April 7, 2020
AFTERLIFE | Fiction
by Julia Alvarez (Algonquin)
Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep. Antonia has always sought direction in the literature she loves—lines from her favorite authors play in her head like a soundtrack—but now she finds that the world demands more of her than words.
Afterlife is a compact, nimble, and sharply droll novel. Set in this political moment of tribalism and distrust, it asks: What do we owe those in crisis in our families, including—maybe especially—members of our human family? How do we live in a broken world without losing faith in one another or ourselves? And how do we stay true to those glorious souls we have lost?
BOTH SIDES: STORIES FROM THE BORDER | Fiction
Ed. by Gabino Iglesias (Polis Books)
La frontera is full of stories. Real stories, not the ones you see in the news. The border is a powerful place where countries collide. It’s a weird space of dreams, struggles, promises, lies, fear, and redemption. It’s a multicultural and bilingual space where people know that hustling to protect your loved ones or offer them a better life is a drive strong enough to blur ethical codes. Sadly, the border is also a place where drugs make people a lot of money, corruption stains everything, and violence fills the landscape with danger and ghosts. Now, some of today's most talented authors will visit this space from their perspective—showing the world what they see on both sides.
In a landmark anthology, acclaimed author Gabino Iglesias presents 15 stories from an incredibly talented and diverse roster of authors that look at all aspects of border crime—immigration, law, trafficking (both human and narcotics), and everyone trying to exploit the divide for their own benefit. Thought-provoking, shocking, violent, raw, emotional, and unforgettable,BOTH SIDES will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about borders, both domestic and international.
THE BREAKBEAT POETS, VOL. 4: LATINEXT | Poetry
Ed. by Felicia Rose Chavez, José Olivarez, & Willie Perdomo (Haymarket Books)
In the dynamic tradition of the BreakBeat Poets anthology, The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext celebrates the embodied narratives of Latinidad. Poets speak from an array of nationalities, genders, sexualities, races, and writing styles, staking a claim to our cultural and civic space. Like Hip-Hop, we honor what was, what is, and what's next.
LA CASA DE ALGÚN DÍA | Picture Book
by Julia Durango; Illus. by Bianca Diaz (Charlesbridge)
A new Spanish edition: a boy organizes neighbors in his community to volunteer to fix up his elderly friend's home.
Wilson dreams about all the repairs he would like to make to his neighbor Gigi's house so that his elderly friend will be more comfortable. After Wilson discusses his plans with several members of his community (including a librarian, mail carrier, and teacher), Gigi's house is selected for a community renovation project, and the whole neighborhood comes together in a selfless act of community service.
EXQUISITE: THE POETRY AND LIFE OF GWENDOLYN BROOKS | Picture Book
by Suzanne Slade; Illus. by Cozbi A. Cabrera (Abrams Books for Young Readers)
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000) is known for her poems about “real life.” She wrote about love, loneliness, family, and poverty—showing readers how just about anything could become a beautiful poem. Exquisite follows Gwendolyn from early girlhood into her adult life, showcasing her desire to write poetry from a very young age. This picture-book biography explores the intersections of race, gender, and the ubiquitous poverty of the Great Depression—all with a lyrical touch worthy of the subject. Gwendolyn Brooks was the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize, receiving the award for poetry in 1950. And in 1958, she was named the poet laureate of Illinois. A bold artist who from a very young age dared to dream, Brooks will inspire young readers to create poetry from their own lives.
GHOST SQUAD | Middle Grade
by Claribel A. Ortega (Scholastic)
Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late.
INTO THE TALL, TALL GRASS | Middle Grade
by Loriel Ryon (Margaret K. McElderry)
Yolanda Rodríguez-O’Connell has a secret. All the members of her family have a magical gift—all, that is, except for Yolanda. Still, it’s something she can never talk about, or the townsfolk will call her family brujas—witches. When her grandmother, Wela, falls into an unexplained sleep, Yolanda is scared. Her father is off fighting in a faraway war, her mother died long ago, and Yolanda has isolated herself from her best friend and twin sister. If she loses her grandmother, who will she have left?
When a strange grass emerges in the desert behind their house, Wela miraculously wakes, begging Yolanda to take her to the lone pecan tree left on their land. Determined not to lose her, Yolanda sets out on this journey with her sister, her ex-best friend, and a boy who has a crush on her. But what is the mysterious box that her grandmother needs to find? And how will going to the pecan tree make everything all right? Along the way, Yolanda discovers long-buried secrets that have made their family gift a family curse. But she also finds the healing power of the magic all around her, which just might promise a new beginning.
