parade. Through the eyes of this vibrant character, the story celebrates the beautiful magic that makes each of us special.

Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. 

For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don’t have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci’s school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna’s jealousy. 

Things aren't going well at home, either: Merci’s grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately — forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what's going on, so she’s left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at school. 

This coming-of-age story exploring the confusion and constant change that defines middle school is perfect for introducing elementary graduates to the changes they might experience and showing them they will not be alone in their journey.

Patchwork by Matt de la Peña | Illustrated by Corinna Luyken

Patchwork explores the endless possibilities of each child: A young dancer may grow into a computer coder; a basketball player might become a poet; a class clown may one day serve as an inspiring teacher; and today’s quiet empath might be tomorrow’s great leader.

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES

Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success by Jessica Parra

Graduation is only a few months away, and Rubi Ramos’s “recipe for success” to get into prestigious Alma University is already off track.

When Alma waitlists Rubi’s application, Rubi will need to be distraction-free to make the grade and keep her parents—who have wanted this for her for years—from finding out. Which means falling for her cute surfer-slash-math tutor, Ryan, definitely won’t work. And neither will breaking her mother’s ban on baking.

But some recipes are begging to be tampered with.

When the First Annual Bake Off comes to town, Rubi’s passion for baking goes from subtle simmer to full boil. Add to the mix her crush on Ryan may be turning into a full-fledged relationship and Rubi’s life is suddenly so different from what it was. She’s not sure if she has what it takes to win the Bake Off, or where the relationship with Ryan is going, but there’s only one way to find out—even if it means going against her parents’ priorities.

As Rubi differentiates between the responsibility of unfulfilled dreams she holds and finding the path she’s meant for, high school graduates will feel understood and inspired to pursue their dreams.  

Gaby's Latin American Kitchen: 70 Kid-Tested and Kid-Approved Recipes for Young Chefs by Gaby Melian

Have you ever tried empanadas? Made cheesy arepas for your family? Or shared homemade, sprinkle-covered chocolate brigadeiros with your friends? Travel the world of Latin America with 70 recipes developed and written by professional chef Gaby Melian. A Spanish glossary, fun personal stories, and a peek into Gaby's own kitchen make this book a delicious win for all young chefs and their families! The cookbook contains a variety of recipes from breakfast to dessert including arepas con queso, ensalada de frutas, panqueques con dulce de leche, and empanadas de pollo. 

Although the book is geared toward kids, the book is perfect for all beginners, such as soon-to-be college students living away from home for the first time!

College graduates

The Latinx Guide to Graduate School by Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales and Magdalena L. Barrera

Providing a roadmap for surviving and thriving in advanced-degree programs, The Latinx Guide to Graduate School is the perfect gift for the graduate considering or heading to graduate school. 

The authors document the unwritten rules of graduate education that impact Latinx students, demystifying and clarifying the essential requirements for navigating graduate school that Latinx students may not know because they are often the first in their families to walk that path. Topics range from identifying the purpose of graduate research, finding the right program, and putting together a strong application to developing a graduate student identity, cultivating professional and personal relationships, and mapping out a post-graduate school career. 

Brand With Purpose: Find Your Passion, Stay True to Your Story, and Accelerate Your Career by Ivan Estrada

In Brand With Purpose, Ivan Estrada shares critical lessons about personal growth and self-discovery―from his early precocious entrepreneurial endeavors as a seven-year-old selling his drawings door to door for $2 to his rise as an inspirational business leader and highly ranked real estate broker. A book for young entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and ambitious dreamers, Brand With Purpose is filled with tools and expert advice on growing your career and business, with enlightening case studies and inspirational wisdom from successful entrepreneurs and trailblazers. Reflecting on his personal journey of growing up Latino, LGBTQ, and working middle class, Ivan is a prime example that hard work and perseverance on a foundation of self-confidence is the way to success.

With guided self-reflection, this book is perfect for graduates finding their true passion and starting their professional careers. 

Budgeting For Dummies by Athena Valentine Lent

Graduating college often comes with greater financial responsibilities, and there is no better way to tackle these than by budgeting. 

Budgeting For Dummies shows you how to create a plan that fits your lifestyle, manages everyday needs, and builds your savings. Author Athena Valentine, founder of the Money Smart Latina blog, offers step-by-step details for creating and following a budget without feeling like you’re depriving yourself and your family of all the things that make life worth living. This book shows you how to figure out where your money comes from and where it goes so you can live the life you want and work toward your financial goals. Find out how to establish an emergency fund, eliminate debt, improve your credit score, and stick to your budget through economic ups and downs.

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Elizabeth Cervantes is a proud Mexican book lover. She has a bachelor’s in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and is currently working on obtaining her master’s in Publishing at Pace University. When she is not studying and reading for her classes, you can find her crying, swooning, or locking her doors while reading children’s books, romance novels, and mysteries/thrillers.

5 Books to Read for AAPI Heritage Month

Happy Asian American Pacific Islander and Heritage Month! Celebrate with us by reading one of these five amazing books by Asian Latinx authors.

Between Words: A Friendship Tale by Saki Tanaka

Kai is used to following the seasons with Pa, from place to new place where people speak languages unfamiliar to his ears. When they finally settle in a valley full of pools, Kai tries to invite the other children to join in his play, but the strangeness of his words drives them away. Frustrated, he kicks his most treasured stone into one of the pools and in his search for it, finds something even more valuable.

Between Words is a whimsical tale of unexpected friendship by Mexican-Japanese author-illustrator Saki Tanaka.

Café Con Lychee by Emery Lee

Theo Mori and Gabriel Moreno have always been at odds. Their parents own rival businesses—an Asian American café and a Puerto Rican bakery—and Gabi’s lack of coordination has cost their soccer team too many games to count.

