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2018 BOOKS OF THE YEAR




The Latina Book Club is proud to release its 6th Annual Books of the Year List.

We are always happy to discover new Latinx authors like Ingrid Rojas Contreras, whose FRUIT OF THE DRUNKEN TREE made a big debut in English and Spanish.  There are also new books from favorite authors like Luis Alberto Urrea’s new THE HOUSE OF THE BROKEN ANGELS or Torrey Maldonado’s TIGHT.   

We were also happy to discover Latinx authors in all genres --- paranormals, thrillers, mysteries, romances, young adult books, etc.  Please review this list of Books of the Year. We guarantee that you’ll find a good book for kids of all ages.

With the New Year upon us, we might need to make room on the shelves for more books.  Please consider donating books to your child’s/ niece’s school or neighborhood library.  You can also share books with friends at the office or at social functions.

The Latina Book Club wishes everyone a Happy Holiday and all the very best for a Happy 2019! 




2018 LATINO BOOKS OF THE YEAR

30 Day Guide to Your Power by Ivette Mayo – Self-help
43 Missing by Carmen Amato (Laurel & Croton) – fiction, cop thriller
A Dream Called Home by Reyna Grande (Atria Books) – memoir, young adult
America by Gabby Rivera (Marvel Comics) – comics
American Like Me by America Ferrera (Gallery Books/ Simon & Schuster) – essays
Ana Maria Reyes Does Not Live In A Castle by Hilda Eunice Burgos (Lee & Low)
      – kidslit, young readers
Analee, in Real Life by Janelle Milanes (Simon Pulse) – fiction, young adult, teen
Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore (Feiwel Friends) – fiction, young adult, sci fi
Blood On The Canvas: The Life & Legacy of Boxing Icon, Canto “TNT” Robledo by Joseph C. Robledo 
      (Golden Foothills Press) – memoir
Casa Rodrigo by Johnny Miles– fiction
Catch and Release by Guillermo Vida (Quintin Bauer Press) -- memoir
Cemetery Candles by Estela Vazquez Perez (Outskirts Press) – fiction, sci fi
Chainsaw Honeymoon by Steven Ramirez (Glass Highway) – fiction, mystery, comedy
Citizen Illegal by Jose Olivarez (Haymarket Books) – poetry
Collected Novellas by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) – fiction, magical realism
Corazon by Yesika Salgado – fiction
Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias (Broken River Books) – fiction, paranormal
Creatus Eidolon by Carmen DeSousa – fiction, sci fi
Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel Jose Older (Scholastic) – kidslit, sci fi
Dance All Night by Alexis Daria (Swerve) – romance
Death Comes In Through the Kitchen by Teresa Dovalpage (Soho Press) – fiction, mystery
Del Corazon by Frank Brewster III (Guacamaya Enterprises) – poetry, songs
Delicious Satisfaction by Sabrina Sol (Brazen)—romance
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales (Neal Porter Books) – kidslit, children’s lit
Drift by Chris Campanioni – fiction, futuristic
Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Doubleday Books) 
      – fiction, available in English & Spanish
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez 
       (Knopf Books for Young Readers) – fiction
Kingdom of Women by Rosalie Morales Kearns (Jaded ibis Press) – fiction
Last Exit to Montauk by Phillip Vega (The Word Verve) – fiction
Lex Files by Celeste Castro (Bella Books) – fiction, mystery, sci fi
Love War Stories by Ivelisse Rodriguez (Feminist Press) – essays
Lucky Luna by Diana Lopez (Scholastic) – kidslit, middle grade
Manteca: An Anthology of Afro-Latin@ Poets edited by Melissa Castillo-Garsow (Arte Publico Press) – poetry
Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina (Candlewick Press) – kidslit, young readers
Mimi’s Parranda/ La Parranda de Mimi by Lydia M. Gil (Piῆata Books) – kidslit, bilingual
Mind Frame by Evelyn Ortiz (Dog Ear Publishing) – fiction, thriller
Night-Blooming Jasmin(n)e: Personal Essays and Poetry by Jasminne Mendez (Arte Publico Press) – poetry
Path to the Stars by Sylvia Acevedo (Clarion Books) -- memoir, young readers
Pretending He’s Mine by Mia Sosa (Avon Impulse) – romance
Prime Meridian by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Inns Mouth Press) – fiction, sci fi
Reading Tea Leaves After Trump by Thelma T. Reyna (Golden Foothills Press) -- Poetry
Steel by J.L. Lora – fiction, urban fiction
Stella Diaz Has Something To Say by Angela Dominguez (Roaring Brook Press) – kidslit, children
Stripped by Zoey Castile (Kensington Books) – romance
The Closest I’ve Come by Fred Aceves (Harper Teen) – young adult
The Cost of Our Lives by Linda Gonzalez (WiDo Publishing) – fiction, young adult, teen
The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary by NoNieqa Ramos (Carolrhoda Lab) – fiction, young adult
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya (Puffin Books) – kidslit, young readers
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez (Puffin books) – kidslit, middle readers
The Flying Girl by Margarita Engle (Simon & Schuster) – kidslit, young readers
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea (Little, Brown) – fiction
The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara (Ecco / Harper Collins) – fiction, LGBT
The Infamous Miss Rodriguez by Lydia San Andres – romance
The King of Lighting fixtures by Daniel A. Olivas (University of Arizona Press) -- fiction
The Perfect Affair by Priscilla Oliveras (Zebra Books) – romance
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (Harper Teen) – fiction, young adult, poetry
The Resolutions by Mia Garcia (Katherine Tegen Books) – young adult
The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louise Sanchez (Lee & Low) – kidslit, young adult
They Called Me Gűero by David Bowles (Cinco Punto Books) – kidslit, poetry
Tight by Torrey Maldonado (Nancy Paulsen Books) – kidslit, middle readers
To Love a Scandalous Duke by Liana De La Rosa (Entangled) – historical romance
Today’s Inspired Latina; Life Stories of Success in the Face of Adversity edited by Jackie Camacho-Ruiz 
      (The Fig Factor) – essays, Self-help
Trapped by Maria Hernandez (MCT Publications) – fiction, mystery
Wedding Tango by Mariposa Cruz -- romance
What Happens in Summer by Caridad Pineiro (Sourcebooks Casablanca) – romance
What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera (Harper Teen) – young adult, LGBT
When We Love Someone We Sing To Them/ Cuando Amamos Cantamos by Ernesto Javier Martinez 
     (Reflection Press) – kidslit, bilingual
White Mexican by Linda Chavez Doyle (BookBaby) – fiction, young adult

Happy New Year
Happy Reading
Read Latino Lit
Read Latinx