Most Anticipated February 2025 Releases

Valentine's Day is the perfect excuse to treat our nearest and dearest to some new books, right? Here are a few books we can't wait to gift our loved ones (and ourselves!) this month.

The Delicate Beast by Roger Celestin

In the 1950s Tropical Republic, a boy lives amid opulence and privilege, spending days at the beach or in the cool hills above the sweltering capital, enjoying leisurely Sunday lunches around the family compound's swimming pool. That is, until the reign of The Mortician begins, unleashing unimaginable horrors that bring his childhood idyll to an end. Narrowly escaping the violent fate visited on so many of his fellow citizens, he and his brother follow their parents into exile in the United States where they must start a new life. But as he grows, he never feels at home, and leaves his family to travel across Europe and outrun the ghosts of the past.

A searing novel of a life lived in the shadow of history, The Delicate Beast portrays the persistent, pernicious legacy of political violence.

Alligator Tears: A Memoir in Essays by Edgar Gomez

From the award-winning author of High-Risk Homosexual, Edgar Gomez is back with this striking memoir.

Alligator Tears is a fiercely defiant memoir-in-essays charting Gomez’s quest to claw his family out of poverty by any means necessary and exposing the archetype of the humble poor person for what it is: a scam that insists we remain quiet and servile while we wait for a prize that will always be out of reach. For those chasing the American Dream and those jaded by it, Gomez’s unforgettable story is a testament to finding love, purpose, and community on your own terms, smiling with all your fake teeth.

Loca by Alejandro Heredia

In his debut novel, Alejandro Heredia vibrantly captures the struggles between survival and liberation.

Loca follows one daring year in the lives of young people living at the edge of their own patience and desires. With expansive grace, it reveals both the grueling conditions that force people to migrate and the possibility of friendship as home when family, nations, and identity groups fall short.

Tsunami: Women's Voices from Mexico Edited by Heather Cleary and Gabriela Jauregui | Translated by Julia Sanches, et al.

Featuring personal essay, manifesto, creative nonfiction, and poetry, Tsunami gathers the multiplicity of voices being raised in Mexico today against patriarchy and its buried structures. Tackling gender violence, community building, #MeToo, Indigenous rights, and more, these writings rock the core of what we know feminism to be, dismantling its Eurocentric roots and directing its critical thrust towards current affairs in Mexico today.

Contributors include Marina Azahua, Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil, Dahlia de la Cerda, Alexandra R. DeRuiz, Lia García, Jimena González, Gabriela Jauregui, Fernanda Latani M. Bravo, Valeria Luiselli, Ytzel Maya, Brenda Navarro, Jumko Ogata, Daniela Rea, Cristina Rivera Garza, Diana J. Torres, Sara Uribe, and the Zapatista Army for National Liberation.

Life Drawing: A Love and Rockets Collection by Jaime Hernandez

Life Drawing darts primarily between the youthful Tonta and the venerable Maggie. Tonta has a crush on her art teacher, Ray, as well as an axe to grind with an older woman in the neighborhood. When Tonta finds that the woman, Maggie, is married to Ray, things get complicated. And Tonta does not handle complications well.

Ten years in the making (and torn from the pages of the legendary Love and Rockets), Jaime Hernandez's newest graphic novel skillfully weaves two generations of his beloved characters into a satisfying story of love--both young and middle-aged.

Book Review: No Place to Bury the Dead by Karina Sainz Borgo

Many tragic stories show their characters fighting to save hope. They suffer throughout their journey in a failed attempt to achieve happiness. Although labeled a tragedy, Karina Sainz Borgo’s novel does something unexpected: starting the story with complete hopelessness. If characters have lost all hope, what is left in their journey? The answer lies in Sainz Borgo’s slow-burning narrative that describes a world so hostile that there’s No Place to Bury the Dead.

The reader follows Angustias Romero’s journey through her eyes as she leaves the eastern mountains of an unnamed Latin American country with her husband and newborn twins to reach Mezquite. Right on the first few pages, readers learn two important things: a plague that attacks memory has spread throughout the country, which is why they left their home, and the twins die during their migration. Carrying her sons’ bodies in two shoeboxes, Angustias and her husband arrive at their destination wishing to find a place to bury their children. Meanwhile, the tension between them keeps growing as her husband becomes victim of the plague. 

