THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

      This year, the Pura Belpré Awards went to the younger sect.  written by Benjamin Alire Saenz Simon & Schuster   The 2013 Author Award Winner was ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE by Benjamin Alire Saénz .  It is the tale of two boys on the edge of manhood.   The Pura Belpré Award Committee Chair Charmette S. Kuhn-Kendrick, said the book was chosen because:   “Sáenz demonstrates superb use of language and character development, while gently exploring important aspects of identity without straying into gender or cultural stereotypes.” The Author Honor Award (honorable mention) went to THE REVOLUTION OF EVELYN SERRANO by Sonia Manzano (Scholastic Press), whom many will remember as “Maria” on Sesame Street.   Set in Spanish Harlem in 1969, this is the story of 14-year old Evelyn caught in the turmoil of the revolutionary Young Lords. The 2013 Illustrator Awards Winner was MARTIN DE PORRES: THE...

     LAST NIGHT I SANG TO THE MONSTER By Benjamin Alire Saenz Cinco Puntos Press http://www.benjaminaliresaenz.com/ Finalist of the PEN USA Award in the Young Adult category “I have it in my head that when we’re born, God writes things down on our hearts. See, on some people’s hearts he writes Happy and on some people’s hearts he writes Sad and on some people’s hearts he writes Crazy on some people’s hearts he writes Genius and on some people’s hearts he writes Angry and on some people’s hearts he writes Winner and on some people’s hearts he writes Loser. It’s all like a game to him. Him. God. And it’s all pretty much random. He takes out his pen and starts writing on our blank hearts. When it came to my turn, he wrote Sad. I don’t like God very much. Apparently he doesn’t like me very much either.” --Zach, protagonist Saenz captures the vulnerability and defiance of youth beautifully in his latest novel.   It is a poignant, heart wrenching and, sometim...