THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

Carolrhoda Lab Blanca:  Life is not a multiple-choice test.   Verdad:  Hell is now, saying it happens later is a power play.   Honest. Tragic. Realist. Truthful. This is a bold novel that deals with hard topics like death, betrayal, homelessness and sexual orientation. It’s well-written, with a great cast of characters.   It’s also very realistic, and like today’s youth, Verdad and Danny face hard choices as they learn who they truly are, who they want to be, and whom they want to love. SUMMARY:   A powerful exploration of love, identity, and self-worth through the eyes of a fierce, questioning Puerto Rican teen.   Fifteen-year-old Verdad doesn't think she has time for love. She's still struggling to process the recent death of her best friend, Blanca; dealing with the high expectations of her hardworking Puerto Rican mother and the absence of her remarried father; and keeping everyone at a distance. But ...

The Latina Book Club is Celebrating Women’s History Month by showcasing female authors and poets all this month.    We thank these fearless women for joining the celebration and sharing their works with us.   Enjoy! Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa was born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York City. She is a product of the Puerto Rican communities on the island and in the South Bronx. She attended the New York City public school system and received her academic degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo and Queens College-City University of New York. As a child she was sent to live with her grandparents in Puerto Rico where she was introduced to the culture of rural Puerto Rico, including the storytelling that came naturally to the women in her family, especially the older women. Much of her work is based on her experiences during this time. Dahlma taught creative writing and language and literature in the New York City public school system before ...

The Latina Book Club is celebrating Valentine’s and Galentine’s Days all week long.   Each day we will feature a new Latina romance author for your reading pleasure.  Enjoy and remember to Read Latino Lit and Read Romance. DID YOU KNOW?! Romance novels make up 34% of the U.S. fiction market according to a Nielsen BookScan/ PubTrack Digital survey in 2015.  . MEET ALEXIS DARIA. Alexis Daria is Puerto Rican and a contemporary romance author, artist, and native New Yorker. Alexis has a BFA in Computer Arts, but her most fulfilling job was as a group facilitator for a women’s empowerment community, where she coached other women in following their creative dreams.  And now she is making her dreams come true. Her Dance Off Series was inspired by Dancing with the Stars .  Book 1, TAKE THE LEAD, was a 2017 Golden Heart® finalist and was named one of the Best Romance Novels of 2017 by  The Washington Post  and  ...

The Latina Book Club is celebrating Valentine’s & Galentine's Days all week long.  Each day we will feature a new Latina romance author for your reading pleasure.  Enjoy and remember to Read Latino Lit and Read Romance. DID YOU KNOW?! A true Romance Statistic:  84% of women read romance novels according to Nielsen.  Women romance readers are between 30-54 years of age and  some have been reading romance for over 20 years.  Men read romances too -- 16% of them.   Meet Priscilla Oliveras.    She writes contemporary romance novels with a Latino flavor that are well-written and full of fun and welcoming characters.  Priscilla is half Mexican; half Puerto Rican. It was her Dad – not a typo! – who introduced her to romance novels while they were waiting in a hurricane shelter in the Florida Keys. Viola! A devoted romance reader was born. Years later, while in college Priscilla decided to try h...

 Happy Summer! This month, The Latina Book Club, has selected a sassy and cheeky memoir  that will inspire readers of all ages to dream golden dreams.  Happy Reading! Harper Collins “You win whenever you commit to something, because you can’t experience growth without even trying.” “And when you do succeed, don’t be afraid to hit reset and dare to dream again!” --Laurie Hernandez “I got this.”  It was a whisper heard around the world, one Laurie Hernandez whispered to herself as she started her routine in Rio, where she and the other members of the Final Five went on to win Olympic Gold. At 16, Laurie has achieved what most people dream of doing over the course of their entire lifetime – she’s won Olympic Gold; danced and won Dancing With the Stars; traveled the world; attended the Video Music Awards; and met Beyoncé!  Now, we can add author to her list of accolades. BOOK SUMMARY:   At age five, this tiny Pu...

Poetry is like a song, like a psalm, like a prayer. Poetry is different things to many people, and April being Poetry Month, The Latina Book Club is celebrating by featuring Latino poets all week long. We welcome A.B. Lugo , poet and playwright, who makes a very personal and emotional debut with  Spanish Coffee: Black, No Sugar from La Casita Grande. La Casita Grande, May 2017 SUMMARY:  In 2015, A.B. Lugo, award winning actor and playwright, suffered through the deaths of his parents only months apart. To cope with his grief, he dedicated himself to writing a poem for each week of 2016. Little did he know he would be chronicling an historic year, one of social strife and tragedy that would culminate in the election of a man whose movement brings new awareness and fear to A.B. as an Afro-Puerto Rican. Spanish Coffee: Black, No Sugar , much like its title, is a bitter experience, as life can be, but also one that gives us the energy and power to ma...

   Every Wednesday The Latina Book Club features excerpts from exciting novels by Latino authors.                                                                                                  Happy Reading and Happy Holidays! This is the season to be jolly but we have a great “dark” excerpt for readers from our friend Carlos Colón from book 1 of his Sangre Series -- SANGRE: THE COLOR OF DYING .  No reason to be scared…if you’ve been good!   Here’s a mini interview with ...