In Mezquite, she hears about Visitación Salazar, a woman who buries people for free in an illegal cemetery people call “The Third Country.” After finally giving her children a place to eternally rest, her husband disappears; therefore, from the beginning of the story, our main character has lost everything that is dear to her. A grieving Angustias decides to become Visitación’s assistant so she could stay near her sons’ grave, but life in Mezquite can prove dangerous since the place is ruled by landowner Alcides Abundio and “the irregulars,” a mercenary group. They both reign a godless kingdom through unmeasured violence and corruption, a kingdom of death and desperation. 

“ ...the narrative accelerates in such a way that it is impossible to put the book down until you reach its ending.”

The narration is detailed yet distant. Angustias remains observant but desensitized to the horrors she witnesses, a coldness that can only be felt by those who have lost everything like she did. Still, the reader gets a good sense of the aridness of this place and its people. Sainz Borgo’s use of nature and rich descriptive language set the overall mood of the novel, making the reader feel the dread her characters are experiencing. Each chapter ends with a powerful image that portrays Angustias’s state of mind and sets the tone for the next one. 

The novel moves slowly because the focus isn’t the plot, but the atmosphere that the author so carefully crafted. However, near the end, unexpected tragedy after tragedy follows Angustias and the people of Mezquite, mimicking how life can change within minutes. With this, the narrative accelerates in such a way that it is impossible to put the book down until you reach its ending. Although the setting remains cruel and eerie, subtle changes in Angustias’s narration make readers wonder if there is space for hope in such a somber world. 

In this novel, Sainz Borgo greatly portrays grief and hopelessness, giving us a main character who has lost everything at the beginning of the story.  What can be left for someone who has given up all hope already? No Place to Bury the Dead shows what comes after losing it all, making it a painful yet necessary read. 

---

Roxanna Cardenas Colmenares is a Venezuelan writer living in New York City who loves to consume, study, and create art. She explores multiple genres in her writing, with a special interest in horror and sci-fi, while working on her B.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration. 

Her work has made her a two-time recipient of the James Tolan Student Writing Award for her critical essays analyzing movies. She has also won The Henry Roth Award in Fiction, The Esther Unger Poetry Prize, and The Allan Danzig Memorial Award in Victorian Literature.

In her free time, she likes to watch movies, dance, and draw doodles that she hopes to be brave enough to share one day.

February 2025 Latinx Releases

On Sale February 4

The Delicate Beast by Roger Celestin |ADULT FICTION

In the 1950s Tropical Republic, a boy lives amid opulence and privilege, spending days at the beach or in the cool hills above the sweltering capital, enjoying leisurely Sunday lunches around the family compound's swimming pool. That is, until the reign of The Mortician begins, unleashing unimaginable horrors that bring his childhood idyll to an end. Narrowly escaping the violent fate visited on so many of his fellow citizens, he and his brother follow their parents into exile in the United States where they must start a new life. But as he grows, he never feels at home, and leaves his family to travel across Europe and outrun the ghosts of the past.

Dengue Boy: A Novel by Michel Nieva | Translated by Rahul Bery | ADULT FICTION

The protagonist of this story has no understanding of the words “winter”, "cold”, or "snow" because he has never experienced the phenomena they describe. We find ourselves in Victorica, a province of La Pampa, Argentina, some time after 2197 – the year in which the last of the Antarctic icecaps melted and an unprecedented climate catastrophe ensued, radically transforming the landscape of the region into a Caribbean Pampas. It is here that the Dengue Child grows up, a mutant mix of child and mosquito, the result of crazy experimenting driven by ultra-capitalistic corporations racing against each other to own viruses and their cures, destroying even their very own children’s existence to cash in on the stock exchange.