Stuck in the closet and scared to pursue his own dreams, Gabi sees his family’s shop as his future. Stuck under the weight of his parents’ expectations, Theo’s best shot at leaving Vermont means first ensuring his parents’ livelihood is secure. 

So when a new fusion café threatens both shops, Theo and Gabi realize an unfortunate truth—they can only achieve their goals by working together to cook up an underground snack operation and win back their customers. But can they put aside their differences long enough to save their parents’ shops, or will the new feelings between them boil over?

Café Con Lychee is the perfect next read by a Black, Asian, and Latinx author for all rom-com lovers.

Twice a Quinceañera by Yamile Saied Méndez

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 . . .

With a wedding venue already paid for, and family from all over the world with plane tickets, Nadia is determined to create her own happily-ever-after. Since the math adds up perfectly, she’ll celebrate her treintañera, her double quinces. As the first professional in her family, raising a glass to her achievements is the best plan she’s had in years. Until she discovers that the man in charge of the venue is none other than her college fling that became far more than a fling. And he looks even more delicious than a three-tiered cake . . .

From an Argentinian American author of Syrian Lebanese descent, Twice a Quinceañera is a fun story about what it really means to come into your own.

El verano largo by Sui Kam Wen

In El verano largo, an author’s alter ego looks back on his memories as a college student – the street; the dictatorship; the friendships; the love; the silence; the loneliness; the discovery of a new world; the changes in Lima, Peru brought by migration; the social upheaval that changed Peru; family; and love again. 

Originally in Spanish, Peruvian-Chinese author Sui Kam Wem explores how a life without love is like a year without summer.

The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez

The Vulnerables offers a meditation on our contemporary era, as a solitary female narrator asks what it means to be alive during the COVID-19 pandemic and considers how our present reality affects the way a person looks back on her past.

Humor, to be sure, is a priceless refuge. Equally vital is connection with others, who here include an adrift member of Gen Z and a spirited parrot named Eureka. The Vulnerables reveals what happens when strangers are willing to open their hearts to each other and how far even small acts of caring can go to ease another’s distress. A search for understanding about some of the most critical matters of our time, Nunez’s novel is also an inquiry into the nature and purpose of writing itself.

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Elizabeth Cervantes is a proud Mexican book lover. She has a bachelor’s in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and is currently working on obtaining her master’s in Publishing at Pace University. When she is not studying and reading for her classes, you can find her crying, swooning, or locking her doors while reading children’s books, romance novels, and mysteries/thrillers.

Most Anticipated May 2024 Releases

From fun and playful picture books to moving memoirs, May has brought us a wide variety of new releases with something for all readers. Check out the titles we are most excited about below and make sure to add them to your TBR list.

Oye by Melissa Mogollon|On Sale May 14

As the youngest in her Colombian American family, Luciana is often relegated to the sidelines. But when Abue refuses to evacuate despite a hurricane heading straight to her and Mami, Luciana seems to be the only voice of reason. As crazy as Abue drives Luciana, she is the only person who truly understands her. So, when Abue receives a shocking medical diagnosis, Luciana’s life is completely disrupted. Soon after, Abue moves into her room, leaving Luciana to step up to the roles of caretaker, translator, and keeper of the family secrets Abue has started to share with her.

Told through one-sided phone call conversations between Luciana and her older sister, Mari, Oye is the perfect coming-of-age story for those of us who can’t resist eavesdropping while in public. 

10 Things I Hate About Prom by Elle Gonzalez Rose|On Sale May 14

If you love the classic rom-coms of the 90s like I do, this is the book for you!

Ivelisse and Joaquin have had each other’s backs since they were little. At least, that’s what Ive thinks, until Joaquin decides to ask Tessa Hernandez, the girl who stole Ive’s boyfriend, to prom instead of going with her. The worst thing, though, is Joaquin asks Ive to help him create the greatest promposal ever. 

She would say no in a heartbeat, but with high school graduation looming over them, Ive can’t help but agree to spend all that quality time with Joaquin. Even if that means watching Joaquin fall in love with someone who isn’t her. 

Perla the Mighty Dog by Isabel Allende; illustrated by Sandy Rodríguez|On Sale May 28

Known for magical realism and historical fiction for adults, Isabel Allende is making her debut in a new category: children’s books!

Perla has two superpowers: making people love her and roaring like a lion. So when she finds out that her human brother, Nico Rico, is being bullied at school, she decides to teach him how to channel his superpowers and stand up to his bullies.

Paired with watercolor illustrations that bring this small but mighty dog to life, Perla the Mighty Dog is a must-read for all pet lovers.

Hurdles in the Dark: My Story of Survival, Resilience, and Triumph by Elvira K. Gonzalez|On Sale May 28

Hurdles in the Dark is the powerful memoir of Elvira Gonzalez, a former collegiate track and field athlete, author, activist, and entrepreneur who rose against all odds.

From having to give a drug cartel $40,000 within 24 hours to save her kidnapped mother to being sent to one of South Texas’s worst juvenile detention centers and then experiencing a sexual relationship with a 30-year-old high school coach as a student, Elvira’s race seemed endless. But despite the obstacles, she carried on and became one of the top-ranked hurdlers in the USA and the first in her family to go to college.

A true story of resilience and grit, Hurdles in the Dark will push you to reflect on racism, sexual abuse, and violence, as well as inspire you to face your own obstacles.   

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Elizabeth Cervantes is a proud Mexican book lover. She has a bachelor’s in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and is currently working on obtaining her master’s in Publishing at Pace University. When she is not studying and reading for her classes, you can find her crying, swooning, or locking her doors while reading children’s books, romance novels, and mysteries/thrillers.