THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

The Latina Book Club welcomes Philip D. Rivera.  With an electric blue luchador mask wrapped tightly around his head, accenting his fierce eyes and flashing smile, and shrouding the rest of his face, this Suburban Luchador shares hilarious anecdotes about his wife’s pregnant cravings, the kids’ potty training, and puppy love at the local school where he teaches. We are eager for the sequel!  What lessons did the Suburban Luchador learn from 2020?  Philip : 2020 taught me what is really important in life: my Christian faith, my family, my friends and my health. Many other things vied for my attention, but the pandemic really made me reflect on what brings me true happiness. Spending so much time with my wife and kids was a blessing (sometimes in disguise), and the memories we made will last a lifetime. You are also a High School teacher. How are you surviving remote learning? How did you help your students get over not having a senior trip or prom or even graduation?...

  The Latina Book Club is doing something different for Valentine’s Day .  We bring you an interview with Juana Velasco  the Heroine of MELT WITH YOU by S.E. Lewinski. We wanted some friendly romance advice.     Juana is a tough, sassy, street-smart, food truck loving, proud Mexican woman. She has a great sense of humor and doesn’t let anything get her down, not being poor, not being fired again!, and not finding Mr. Right. It takes work and “huge fricking cojones,” but Juana makes her dreams come true and opens her own nail salon. Her success brings prosperity to her family, gives her brothers new purpose, and makes Taco, her furry partner, an overnight sensation. The search for Mr. Right might be over if Antoine gives her a second chance.  Our fingers are crossed for Juana!  Read Chapter 1 by clicking here .     Q&A WITH JUANA Latina Book Club: Have you heard from Antoine? How is the long distance romance with your undercov...

by Maria Ferrer The Latina Book Club reserves Fridays for Book Covers. YES, we do judge books by their cover. Covers are so much fun, and often give clues as to what the book is truly about.  Today we are looking at the book covers from Lee E. Cart ’s The Mayan Chronicles.        Clearly the author is experimenting with covers given the radically different styles. One is a very sharply focused photograph, the second a colorful drawing. We prefer the photo on Book 1, because it’s a crisp image that grabs the attention, especially with those sharp teeth. Cover 1 (BORN IN THE WAYEB) says jungle, mystery, ruthlessness, ancient prophecies, and shouts danger. We’re getting images of that old Mel Gibson movie, Apocalypto , and the foreign film Embrace of the Serpent . Our hero is in for dark and perilous times. Cover 2 (RISE OF THE JAGUAR WOMAN) is more of an amateurish cover, but it conveys an image of female power in tune with the elements, with nature. We lo...

“ I’ve given up on hope, from now on I fight.” – Nina Guerrera       THE CIPHER by Isabella Maldonado Thomas & Mercer Intense, thrilling, with a kick-ass Latina Heroine. Yes, I read it in one sitting, and yes, I love this "Warrior Girl" Nina Guerrera, who survives a nightmarish childhood, who thrives in the face of adversity, and brings villains to justice. I kept picturing a Latina Dr. Samantha Waters with brown hair, who gets inside the minds of serial killers to solve heinous crimes. The dynamic between Nina and FBI Mind Hunter Jeffrey Wade was brilliantly complicated. Not enemies, but certainly not friends. By the end, they learn to trust one another and have each other’s backs.  We’re hoping for a Book 2. We don’t want to let Nina and Wade go.  Maldonado’s writing is realistic, sharp, precise, graphic, and well detailed. It helps that she is a former Police Captain.  This made the book very intense, very suspenseful, and very addictive. Reade...

  The Latina Book Club is honored to participate once again in  Multicultural Children's Book Day .  The book was a gift, but the review is our own.  ACCORDIONLY: Abuelo and Opa Make Music by Michael Genhart, PhD Illustrated by Priscilla Burris Magination Press “Watching Abuelo and Opa made my heart sing with happiness. With all my family together, in harmony.” Genhart has written a heart-warming tale about family, about straddling two cultures, and about bridging the gap. This story was inspired by his childhood, family gatherings and his father playing the accordion. The illustrations by Burris are colorful and lively. Her father also played the accordion so this story brought back loving memories. SUMMARY: Young Michael is worried over the silence between his grandfathers – one who is Mexican and the other is Swedish. Neither grandfather spoke the other’s language so family gatherings were very quiet, until Michael had an idea. He asked both grandfathers to bring...

The Latina Book Club is honored to participate once again in  Multicultural Children’s Book Day January 29, 2021.  The book was a gift, but the review is our own.  We welcome author Vanessa Varela. ATTRIBUTES OF A HISPANIC GIRL: I CAN  Written and illustrated by Vanessa Varela, M.Ed., M.A. FLL.  (Bilingual Book)  The stick-figure drawings are powerful in their simplicity and femininity. The book is short, sweet, pink!, and to the point. The author has taken all the negative remarks about girls and Latinos, and turned them into positive attributes, like speaking two languages allows girls to bridge two cultures. And she does it all in English and Spanish.  All we can say is: Brava! INTERVIEW The Latina Book Club: This book started as an academic paper based on Gloria Anzaldua’s book BORDERLANDS & Jaques Lacan’s MIRROR STAGE. Share with us what you saw in their work that inspired you. Vanessa Varela: Literature is the window that has let me unders...

  by Maria Ferrer Welcome to a new feature on The Latina Book Club  Book Cover Fridays  Every Friday we will be discussing book covers, because YES, we do judge books by their cover. They are so much fun, and book covers often times give clues as to what the book is truly about.  Our book this week is Mark Oshiro’s EACH OF US A DESERT from Tor Teen. The cover is so vibrant with color, the female silhouette, the pyramid, the moon (or is it the sun?!), and the desert. The landscape is both vast and narrow. We love the pyramid, a symbol of femininity and female empowerment. The silhouette carved on the pyramid says solitary so a solo journey. And the moon rising over the pyramid (or sun!) says triumph. It’s like a crown for an Mayan Queen. Are we close? In EACH OF US A DESERT, our heroine Xochitl is destined to wander the desert alone, speaking her troubled village’s stories into its arid winds. Her only companions are the blessed stars above and enigmatic lines ...