Another of the surprising effects of the thaw is the appearance of powerful telepathic pebbles from the bowels of the earth that seem to encapsulate the world's original wisdom, and which are the subject of lucrative smuggling. Meanwhile, the wealthy of the region chose to cruise around on ships where they can experience ice-skating and hand carve ice from valuable remains of glaciers. In their ultra-air conditioned homes, their kids play Indians vs Christians, a brutal video game set in the historical 19th century.  

These Vengeful Wishes by Vanessa Montalban |YOUNG ADULT

When her stepfather is arrested, aspiring artist Ceci moves back to her mother's hometown of Santa Aguas, an eccentric small town steeped in the legend of La Cegua, the specter of a wronged witch who appears on lonely roads at night, luring untrustworthy men to their deaths.

Ceci and her mother take up residence in the abandoned manor of the Sevilla family, rumored to have been cursed by La Cegua, where she begins to uncover a past connected to her mother. The more she learns of the Sevillas, the more Ceci finds herself forming a strange affinity with the feared Cegua, who she suspects is the one inspiring her paintings of a mysterious door in the forest.

When the very door Ceci has been painting appears in the woods, she ventures through it with her new friend, and maybe crush, Jamie. Together, they discover a well for granting wishes. The well of La Cegua.

After learning others are also searching for the well, Ceci must confront the truth of her mother's past and prevent La Cegua's wishes from being used for the wrong reasons. Every wish has its price, and La Cegua never forgets the ones who have wronged her.

On Sale February 11

My (Half) Latinx Kitchen: Half Recipes, Half Stories, All Latin American by Kiera Wright-Ruiz | NONFICTION

“What are you?” is a dreaded question that has followed Kiera Wright-Ruiz around her entire life. She is half Latinx and half Asian, and her journey to understand her identity has been far from linear. Though she is a first-generation American, she didn’t grow up in a home where many traditions from her family’s home countries were passed down by her parents. Kiera’s childhood was complicated, and the role of caregiver was played by various people in her life: from her mom and dad to her grandparents and foster parents. Many of whom were from all different parts of Latin America, and each of them taught Kiera something about what it means to be Latinx through their food.

This cookbook is the story of Kiera’s journey to embrace her identity and all her cultures: Latinx, Asian, and American. It’s a celebration of Latin American food in all its vibrant, flavorful glory, and a love letter to the diaspora. From Ecuador to South Florida, Mexico to Cuba, the recipes in this book are as diverse and unique as the cultures themselves.

But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo | ADULT FICTION

The old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious House⁠—Anatema, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for laudanum and human brides.

Dália, the old keeper’s protégée, must take up her duties, locking and unlocking the little drawers in which Anatema keeps her memories. And if she can unravel the crime that led to her predecessor's execution, Dália might just be able to survive long enough to grow into her new role.

But there’s a gaping hole in Dália’s plan that she refuses to see: Anatema cannot resist a beautiful woman, and she eventually devours every single bride that crosses her path.

Alligator Tears by Edgar Gomez | NONFICTION

In Florida, one of the first things you’re taught as a child is that if you’re ever chased by a wild alligator, the only way to save yourself is to run away in zigzags. It’s a lesson on survival that has guided much of Edgar Gomez’s life.

Like the night his mother had a stroke while he and his brother stood frozen at the foot of her bed, afraid she’d be angry if they called for an ambulance they couldn’t afford. Gomez escaped into his mind, where he could tell himself nothing was wrong with his family. Zig. Or years later, as a broke college student, he got on his knees to put sandals on tourists’ smelly, swollen feet for minimum wage at the Flip Flop Shop. After clocking out, his crew of working-class, queer, Latinx friends changed out of their uniforms in the passenger seats of each other’s cars, speeding toward the relief they found at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Zag. From committing a little bankruptcy fraud for the money for veneers to those days he paid his phone bill by giving massages to closeted men on vacation, back when he and his friends would Venmo each other the same emergency twenty dollars over and over. Zig. Zag. Gomez survived this way as long as his legs would carry him.

Alligator Tears is a fiercely defiant memoir-in-essays charting Gomez’s quest to claw his family out of poverty by any means necessary and exposing the archetype of the humble poor person for what it is: a scam that insists we remain quiet and servile while we wait for a prize that will always be out of reach. For those chasing the American Dream and those jaded by it, Gomez’s unforgettable story is a testament to finding love, purpose, and community on your own terms, smiling with all your fake teeth.