STORY OF THE MONGOLIAN TENT HOUSE | Picture Book
by Dashdondog Jamba & Anne Pellowski; Illust. by Beatriz Vidal (Wisdom Tales)
Based on an original tale by award-winning Mongolian author, Dashdondog Jamba, and retold by distinguished international author, Anne Pellowski, find out how the traditional Mongolian tent house (called a ger in Mongolian and a yurt in Turkish), was created in the ancient past by drawing on the example of nature, and how it later became a beloved symbol of friendship and harmony. With stunning illustrations of Mongolian culture by renowned artist, Beatriz Vidal, young readers can experience first-hand the wide-open steppes of this vast and wild land bordering on Russia to the north and China to the south.
WE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS | Young Adult
by Adi Alsaid (Inkyard Press)
Central International School’s annual lock-in is legendary — and for six students, this year’s lock-in is the answer to their dreams. The chance to finally win the contest. Kiss the guy. Make a friend. Become the star of a story that will be passed down from student to student for years to come.
But then a group of students, led by Marisa Cuevas, stage an eco-protest and chain themselves to the doors, vowing to keep everyone trapped inside until their list of demands is met. While some students rally to the cause, others are devastated as they watch their plans fall apart. And Marisa, once so certain of her goals, must now decide just how far she’ll go to attain them.
April 14, 2020
THE BOY WHO DREAMED AN INFINITY | Picture Book
by Amy Alznauer; Illus. by Daniel Miyares (Candlewick)
In 1887 in India, a boy named Ramanujan is born with a passion for numbers. He sees numbers in the squares of light pricking his thatched roof and in the beasts dancing on the temple tower. He writes mathematics with his finger in the sand, across the pages of his notebooks, and with chalk on the temple floor. “What is small?” he wonders. “What is big?” Head in the clouds, Ramanujan struggles in school — but his mother knows that her son and his ideas have a purpose. As he grows up, Ramanujan reinvents much of modern mathematics, but where in the world could he find someone to understand what he has conceived?
SUBDUCTION | Fiction
by Kristen Millares Young (Red Hen Press)
Fleeing the shattered remains of her marriage and treachery by her sister, a Latina anthropologist named Claudia takes refuge in Neah Bay, a Native whaling village on the jagged Pacific coast. Claudia yearns to lose herself to the songs of the tribe and the secrets of a spirited hoarder named Maggie. Instead, she stumbles into Maggie’s prodigal son Peter, who, spurred by his mother’s failing memory, has returned seeking answers to his father’s murder. Claudia helps Peter’s family convey a legacy delayed for decades by that death, but her presence, echoing centuries of fraught contact with indigenous peoples, brings lasting change and real damage. Through the ardent collision of Peter and Claudia, Subduction portrays not only their strange allegiance after grievous losses but also their shared hope of finding solace and community on the Makah Indian Reservation. An intimate tale of stunning betrayals, bears witness to the power of stories to disrupt—and to heal.
WHAT LANE? | Middle Grade
by Torrey Maldonado (Nancy Paulsen Books)
Anything his friends can do, Stephen should be able to do too, right? So when they dare each other to sneak into an abandoned building, he doesn't think it's his lane, but he goes. Here's the thing, though: Can he do everything his friends can? Lately, he's not so sure. As a mixed kid, he feels like he's living in two worlds with different rules--and he's been noticing that strangers treat him differently than his white friends . . .
So what'll he do? Hold on tight as Stephen swerves in and out of lanes to find out which are his--and who should be with him.
April 21, 2020
ALGUIEN COMO YO | Middle Grade
by Julissa Arce (Vintage Español)
Nacida en Taxco, México, Julissa Arce se quedaba en su pintoresco pueblo durante meses con sus dos hermanas, una niñera y su abuela, mientras que sus padres viajaban incansablemente a Estados Unidos con la esperanza de construir una casa y buscar mejores oportunidades para sus niños. Un día, sus padres deciden traer a Julissa a Texas a vivir con ellos. A partir de ese entonces, Julissa vivió en secreto como una inmigrante indocumentada. Sin embargo, según con el pasar de los años, Julissa ganó una prestigiosa beca y obtuvo su grado universitario con honores, consiguiendo varios éxitos en su camino hasta convertirse en vicepresidenta del banco norteamericano Goldman Sachs.
En esta adaptación para jóvenes lectores, la historia de Julissa es prueba de que todo es posible. Su inspiradora trayectoria ofrece una mirada profunda al mundo poco comprendido de una nueva generación de inmigrantes indocumentados en los Estados Unidos: niños que son tus vecinos, que se sientan a tu lado en clase o que incluso pueden ser uno de tus mejores amigos.
