Hispanic/Latinx Heritage month is September 15 through October 15. This is a time to promote Hispanic and Latinx histories and cultures. What better way to celebrate than to check out one of the books below? We have picked out Latinx stories for all ages. Stop by the Homewood Public Library to find books to read this month and beyond!

Adult Books:

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year’s Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is stopped by Cesar, Juan’s free-spirited younger brother, who convinces her to stay.

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González

It’s 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, are bold-faced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan’s powerbrokers.
Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the 1%, but she can’t seem to find her own…until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets…

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

For years Carmen Maria Machado has struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this extraordinarily candid and radically inventive memoir, Machado tackles a dark and difficult subject with wit, inventiveness and an inquiring spirit, as she uses a series of narrative tropes—including classic horror themes—to create an entirely unique piece of work which is destined to become an instant classic.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Carlota Moreau, Montgomery Laughton, and the hybrids. All of them living in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Doctor Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.

After Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M. Lopez

Professor Jeremiah Post, the poor handsome man, is in fact standing in the way of Alejandra “Alex” Torres turning Loretta’s, her grandmother’s bar, into a viable business. The hot brainiac who sleeps in one of the upstairs tenant rooms already has all of her Mexican American family’s admiration; she won’t let him have the bar and building she needs to resurrect her career, too.

My Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Quiara Alegría Hudes was the sharp-eyed girl on the stairs while her family danced in her grandmother’s tight North Philly kitchen. She was awed by her aunts and uncles and cousins, but haunted by the secrets of the family and the unspoken –even as she tried to find her own voice in the sea of language around her, written and spoken, English and Spanish, bodies and books, Western art and sacred altars. Her family became her private pantheon, and she vowed to tell their stories–but first she’d have to get off the stairs and join the dance. She’d have to find her language.

Children’s Books:

Across the Bay by Carlos Aponte

Follow Carlos as he goes “across the bay” in Puerto Rico to find his father. The illustrations in this book are bright and captivating! 

Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt De La Pena 

This picture book shows the stunning life of Carmela’s town as she gets her birthday wish to finally run errands with her brother.  This book is full of wonderful illustrations done by Christian Robinson and wonderful text that shows the importance of family and having hope. 

Islandborn by Junot Diaz

In this book, Lola goes to a school where mostly everybody has either immigrated or their family has immigrated from somewhere else. But when the teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, Lola has trouble remembering the Island. But with the help of her family, Lola’s imagination helps her see the memories from the Island. this book is an ode to diversity, imagination, and the power of memories. 

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

This middle-grade novel is a great mix of science fiction intertwined with Cuban mythology.  Follow Sal and Gabi’s journey as they wrestle with the idea of what you would do if you could get anything you want through time and space, even if those things (or people) no longer exist. 

Digging for Words by Angela Burke Kunkel, Illustrated by Paola Escobar

This biography follows the life of José Alberto Gutiérrez. He was a garbage collector who little by little creates his own library with a discarded book he finds on his route in Bogotá, Colombia. This has wonderful illustrations from a Colombian illustrator, Paola Escobar. 

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika K. Denise

This biography shows the life of Pura Belpre when she came to work at the New York Public Library in the 1920s as a bilingual assistant. From there she began telling her stories from her homeland to the kids at the library setting off a movement of storytelling and much more.  Pura Belpre was an influential librarian and paved the way for bilingual literature. 

Teen Books:

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him. When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.

Flirting with Fate by J.C. Cervantes

Ava Granados will never forgive herself for being late to her beloved nana’s deathbed. But due to a flash flood that left Ava in a fender bender with a mysterious boy, she missed her grandmother’s mystical blessing–one that has been passed between the women of her family upon death for generations. For guarded Ava, befriending some random boy is the last thing she wants to do. She’s gotten along just fine protecting her heart–keeping people at a distance is a great way to ensure no one ever hurts you. But as Ava embarks on her mission to retrieve the lost blessing, she starts to wonder if getting close to thunderstorm boy is worth the risk.

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

When her twin sister reaches social media stardom, Moon Fuentez accepts her fate as the ugly, unwanted sister hidden in the background, destined to be nothing more than her sister’s camerawoman. But this summer, Moon also takes a job as the “merch girl” on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and her fate begins to shift in the best way possible.

Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora by Saraciea J. Fennell

In Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed, bestselling and award-winning authors as well as up-and-coming voices interrogate the different myths and stereotypes about the Latinx diaspora. These 15 original pieces delve into everything from ghost stories and superheroes, to memories in the kitchen and travels around the world, to addiction and grief, to identity and anti-Blackness, to finding love and speaking your truth.