What Fell from the Sky by Adrianna Cuevas | MIDDLE GRADE

All Pineda Matlage wants is to get through the school year and maybe pull an epic prank or two with his friends Junior, Ernesto, and Patsy. But class is disrupted when a slew of American soldiers descends upon their rural Texan town of Soledad. They’ll be carrying out a training exercise and taking over everything, from Pineda’s school to the local government.

But Pineda knows why they’re really here. For days he’s hidden the strange creature who fell from the sky in his parents’ barn. He promised her he’d find her family and help them return home. But with soldiers now on every street corner and armed checkpoints across every road, reuniting his new friend with her missing parents seems an impossible task. Especially when they realize that the army’s presence is really a coverup for capturing his alien friends—being observed in a laboratory by the US government for reasons of their own.

Enlisting the help of his friends, a Black soldier adjusting to a newly integrated army, and townspeople tired of the military’s destructive presence, Pineda and all of Soledad will embark on an adventure none of them could have ever expected.

Brother Brontë by Fernando A. Flores | ADULT FICTION

The year is 2038, and the formerly bustling town of Three Rivers, Texas, is a surreal wasteland. Under the authoritarian thumb of its tech industrialist mayor, Pablo Henry Crick, the town has outlawed reading and forced most of the town’s mothers to work as indentured laborers at the Big Tex Fish Cannery, which poisons the atmosphere and lines Crick’s pockets.

Scraping by in this godforsaken landscape are best friends Prosperina and Neftalí—the latter of whom, one of the town’s last literate citizens, hides and reads the books of the mysterious renegade author Jazzmin Monelle Rivas, whose last novel, Brother Brontë, is finally in Neftalí’s possession. But after a series of increasingly violent atrocities committed by Crick’s forces, Neftalí and Prosperina, with the help of a wounded bengal tigress, three scheming triplets, and an underground network of rebel tías, rise up to reclaim their city—and in the process, unlock Rivas’s connection to Three Rivers itself.

Loca by Alejandro Heredia | ADULT FICTION

It’s 1999, and best friends Sal and Charo are striving to hold on to their dreams in a New York determined to grind them down. Sal is a book-loving science nerd trying to grow beyond his dead-end job in a new city, but he’s held back by tragic memories from his past in Santo Domingo. Free-spirited Charo is surprised to find herself a mother at twenty-five, partnered with a controlling man, working at the same supermarket for years, her world shrunk to the very domesticity she thought she’d escaped in her old country. When Sal finds love at a gay club one night, both his and Charo’s worlds unexpectedly open up to a vibrant social circle that pushes them to reckon with what they owe to their own selves, pasts, futures, and, always, each other.

Loca follows one daring year in the lives of young people living at the edge of their own patience and desires. With expansive grace, it reveals both the grueling conditions that force people to migrate and the possibility of friendship as home when family, nations, and identity groups fall short.

Tsunami: Women's Voices from Mexico Edited by Heather Cleary, Gabriela Jauregui | Translated by Julia Sanches, et al. | NONFICTION

Featuring personal essay, manifesto, creative nonfiction, and poetry, Tsunami gathers the multiplicity of voices being raised in Mexico today against patriarchy and its buried structures. Tackling gender violence, community building, #MeToo, Indigenous rights, and more, these writings rock the core of what we know feminism to be, dismantling its Eurocentric roots and directing its critical thrust towards current affairs in Mexico today. Asserting plurality as a political priority, Tsunami includes trans voices, Indigenous voices, Afro-Latinx voices, voices from within and outside academic institutions, and voices spanning generations. Tsunami is the combined force and critique of the three feminist waves, the marea verde ("green wave") of protests that have swept through Latin America in recent years, and the tides turned by insurgent feminisms at the margins of public discourse.

It's All or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango | MIDDLE GRADE

All these months of staring at the wall?
All these months of feeling weak?
It’s ending—
I’m going back to fencing.
And then it’ll be
like nothing ever happened.