BECOMING KID QUIXOTE | Middle Grade
by Sarah Sierra & Stephen Haff
When a shy girl named Sarah Sierra first joins an after-school program in her neighborhood, she never expects to travel back in time and discover the words of Miguel de Cervantes. But at Still Waters in a Storm, a teacher named Stephen and a group of kids have pushed together tables piled high with books so they can gather round to talk about and translate Cervantes’ classic, Don Quixote de La Mancha.
They begin to reimagine Don Quixote—the story of an idealistic dreamer from Spain who traveled around trying to right the world’s wrongs—as the story of a group of modern-day kids from immigrant families in Brooklyn.
The stories the kids write in class become a musical play—expressing the plight of today’s immigrants and using Quixote as inspiration. And Sarah, once very shy, soon will play the leading role as Kid Quixote.
BIG SEXY: IN HIS OWN WORDS | Memoir
by Bartolo Colón (Abrams Image)
Bartolo Colón—also known as Big Sexy—is a baseball icon and one of the most beloved players to ever play the game. In a career spanning 21 years, Colón has won the Cy Young Award and won more games than any other Latin American–born pitcher. But more importantly, Big Sexy has captured the hearts of fans of the game as well as the stars he has played against. Colón plays the game the way it was meant to be. In Big Sexy: In His Own Words, Bartolo Colón opens up as never before. The result is a touching and deeply personal story of a truly unique baseball life.
LOS FALCÓN | Fiction
by Melissa Rivero (Vintage Español)
Ana Falcón, junto con su esposo Lucho y sus dos hijos pequeños, huyeron de la lucha económica y política del Perú en busca de una nueva vida en la ciudad de Nueva York en la década de los 90. Sin embargo, al ser una inmigrante indocumentada, sus oportunidades se ven reducidas. En poco tiempo, Ana se encuentra endeudada con una prestamista que se hace llamar Mamá, y sus largos turnos de trabajo en la fábrica son cada vez más extenuantes. Para empeorar las cosas, Ana también debe soportar las incesantes críticas de Valeria, la prima de Lucho, quien ha dejado en claro que la familia de Ana no está bienvenida a quedarse mucho tiempo más en su pequeña habitación de huéspedes.
A medida que aumenta la tensión, Ana cae cada vez más en desesperación. Mientras Lucho sueña con regresar a Perú, Ana se encuentra profundamente atormentada por los demonios que dejó atrás en su país natal, y está decidida a perseverar en su nuevo hogar. ¿Pero cuántos sacrificios estará dispuesta a hacer antes de admitir la derrota y regresar a Perú? ¿Y qué líneas estará dispuesta a cruzar para proteger a su familia?
FUN FUN FUN WORLD | Graphic Novel
by Yehudi Mercado (Oni Press)
The Devastorm 5 is an alien warship whose prime directive is to seek out planets to invade and conquer in tribute to the almighty Alien Queen. The only problem is that the crew of the Devastorm 5 is the worst in the fleet. In a last ditch effort to be taken more seriously, the Devastrom 5 crew vows to conquer Earth once and for all. Ground zero for operation "Conquer Earth" is a defunct amusement park called Fun Fun Fun World, overrun by cats and hiding a major secret. Will the crew of the Devastorm 5 be able to complete their mission?
A NEW KIND OF WILD | Picture Book
by Zara González Hoang (Dial Books)
For Ren, home is his grandmother's little house, and the lush forest that surrounds it. Home is a place of magic and wonder, filled with all the fantastical friends that Ren dreams up. Home is where his imagination can run wild.
For Ava, home is a brick and cement city, where there's always something to do or see or hear. Home is a place bursting with life, where people bustle in and out like a big parade. Home is where Ava is never lonely because there's always someone to share in her adventures.
When Ren moves to Ava's city, he feels lost without his wild. How will he ever feel at home in a place with no green and no magic, where everything is exactly what it seems? Of course, not everything in the city is what meets the eye, and as Ren discovers, nothing makes you feel at home quite like a friend.
Inspired by the stories her father told her about moving from Puerto Rico to New York as a child, Zara González Hoang's author-illustrator debut is an imaginative exploration of the true meaning of "home."
ON THESE MAGIC SHORES | Middle Grade
by Yamile Saied Méndez (Tu Books)
Minerva Soledad Miranda is determined to reach her goals, despite shouldering more responsibility than the other kids at school--like caring for her two sisters while her mom works two jobs. But one night, Minerva's mom doesn't come home, and Minerva has to figure out what to do. Was Mamá snapped up by immigration enforcement? Will the girls be sent to foster homes or holding centers for migrant kids? Minerva and her sisters can't let anyone know Mamá has disappeared. They'll just pretend everything is normal until she comes back.
