We
lose ourselves in books;
We
find ourselves there too.
We don’t
know who said it, but we truly believe in the saying above. We have lost ourselves
in numerous books this year. Books are our happy place; our escape; sometimes our
refuge. It’s always a pleasure to discover a “new” author and to reconnect with
favorite ones.
We were
super excited as The Latina Book Club started putting together its 4th Annual List of
Books of the Year for 2016. Readers will love these exciting, daring, gripping
books by Latino authors and about Latinos in all genres, and some in two
languages. We encourage everyone to support our authors by buying their books
and telling all their friends and neighbors about the books. Remember that books make great gifts year round, and do consider giving books to your local library.
For this new year, explore a new author, a new genre. All learning is good. And, who
knows? Maybe you’ll find yourself in one of these books too.
Happy
Reading. Happy New Year!
2016 LATINO
BOOKS OF THE YEAR
A
Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry (Algonquin Young Readers) – children’s
A
Piňata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas by Pat Mora (Clarion
Books) –children’s
Ancient
Earth Journal: The Early Cretaceous by Juan Carlos Alonso & Gregory S. Paul
(Walter Foster Jr.) –science
Black
Widow Bitches by Victor Cass (Golden Foothills Press) –fiction, war/political
thriller
Burn
Baby Burn by Meg Medina (Candlewick Press) –fiction, YA
Certain
Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Thomas Dunne Books) - paranormal
Chocolate
Milk, Por Favor! By Maria Dismondy (Making Spirits Bright) –children’s
Creatus
Animus by Carmen DeSousa (Amazon Digital Services) –paranormal
Curse
of the Blue Vagina & Other Stories by Jonisha Rios (Café Con Leche Books)
–women’s fiction
Daring
To Write: Contemporary Narratives by Dominican Women edited by Erika M.
Martinez
(University of Georgia) –literature, anthology
Diego
in Two Places by Carlos Aleman (Aignos Publishing) –fiction
Diego’s
Crossing by Robert Hough (Annick Press) –fiction, YA
Delicious
Temptation by Sabrina Sol (Entangled Publishing) –romance
Entre
Guadalupe y Malinche: Tejanas in Literature and Art by Inés Hernández-Ávila
& Norma Elia Cantú
(University of Texas Press) – literature, anthology
Family,
Lust and Cameras by Olga Nuňez Miret (Just Olga Books) – fiction
Franzisca’s
Box by Sandra Perez Gluschankoff (Solstice Publishing) –women’s fiction
Frida
Kahlo and The Bravest Girl in the World by Laurence Anholt (Barron’s) –children’s
Good
Things for a Young Woman’s Spirit by Chiquis Barrón (Desert Arts & Cultural
Media) –inspirational
Hechicera:
A Coloring Book for Chingonas Everywhere by Rosanna Alvarez (CreateSpace) –art
HIS-Panic:
Exit to Boogie Down by Eddie H. Cisneros (E.W. Brooks) –fiction
In
Search of the Luminous Heart: From the Mountains of Naranjito, Puerto Rico to
the Mountains of
Crestone, Colorado by Victoria Rivera McKinley (O-Books) –memoir
Jesus
and Magdalene by Joao Cerqueira (Line by Lion Publications) –fiction
Jeweler’s
Mark by R.V. Reyes (CreateSpace) –romance, mystery
Juana
& Lucas by Juana Medina (Candlewick Press) –children’s, bilingual
Jugosa
y Fit by Claudia Molina (Atria Books) –health fitness, Spanish
Juliet
Takes A Breath by Gabby Rivera (Riverdale Avenue Books) –fiction, YA, LGBT
Kill
the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky (Point) –fiction, YA
King
Peso: A Detective Emilia Cruz Novel by Carmen Amato (CreateSpace) –mystery
Labyrinth
Lost by Zoraida Cordova (Sourcebooks Fire) –paranormal, YA
Las
