whether you are joining in on a rad reading challenge for 2024, or you are just looking to diversify your reading, or you want to amplify and support Latinx authors for another reason, i hope this list of books (both that i’ve read and that are on my tbr list!) is a helpful guide!

ps — @tomesandtextiles is a fantastic latinx bookstagrammer and booktoker who also has a VERY thorough bookshop stocked with so, so many latinx book recs! highly recommend following her and supporting her work and the authors, books, and resources she shares.

ps— all links are amazon affiliate links, so any purchases made once clicked will put a few pennies in my pocket. thanks in advance for your support!

five star favorites:

i’ll be your blue sky by marisa de los santos / (#3 in a series!) I loved every single thing about this book. It’s perfect. I devoured it. I didn’t see the storylines coming. I was surprised by it. I was so drawn into it. I loved the characters. I loved the parallel points of view. I found it poignant but not heavy handed, lovely and not long winded, compelling and captivating and clever. There’s mystery, there’s drama, there’s romance... this book has it all. Best fiction I have read in A LONG TIME.
inward by yung pueblo / So glad a friend told me about this one — these poems are ones i have savored over the last few months and always found to be exactly the words I needed each and every time I’ve picked them up. So poignant, beautiful, simple yet deeply meaningful... loved them.
the poet x by elizabeth acevedo / This book is poetic and powerful, beautiful and emotional. A story told in verse of a daughter and a family, navigating teenage years and learning to own your voice, faith and doubt, and finding your way in the world. I loved it. Acevedo is amazing and I will read every word she writes!
in the dream house by carmen maria machado / this was an INTENSE ride through a relationship full of abuse— a hard read, but grippingly told, highlighting domestic abuse in a queer relationship which isn’t often discussed. to see this relationship deteriorate at the hands of a woman-turned-monster was sickening and painful, but wow, this was written WELL.
dominicana by angie cruz / a slow burn story of ana, a 15 year year old who is married off to a man more than twice her age for the sake of securing the family’s future and moved to harlem from her home in the dominican republic. it’s a story based on the author’s mother, and you feel that intimacy in the way ana tells us, the reader, her story— it’s honest, hard, full of the questions and explorations of a teenager figuring out their way in the world while adding on so many layers of a new language, new culture, new relationship, new dynamics of power and class and money and so much more. it’s frank in it’s telling of abuse and infidelity and war and violence and the loss of innocence, but it’s written beautifully and tells such a captivating story i couldn’t put down.

four star reads:

echo by pam muñoz ryan / It's geared toward young adults (the author wrote Esperanza Rising which I loved when I was younger), and I found it to be a beautifully written book. It starts with what reads like a fairy tale, and then follows with three different narratives of children around the world, weaving them together and wrapping the whole story up at the end in a really poignant and enchanting way. I read this book in one evening-- it was full of rich imagination and stories I easily fell into-- and I would highly recommend it for a fun spring or summer read.
love walked in by marisa de los santos / (book #1 in the series i mentioned above!) thought it was lovely! I would never have grabbed this one purely based on the cover alone (I know, I know) but thankfully I had heard it recommended by @annebogel on the @whatshouldireadnextpodcast so I snagged it at a used bookstore and gave it a shot. Such a heartwarming, sweet story that made for a wonderful weekend read.
kill the spider: getting rid of what’s really holding you back by carlos whittaker / I first heard about Carlos at Yellow Conference a few years ago, and I instantly loved his message and presence. I recently got to sit down with him in Nashville and do some video interviews (my job is the coolest) and he talked a lot about this book— you guys, it is SO good. The title comes from a story about a woman repeating praying that God would clear the cobwebs from her life... when really, what she needed to do is kill the spider. This book tackles the hard stuff and gets right to the heart of the matter— our behaviors, our sin, our anxieties, they come from a deeper place, and we have to be willing to go there and uncover them and do the hard work to truly kill the spiders and stop new cobwebs from cropping up. This book is super well-written, bold, helpful, and life-changing. Loved every word.
with the fire on high by elizabeth acevedo / This one was rich and unexpected, with incredible writing of food, cooking, and culture and with strong familial themes as the main character cared for both her ‘Buela and her toddler daughter while going through her senior year of high school and trying to pursue her dreams for her future. I loved Emoni and was cheering her on from the earliest pages, and loved the magic of her ability to weave flavors and foods together from such a young age. This was such a gem of a book. Acevedo’s writing is incredible and I can’t wait to read more from her!
clap when you land by elizabeth acevedo / wooooooof, @acevedowrites can tell a STORY. this is powerful and emotional and incredibly written (as all of her books have been!) and i am so glad i finally dove into it. i appreciate when authors can take something so known (such as the events of 9/11) and tell a new and provocative story within it, and this book does that in parallel then conjoining perspectives so well. it’s gut-wrenching but SO GOOD.
ophelia after all by raquel marie / this was such a cute story of friendship, self-discovery, coming into one’s own and coming out too, crushes and high school and prom and all that comes with that! the end had me squealing 😍 and made the slightly slower first 150ish pages worth it!!! there’s a LOT of diversity in this group of friends which i absolutely loved — so many teens will see themselves reflected in characters like these and that’s just the beauty of the best ya books!