Minerva's plan to go it alone falls apart the first afternoon, when her baby sister throws a tantrum during Minerva's audition for Peter Pan. But as the days pass and Minerva grows ever more worried about her mother, something magical seems to be watching out for them: leaving them cupcakes, helping Minerva find money, even steering them to friends and distant family who can help. Eventually, Minerva must make the hardest choice of her life. And when she does, she'll be prepared to face life's challenges--with friendship, hope, and a little bit of fairy magic.
ON THESE MAGIC SHORES | Middle Grade
by Yamile Saied Méndez (Tu Books)
Minerva Soledad Miranda is determined to reach her goals, despite shouldering more responsibility than the other kids at school--like caring for her two sisters while her mom works two jobs. But one night, Minerva's mom doesn't come home, and Minerva has to figure out what to do. Was Mamá snapped up by immigration enforcement? Will the girls be sent to foster homes or holding centers for migrant kids? Minerva and her sisters can't let anyone know Mamá has disappeared. They'll just pretend everything is normal until she comes back.
Minerva's plan to go it alone falls apart the first afternoon, when her baby sister throws a tantrum during Minerva's audition for Peter Pan. But as the days pass and Minerva grows ever more worried about her mother, something magical seems to be watching out for them: leaving them cupcakes, helping Minerva find money, even steering them to friends and distant family who can help. Eventually, Minerva must make the hardest choice of her life. And when she does, she'll be prepared to face life's challenges--with friendship, hope, and a little bit of fairy magic.
April 25, 2020
¡TODOS AL RODEO! A VAQUERO ALPHABET BOOK | Picture Book
by Dr. Ma. Alma González Pérez (Del Alma Publications)
Third in our series of popular bilingual alphabet books, this picturesque children's book highlights the life and the history of the vaquero (cowboy). It includes many concepts like rodeo and lasso that emerged with the arrival of the Spaniards in the New World. Written by award-winning author and professor of bilingual education, Dr. María Alma González Pérez, this book is sure to delight and educate young children. Additionally, it is intended as a resource for the bilingual / dual-language classroom.
April 28, 2020
A BREATH TOO LATE | Young Adult
by Rocky Callen (Henry Holt and Co. (BYR))
Seventeen-year-old Ellie had no hope left. Yet the day after she dies by suicide, she finds herself in the midst of an out-of-body experience. She is a spectator, swaying between past and present, retracing the events that unfolded prior to her death.
But there are gaps in her memory, fractured pieces Ellie is desperate to re-assemble. There's her mother, a songbird who wanted to break free from her oppressive cage. The boy made of brushstrokes and goofy smiles who brought color into a gray world. Her brooding father, with his sad puppy eyes and clenched fists. And Ellie's determined to find out why a piece of her was left behind.
Told in epistolary-like style, Rocky Callen's deeply moving A Breath Too Late sensitively examines the beautiful and terrible moments that make up a life and the possibilities that live in even the darkest of places. Perfect for fans of the critically-acclaimed Speak, I’ll Give You the Sun, and If I Stay.
CASIA ALCANZAR TODO | Young Adult
by Matt Mendez (Simon & Schuster)
Juan tiene grandes planes.
Va a ser el muchacho de El Paso que salió adelante, va a conseguir esa beca de basquetbol para ir a la universidad y va hacer algo de su vida… algo mejor que la sarta de novios nefastos de Fabi, su mamá. Sólo necesita hacerlo realidad.
El mejor amigo de Juan, JD, también tiene planes.
Algún día va a ser cineasta, como Tarantino o Del Toro (no Spielberg). Tiene una cámara y tiene pasión. ¿Qué más se necesita?
Fabi ya no tiene planes.
Cuando te embarazas a los dieciséis, descubres que los planes no siempre salen y que hay algunas cosas que no puedes anticipar…
Como un altercado con la policía. Como la implosión de tu familia. Como un pasado que regresa a perseguirte. Como el temor de que tú, tu hijo y todos los que amas no van a alcanzar todo…no van a alcanzar nada.