Estrellas De Los Reyes Magos by Tere Rodriguez-Nora (Ediciones Norte) –children’s,
Spanish
Latina
Authors & Their Muses edited by Mayra Calvani (Twilight Times Books)
–non-fiction,
how-to, writing
Lay
Your Sleeping Head: A Henry Rios Mystery Novel by Michael Nava (Korima Press)
–fiction,
LGBT
Little
Chanclas by Jose Lozano (Cinco Press Book) –children’s, bilingual
Luck
is Just the Beginning by Celeste Leon (Floricanto Press) –fiction
Mamá
the Alien by Rene Colato Lainez (Lee & Low Books) –children’s, bilingual
Mango,
Abuela and Me by Meg Medina (Candlewick Press) –children’s, available in
Spanish too
Mi
Comida Latina by Marcella Kriebel (Burgess Lea Press) –cookbook, bilingual
More
Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera (Soho Teen) –fiction, YA, LGBT
Mortifications
by Derek Palacio (Tim Duggan Books) –fiction
My
(Underground) American Dream by Julissa Arce (Center Street) –memoir
Never
Too Real by Carmen Rita (Kensington) –women’s fiction
Ocelocíhuatl
by Xánath Caraza (Mouthfeel Press) –poetry collection, bilingual
One
Night with the CEO by Mia Sosa (Forever Yours) –romance
Order
of Vespers by Elyse Reyes (Irrisoria Publishing) –paranormal, YA
Osiris
333 by Raquel Zepeda Fitzgerald (Amazon Digital Services) –paranormal
Out
of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez (Carolrhoda Lab) –fiction
Pedro:
First-Grade Hero by Fran Manushkin (Picture Window Books) –children’s
Rant.
Chant. Chisme. by Amalia Ortiz (Wings Press) –poetry
Reputations
by Juan Gabriel Vasquez (Riverhead Books) –fiction
Rescue
from Planet Pleasure: A Felix Gomez Novel by Mario Acevedo (WordFire Press) –
paranormal, mystery
Sangre:
The Color of Dying by Carlos Colon (Black Bed Sheet/ Diverse Media Books) –paranormal
Santa
Muerte: The Daniela Story by Lucina Stone (Story Merchant Books) –paranormal
Searching
for Myself by Manuel A. Meléndez (CreateSpace) –poetry collection
Secrets
and Surrender: The Complete Series by L.G. Castillo (Amazon Digital Services) –romance
Sofrito
by Phillippe Diederich (Cinco Punto Press) –fiction
Sotto
Voce by Nilo Cruz (Theatre Communications Group) –play
The
German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa (Atria Books) – fiction
The
Great and Mighty Nikko by Xavier Garza (Cinco Punto Press) –children’s
The
Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende (Atria Books) –fiction, available in Spanish
too
The
Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia (Imprint) –fiction, YA
The
Mother God Made Me To Be by Karen Valentin (Faith Words) –memoir
The
Princess and The Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh (Harry N.
Abrams) –children’s
The
Skinny Years by Raul Ramos y Sanchez (Beck & Branch Pubishers) –fiction
The
Sorrows of Young Alfonso by Rudolfo Anaya (University of Oklahoma Press) –fiction
The
Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas (Dial Books) –children’s
The
Veins of the Ocean by Patricia Engel (Grove Press) –fiction
The
Water of Life Remains in the Dead by Maria Nieto (Floricanto Press) –fiction
The
Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore (Thomas Dunne Books/ St. Martin’s
Press) –fiction
The
Women of La Raza: An Epic History of Chicana-Mexican American Peoples by
Enriqueta L. Vasquez
(CreateSpace) –non-fiction, women’s history
Verdict
in the Desert by Patricia Santos Marcantonio (Arte Publico Press) –fiction
When
Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez (Bloomsbury) –fiction, YA
With
the River on Our Face by Emmy Pérez (University of Arizona Press) –poetry
#####
For our
2015 Books of the Year, click here.
Happy
Reading. Happy New Year.
Read
Latino!