No one knows hard work and dedication like Valentina Camacho. And Vale’s thing is fencing. She’s the top athlete at her fencing gym. Or she was . . . until the accident.

After months away, Vale is finally cleared to fence again, but it’s much harder than before. Her body doesn’t move the way it used to, and worst of all is the new number one: Myrka. When she sweeps Vale aside with her perfect form and easy smile, Vale just can’t accept that. But the harder Vale fights to catch up, the more she realizes her injury isn’t the only thing holding her back. If she can’t leave her accident in the past, then what does she have to look forward to?

The Pink Agave Motel & Other Stories by V. Castro | SHORT STORIES

Readers are invited to The Pink Agave Motel, where brutality and intimacy ooze across the pages, exploring the depths of the unhinged imagination and how human desire unlocks the impulse to bite. Castro's voice, influenced by Mexican folklore and a feminist perspective, illuminates a deeper view of how unrequited love affects every type of being alike.

The titular story focuses on Valentina, the proclaimed leader of a creature cohort, who manages hotel guests, until she is enlightened to a carnivorous death on the property. To avoid exposure that threatens her existence, she partners with (the hauntingly handsome) grieving friend of the dearly departed to solve the murder. Further within these tales, discover a woman who is a fish out of water drinking at a seaside honky tonk, the trapped guests who undergo sexual liberation, and aliens who find the sexiest of disguises.

Ibis: A Novel by Justin Haynes | ADULT FICTION

There is bad luck in New Felicity. The people of the small coastal village have taken in Milagros, an 11-year-old Venezuelan refugee, just as Trinidad's government has begun cracking down on undocumented migrants--and now an American journalist has come to town asking questions.

New Felicity's superstitious fishermen fear the worst, certain they've brought bad luck on the village by killing a local witch who had herself murdered two villagers the year before. The town has been plagued since her death by alarming visits from her supernatural mother, as well as by a mysterious profusion of scarlet ibis birds.

Skittish that the reporter's story will bring down the wrath of the ministry of national security, the fishermen take things into their own hands. From there, we go backward and forward in time--from the town's early days, when it was the site of a sugar plantation, to Milagros's adulthood as she searches for her mother across the Americas.

In between, through the voices of a chorus of narrators, we glimpse moments from various villagers' lives, each one setting into motion events that will reverberate outwards across the novel and shape Milagros's fate.

(S)Kin by Ibi Zoboi | YOUNG ADULT

“Our new home with its

thick walls and locked doors

wants me to stay trapped in my skin—

but I am fury and flame.”

Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.… While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past—her mother.

Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask.

But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.

Pilgrim Codex by Vivian Mansour | Translated by Emmanuel Valtierra | PICTURE BOOK

We, the Vargas Ramírez family, come from a faraway place north of Tenochtitlan called Iztapalapa, Land of Clay Upon Water. A land surrounded by cars and dry grass; a place where the pieces of our small world were scattered. For some time we lived there, but then one day my father heard a beautiful birdsong that rose up and appeared to say tihui, tihui, tihui: let's go, let's go, let's go. And so we gathered up our friends who made up that small world and decided to head north, for the other side, and a better life.

Together the Boy and his family will journey from the Land of the Frogs to The Place Where Feet Cry to the River Where the Waters Tangle, fleeing Gunmen and braving Coyotes and plunging darknesses as black as an obsidian forest. Originally published in Mexico, Pilgrim Codex (Códice peregrino) captures through the eyes of a child one family's part in the ever-changing and fleeting story of the brave migrant warriors who search for a better place to live.

On Sale February 18

Lucha of the Forgotten Spring by Tehlor Kay Mejia | YOUNG ADULT

A ruthless monster.
A daring heist.
A heart pulled in two directions.
A long-forgotten myth.

Killing a god was only the beginning of Lucha Moya’s story. . .
Her mission is simple—eradicate olvida, the forgetting drug, once and for all. But something sinister is lurking in the Night Forest, eager to claim its prize…

Will Lucha’s training allow her to survive the machinations of the Forest and save the vulnerable people at its mercy?

In this page-turning conclusion to this Latine folklore-inspired duology, Lucha must face long-avoided fears to save the people she cares for—or risk losing everything she's fought so hard to obtain.