THE COMPTON COWBOYS | Nonfiction
by Walter Thompson-Hernández (William Morrow)
In Compton, California, ten black riders on horseback cut an unusual profile, their cowboy hats tilted against the hot Los Angeles sun. They are the Compton Cowboys, their small ranch one of the very last in a formerly semirural area of the city that has been home to African-American horse riders for decades. To most people, Compton is known only as the home of rap greats NWA and Kendrick Lamar, hyped in the media for its seemingly intractable gang violence. But in 1988 Mayisha Akbar founded The Compton Jr. Posse to provide local youth with a safe alternative to the streets, one that connected them with the rich legacy of black cowboys in American culture. From Mayisha’s youth organization came the Cowboys of today: black men and women from Compton for whom the ranch and the horses provide camaraderie, respite from violence, healing from trauma, and recovery from incarceration.
The Cowboys include Randy, Mayisha’s nephew, faced with the daunting task of remaking the Cowboys for a new generation; Anthony, former drug dealer and inmate, now a family man and mentor, Keiara, a single mother pursuing her dream of winning a national rodeo championship, and a tight clan of twentysomethings--Kenneth, Keenan, Charles, and Tre--for whom horses bring the freedom, protection, and status that often elude the young black men of Compton.
The Compton Cowboys is a story about trauma and transformation, race and identity, compassion, and ultimately, belonging. Walter Thompson-Hernández paints a unique and unexpected portrait of this city, pushing back against stereotypes to reveal an urban community in all its complexity, tragedy, and triumph.
INCENDIARY | Young Adult
by Zoraida Córdova (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Renata was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King's Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucía. As a memory thief, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata was used by the crown to carry out the King's Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.
Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown. The Whispers may have rescued Renata years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred-or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she drained during her time in the palace.
When Dez, the commander of her unit-and the boy she's grown to love-is taken captive by the notorious Príncipe Dorado, Renata must return to Andalucía and complete Dez's top secret mission herself. Can she keep her cover, even as she burns for vengeance against the brutal, enigmatic prince? Her life and the fate of the Moria depend on it.
But returning to the palace stirs childhood memories long locked away. As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the fate of the entire kingdom-and end the war that has cost her everything.
April 30, 2020
THE FUTURE OF US-MEXICO RELATIONS: STRATEGIC FORESIGHT | Nonfiction
Ed. by Tony Payan, Alfonso López de la Osa Escribano, & Jesús Velasco (Arte Público)
The editors of this collection of sixteen articles argue the relationship between the United States and Mexico is at its most tenuous in recent memory. Each article explores the future of US-Mexico relations, focusing on relevant topics such as trade, water, drugs, health, immigration, environmental issues and security. Employing a strategic foresight methodology, the authors use past trends and identify pivotal drivers to predict, based on indicators, at least three possible outcomes for the next few decades: a baseline or continuity scenario, an optimistic version and a pessimistic one. They also articulate the implications each forecast has for both nations. Most chapters are co-written by a scholar from the United States and another from Mexico. While acknowledging it is impossible to predict the future, they nonetheless describe what could occur. Ultimately, the authors of the articles in this fascinating volume make recommendations to achieve a peaceful, integrated and prosperous North America that will drive the world economy. The book is required reading for anyone interested in the binational relationship and the well-being of citizens in both countries.
THE LEGEND OF THE COQUÍ | Picture Book
by Georgina Lázaro; Illus. by Bruno Robert (Reycraft Books)
Long ago, in Puerto Rico, all the animals did was eat, sleep, and snack. The parrot, queen of the forest, grew worried and challenged them all to a race. Will they participate and who will win?
PIONEER OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHT: ALONSO S. PERALES | Biography
by Cynthia E. Orozco (Arte Público)
In this wide-ranging biography, historian Cynthia Orozco examines the life and work of one of the most influential Mexican Americans of the twentieth century. Alonso S. Perales was born in Alice, Texas, in 1898; he became an attorney, leading civil rights activist, author and US diplomat.
Perales was active in promoting and seeking equality for “La Raza” in numerous arenas. In 1929, he founded the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the most important Latino civil rights organization in the United States. He encouraged the empowerment of Latinos at the voting box and sought to pass state and federal legislation banning racial discrimination. He fought for school desegregation in Texas and initiated a movement for more and better public schools for Mexican-descent people in San Antonio.
A complex and controversial figure, Alonso S. Perales is now largely forgotten, and this first-ever comprehensive biography reveals his work and accomplishments to a new generation of scholars of Mexican-American history and Hispanic civil rights. This volume is divided into four parts: the first is organized chronologically and examines his childhood to his role in World War I, the beginnings of his activism in the 1920s and the founding of LULAC. The second section explores his impact as an attorney, politico, public intellectual, Pan-American ideologue and US diplomat. Perales’ private life is examined in the third part and scholars’ interpretations of his legacy in the fourth.
