THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

    He’d give anything to be out there playing instead of standing here watching. Trying to maintain this smile out of respect. He digs into his wrists some more with his nails. Breaks previously broken skin and pulls away. A smear of blood he wipes away with his other hand, rubs off across his dark jeans. Back home his mom is always on him to stop digging, but that only makes him want to dig more.   --Danny Powerful. Passionate. Heartbreaking. MEXICAN WHITE BOY by Matt de la Peňa   (Delacorte Press, 2008) is a story of friendship, revelations, acceptance, and finding courage and strength in the face of adversity. Danny’s mother is more worried about her new husband than her son. Danny happily goes to visit his father’s family for the summer, planning to run off to Mexico and find his dad and stay with him. But there are secrets that he is not prepared for, and that hurt more than anything. Danny is lost in a dark place, until a true friendship gi...

The Latina Book Club ’s PICK FIVE for this week are all young adult novels  about family, friendship, romance, and being true to yourself no matter what.    Happy Reading. And as always, #ReadLatinoLit. RUNNING By Natalia Sylvester Clarion Books When fifteen-year-old Cuban American Mariana Ruiz’s father runs for president, Mari starts to see him with new eyes. A novel about waking up and standing up, and what happens when you stop seeing your dad as your hero—while the whole country is watching. BECAUSE OF THE SUN By Jenny Torres Sanchez Delacorte Press From the backyards of suburban Florida to the parched desert of New Mexico,  Because of the Sun  explores the complexity of family, the saving grace of friendship, and the healing that can begin when the truth is brought to light. THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS By Laura Taylor Namey Inkyard Press From the moment she first learned to read, liter...

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 supports our Black Brothers and Sisters   and our Afro Latinx / Black Latinx Communities during these hard times.   Black Lives Matter.    We See You. We Hear You.   We Support You. Aside from donating money to the different organizations supporting the movement and the protesters, we want to support Afro-Latinx / Black Latinx authors by purchasing and reading their books.   Below is a short list in no particular order.   We welcome additions to this list.     Happy Reading.   Take care and Stay Safe.   20 AFRO LATINX  /  BLACK LATINX WRITERS  NO ONE IS ILLEGAL: FIGHTING RACISM AND STATE VIOLENCE IN THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER   by Justin Akers Chacón and Mike Davis (Haymarket Books) AN AFRICAN AMERICAN AND LATINX HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES By Paul Ortiz (Beacon Press) 13 WAYS TO LOOK AT A BLACK BOY By Tony Medina & 13 Artists ...

The Latina Book Club celebrates LATINX HERITAGE MONTH every day. To honor authors during this celebratory month, we will highlight a new book every day. Join us and #ReadLatinoLit. TAINA by  Ernesto Quiñonez Vintage Another virgin birth? In Spanish Harlem?   Could be.   TAINA is full of magical realism, revolution and redemption. And the best part, this novel is available in English and Spanish. Happy Reading. SUMMARY:   When Julio, a teenager living in Spanish Harlem, hears that Taina, a pregnant fifteen-year-old from his high school claims to be a virgin, he decides to believe her. Julio has a history of strange visions and his blind and unrequited love for Taina will unleash a whirlpool of emotions that will bring him to question his hard-working Puerto Rican mother and his communist Ecuadorian father, his beliefs and even the building blocks of modern science (after seeing the conception of Taina’s baby as a revolution in nat...

The Latina Book Club celebrates LATINX HERITAGE MONTH every day. To honor authors during this celebratory month, we will highlight a new book every day. Join us and #ReadLatinoLit. Antheneum/ Caitlyn Dlouhy Books BARELY MISSING EVERYTHING By Matt Mendez “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.”    Fabi, her son Juan and his best friend JD find this out the hard way. They all had other plans for themselves, but life proved cruel and merciless. They are hoping for one last shot at their dreams…maybe. SUMMARY:   Juan has plans. He's going to get out of El Paso, Texas, on a basketball scholarship and make something of himself--or at least find something better than his mom Fabi's cruddy apartment, her string of loser boyfriends, and a dead dad. Basketball is going to be his ticket out, his ticket up. He just needs to make it happen. His best friend JD has plans, too. He's going to be a filmmaker one day, like Quinten...

 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...

Every Wednesday The Latina Book Club features an excerpt from  an exciting new book written by a Latino author or for a Latino audience. This week we are highlighting WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS by Anna-Marie McLemore.  It’s about a magical girl, a transgender boy and four witches out to destroy them. Happy Reading.  Read Latino. EXCERPT WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS Anna-Marie McLemore Thomas Dunne Books As f a r a s h e k n e w , s h e ha d com e f r o m th e w a t e r . B u t e v en a bo u t th a t , h e c o u l d n ’ t b e s ur e . I t d i d n ’ t m a t t e r h o w m a n y n i g h ts t h e y ’ d m et o n t h e u n t i l l ed l a n d b e t w e e n their h o u s e s ; the l as t f a r m d i d n ’t r o t a te i t s cr o p s, and s tr i p p e d th e s oi l u n t i l n o th i n g b u t w i l d g r a s se s w o u l d g r o w . I t d i d n ’ t m a t t e r h o w man y s to r i e s he an ...