Río Muerto by Ricardo Silva Romero | Translated by Victor Meadowcroft | ADULT FICTION

On the outskirts of Belén del Chamí, a town that has yet to appear on any map of Colombia, the mute Salomón Palacios is murdered a few steps away from his home. His widow, the courageous and foul-mouthed Hipólita Arenas, completely loses her sanity and confronts the paramilitaries and local politicians, challenging them to also kill her and her two fatherless sons. Yet as Hipólita faces her husband's murderers on her desperate journey, she finds an unexpected calling to stay alive. This poetic and hypnotizing novel, told from the perspective of Salomón's ghost, denounces the brutal killings of innocent citizens and at the same time celebrates the invisible: imagination, memories, hope, and the connection to afterlife.

Halfway to Somewhere: A Graphic Novel by Jose Pimienta | MIDDLE GRADE

Ave thought moving to Kansas would be boring and flat after enjoying the mountains and trails in Mexico, but at least they would have their family with them. Unfortunately, while Ave, their mom, and their younger brother are relocating to the US, Ave's father and older sister will be staying in Mexico...permanently. Their parents are getting a divorce.

As if learning a whole new language wasn't hard enough, and now a Middle-Schooler has to figure out a new family dynamic...and what this means for them as they start middle school with no friends.

Jose Pimienta's stunningly illustrated and thought provoking middle graphic novel is about exploring identity, understanding family, making friends with a language barrier, and above all else, learning what truly makes a place a home.

The Girl You Know by Elle Gonzalez Rose | YOUNG ADULT

The week before Luna's twin sister Solina was supposed to head back for her final semester at Kingswood Academy, an elite boarding school in the Washington mountains, she told Luna she was dropping out. When Luna refused to let her throw away her future, Solina disappeared.

Twelve hours later, she was dead.

Luna knows Solina's death wasn't an accident, even if the police say otherwise. There's a reason Solina didn't want to go back to Kingswood, and Luna knows she'll find the truth there. All she has to do is become Solina. Playing Solina comes easy, but finding answers is far from it. Between the cunning, cruel people Solina called her friends, Luna's budding feelings for her roommate Claudia, and the harsh realization that Solina had dark secrets, getting to the bottom of her sister's murder is more difficult than Luna could have ever anticipated. But when you have nothing left to lose, you're willing to do anything to get what you want. There's no limit to how far Luna will go to avenge her sister-even if she has to burn all of Kingswood to the ground.

Tíos and Primos by Jacqueline Alcántara | PICTURE BOOK

It’s a little girl’s first trip to her papa’s homeland, and she’s wowed by all the amazing sights and sounds—and especially by the size of her enormous family! But she only knows a little Spanish, and it’s hard not to be able to share jokes and stories. Fortunately, her relatives help her see that there are other ways they can connect, and soon she feels like she’s right where she belongs: in the heart of a loving family, learning as she goes along.

Crack Goes the Cascarón by Sara Andrea Fajardo | Illustrated by Rocío Arreola Mendoza | PICTURE BOOK

What are cascarones: Cascarones are empty egg shells that have been colored, filled with paper confetti, and sealed!

The hunt is on to figure out who will be the reigning champ of Cascarones, and Toti knows that he has his family beat. His parents are too easy, they make old-school cascarones with confetti inside. His sister, Carlita wishes she could create cascarones like him, and his Abuela doesn't even stand a chance. When the day of Cascarones arrives, will Toti seize his moment or will it be scrambled when he learns someone has switched his cascarones for fake ones!

With a cheeky twist at the end, readers will laugh and relish at the antics of Toti and his family in this exuberant bilingual stor

On Sale February 25

The Latinx Guide to Liberation: Healing from Historical, Generational, and Individual Trauma by Vanessa Pezo | NONFICTION

"Let us heal together. But first I invite you to take a breath."