furia by yamile saied méndez / i thoroughly enjoyed this one — a strong female lead, breaking stereotypes, Argentinian culture and soccer, young love and big dreams… so good! 🔥

a lot like adios by alexis daria / i liked this one more than Daria’s first — it was fun and flirty and sexy and sweet, with an old childhood flame and a new chance for love again. love main characters who aren’t just basic white girls (even though— especially because— i am one), and this delivered on that 🙌🏼 if you want an easy, steamy romance, this is a winner🔥
home sweet road: finding love, making music, and building a life one city at a time by johnnyswim / i love @johnnyswim SO MUCH you all — i was fresh out of college when i discovered their first album, and it was love at first listen. they are one of the most electric, charismatic, magnetic duos to see live— truly, you can’t see them perform and not fall in love. 🥰 i loooooved this book telling the story of their relationship, their music, their career, and their family— truly, amanda + abner are #goals🔥 she’s the daughter of Donna Summer, he’s the son of immigrants, they have three incredible and adorable kids (and she somehow hid two of her pregnancies to surprise us all with new babies), they’re bff with Chip and Joanna and also Steph Curry? the coolest, i tell you. such a fun read that made me love them even more.
meg, jo, beth, and amy, a modern graphic retelling of little women by rey terciero / visiting the orchard house where louisa may alcott grew up has made me want to get my hands on everything related to little women, and this was such a fun, modern retelling of the classic story! the graphic novel format lends itself well to adjustments to characters/plot, and this version adds diversity, cultural relevance, a blended family dynamic, and a coming out moment while still holding to the original themes and arc of the story. 🙌🏼
infinite country by patricia engel / this one packed a punch and was a beautifully told story of family, fighting for freedom and future, fear and dreams, ancient myths interwoven with current realities, and navigating life despite impossible challenges and odds. it was a one sitting read and a great audio listen, too!
crying in the bathroom by erika l. sánchez / “they remind me of a myth I once read about a girl who danced until she couldn't stop, until her feet bled. Maybe she, too, was trying to heal the wound that never heals. Maybe that's what we're all doing. Maybe that's what it means to be alive.” 😭

three star reads:

the book of unknown americans by cristina henríquez / This book was fantastic. The chapters bounce around to different characters, all people who have immigrated to the United States from various South and Central American countries for different reasons. This book is poignant, beautifully woven together, and dripping with the passion and struggle that comes with pursuing the American dream for the good of family. It opened my eyes to what coming here must be like for so many, and I couldn't put it down. I think Americans need to read more books like this one so the compassion and grace that drips from its pages will seep into our own lives and change the way we interact with the incredible people who have come to make a home here.
you had me at hola by alexis daria / If you are a fan of Jane the Virgin and telenovelas and hispanic culture, you’ll love this fun romance read! As the telenovela characters got closer, so did the actors playing them, and it was a cute (and steamy at times!) story.
i am not your perfect mexican daughter by erika l. sánchez / this book was horribly depressing and super cynical and not very enjoyable to read? but it won a lot of awards and had strong voice (albeit a selfish, immature, angsty one)?
of women and salt by gabriela garcia / This book was really layered and richly woven and written but something about the tone or writing style didn’t totally vibe with me. Like, maybe I wasn’t deep enough to get it? Or it was too elevated/flowery/etc for me? 🤷🏼‍♀️ Strong female leads though? Here for it. Immigrant stories and deportation and multi-generational plot lines? Yes plz. Overall, it just wasn’t a slam dunk for me.

before we were free by julia alvarez / it’s poignant and compelling for the middle grade/younger readers, in the same way that Anne Frank’s diary was for me as a kid, telling the story of a girl in a world far more corrupted and unsafe and terrifying than any kid should ever experience. (this one is set in the dominican republic and is based on the author’s own life!)

aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe by benjamin alire sáenz / this one was pretty slow but also sweet and had great great great parents and endearing main characters! it’s clearly won a ton of awards so there’s goodness here, but it didn’t wow me 🙃
yaqui delgado wants to kick your ass by meg medina / @megmedinabooks is a local author for me (RVA, represent!) of Cuban descent whose books highlight and celebrate Latinx culture and characters, and this one is a frank, honest, and compelling story of teen hood, bullying, high school and family dynamics, classism, and so much more. i found myself confused at why yaqui had it out for piddy from the start, and yet it brought back my own memories of wondering why my high school bullies targeted me without reason either. this one’s gritty and real, and i appreciated that it didn’t shy away from the ugly underbelly of what life can be like.
the wedding crasher by mia sosa / didn’t know this book was a sequel but oh well 🙃 it was a cute lil romcom i snagged as i keep focusing on Latine authors (read this when it was still #latinxheritagemonth, but just bc the month ended doesn’t mean reading diversely does!). i don’t think it really mattered that i missed book 1– it felt like it just was the story of other characters that were probably on the margins in the first one! it had fake dating tropes GALORE if that’s your vibe, and it was a fun and light read that i neeeeeeeded this month.