The impact of colonialism, generational trauma, and individual trauma is often disregarded in the Latinx community. This pioneering guide addresses this trauma and takes Latinx readers on a journey of healing and liberation.. It explores what it means to have been systematically oppressed, how it impacts us, and how to change it. In doing so, this book challenges stereotypes, unravels the shame-based narratives around Latinx mental health, and refocuses the conversation around cultural empowerment, awareness, and transformation.

Each chapter is enriched with historically informed psychoeducation regarding the impact of various types of trauma on Latinx mental health. It also includes reflection questions and healing exercises to help readers process how they, their families, and communities have been impacted.

Accessible and interactive, this is an invaluable resource for Latinx people and mental health professionals working within the Latinx community.

At the Park on the Edge of the Country by Austin Araujo | POETRY

In At the Park on the Edge of the Country, Austin Araujo maps the intricacies of memory, immigration, and belonging through the experiences of one Mexican American family--his own--in the rural American South, crystallizing memory and self-knowledge as collaborative, multivocal affairs. Human and nonhuman voices and the competing landscapes of childhood and adulthood propel these poems, offering an unyielding portrait of a family's endless encounters with the shortcomings of citizenship. Speakers sleep like tostadas, mistake hikers crossing a small river in Arkansas for a migrant father, and hold onto silence through difficult conversations in the fields and in the city. Revelatory and striking, these poems reinvent origin myths to unmask the contradictory and expansive astonishments of Mexican American identity in the twenty-first century.

Life Drawing by Jaime Hernandez | GRAPHIC NOVEL

Ten years in the making (and torn from the pages of the legendary Love and Rockets), Jaime Hernandez's newest graphic novel skillfully weaves two generations of his beloved characters into a satisfying story of love--both young and middle-aged. Life Drawing darts primarily between the youthful Tonta and the venerable Maggie. Tonta has a crush on her art teacher, Ray, as well as an axe to grind with an older woman in the neighborhood. When Tonta finds that the woman, Maggie, is married to Ray, things get complicated. And Tonta does not handle complications well.

Life Drawing showcases Hernandez's brilliant talent for character, weaving relationships, rejections, infidelities, and adventures involving: Tonta's self-involved sisters Vivian, Violet, and Muñeca; her colorful pals Gomez, Judy Fair, and Brown Alice; her mother, the infamous 'Black Widow of the Valley'; and of course, the two great loves of Maggie's life, Ray and Hopey. There's also a forest spirit, two weddings, some cosplay, a little pole dancing, and page after page of breathtaking comics by the medium's most wide-eyed romantic. Did we mention the weddings?

Portrait of a Feminist: A Memoir in Essays by Marianna Marlowe | NONFICTION

Through braided memories that flash against the present day, Portrait of a Feminist depicts the evolution of Marianna Marlowe’s identity as a biracial and multicultural woman—from her childhood in California, Peru, and Ecuador to her adulthood as an academic, a wife, and a mother.

How does the inner life of a feminist develop? How does a writer observe the world around her and kindle, from her earliest memories, a flame attuned to the unjust?

With writing that is simultaneously wise and shimmering, nuanced and direct, Marlowe confronts her own experiences with the hallmarks of patriarchy. Interweaving stories of life as the child of a Catholic Peruvian mother and an atheist American father in a family that lived many years abroad, she examines realities familiar to so many of us—unequal marriages, class structures, misogynist literature, and patriarchal religion. Portrait of a Feminist explores the essential questions of feminism in our time: What does it look like to live in defense of feminism? How should feminism be evolving today?

Cousins in the Time of Magic by Emma Otheguy | Illustrated by Poly Bernatene | MIDDLE GRADE

History is alive with magic. That’s what zany Tía Xia is always telling cousins Jorge, Camila, and Siggy. Daredevil Jorge couldn’t be more different than his cousins: Camila is a dreamer who adores animals and Siggy is an aspiring influencer who has an exclusive party to attend. And their aunt has many secrets, including a mysterious diamond-encrusted sword that Jorge definitely wasn’t supposed to see.

But when the three stumble upon a time portal in their aunt’s yard, they are transported back to 1862, a past filled with wonders—and dangers. To return to the present, they must race to deliver the sword to General Ignacio Zaragoza in time for the historic Battle of Puebla in Mexico: the foundation of the holiday Cinco de Mayo.

As their journey to Mexico takes them through the Civil War–era United States, the cousins see just how much US history has been shaped by Latin communities. They must find the power within themselves to make sure things happen as they’re supposed to, without altering the past.

7 Latinx Short Story Collections

In the words of iconic Isabel Allende: “A short story is like an arrow; it has to have the right direction from the beginning, and you have to know exactly where you're aiming.” Short stories are contained and have a clear purpose, making them one of the most difficult forms of writing. Again and again, Latinx authors have demonstrated their mastery at telling cuentos and we have a whole list to prove it!

Bad Seed by Gabriel Carle | Translated by Heather Houde

The visceral, wildly imaginative stories in Bad Seed flick through working-class scenes of contemporary Puerto Rico, where friends and lovers melt into and defy their surroundings—nightclubs, ruined streets, cramped rooms with cockroaches moving in the walls. A horny high schooler spends his summer break in front of the TV; a queer love triangle unravels on the emblematic theater steps of the University of Puerto Rico; a group of friends get high and watch San Juan burn from atop a clocktower; an HIV positive college student works the night shift at a local bathhouse. At turns playful and heartbreaking, Bad Seed is the long overdue English-language debut of one of Puerto Rico’s most exciting up-and-coming writers. 

I'm a Fool to Want You by Camila Sosa Villada | Translated by Kit Maude

In the 1990s, a woman makes a living as a rental girlfriend for gay men. In a Harlem den, a travesti gets to know none other than Billie Holiday. A group of rugby players haggle over the price of a night of sex, and in return they get what they deserve. Nuns, grandmothers, children, and dogs are never what they seem…

These 9 stories are inhabited by extravagant and profoundly human characters who face an ominous reality in ways as strange as themselves. I’m a Fool to Want You confirms that Camila Sosa Villada is one of the most powerful and original voices in contemporary literature. With her daring imagination, she can speak the language of a victim of the Mexican Inquisition, or create a dystopian universe where travestis take their revenge. With her unique style, Sosa Villada blends everyday life and magic, honoring the oral tradition with unparalleled fluency.

My Chicano Heart by Daniel A. Olivas

My Chicano Heart is a collection of author Daniel A. Olivas’s favorite previously published tales about love, along with five new stories, that explore the complex, mysterious, and occasionally absurd machinations of people who simply want to be appreciated and treasured. Readers will encounter characters who scheme, search, and flail in settings that are sometimes fantastical and other times mundane: a man who literally gives his heart to his wife who keeps it beating safely in a wooden box; a woman who takes a long-planned trip through New Mexico but, mysteriously, without the company of her true love; a lonely man who gains a remarkably compatible roommate who may or may not be real—just to name a few of the memorable and often haunting characters who fill these pages. Olivas’s richly realized stories are frequently infused with his trademark humor, and readers will delight in—and commiserate with—his lovestruck characters. 

Each story is drawn from Olivas’s nearly twenty-five years of experience writing fiction deeply steeped in Chicano and Mexican culture. Some of the stories are fanciful and full of magic, while others are more realistic, and still others border on noir. All touch upon that most ephemeral and confounding of human emotions: love in all its wondrous forms.

There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven by Ruben Reyes Jr.

An ordinary man wakes one morning to discover he’s a famous reggaetón star. An aging abuela slowly morphs into a marionette puppet. A struggling academic discovers the horrifying cost of becoming a Self-Made Man.

In There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven, Ruben Reyes Jr. conjures strange dreamlike worlds to explore what we would do if we woke up one morning and our lives were unrecognizable. Boundaries between the past, present, and future are blurred. Menacing technology and unchecked bureaucracy cut through everyday life with uncanny dread. The characters, from mango farmers to popstars to ex-guerilla fighters to cyborgs, are forced to make uncomfortable choices—choices that not only mean life or death, but might also allow them to be heard in a world set on silencing the voices of Central Americans.

Blazing with heart, humor, and inimitable style, There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven subverts everything we think we know about migration and its consequences, capturing what it means to take up a new life—whether willfully or forced—with piercing and brilliant clarity. A gifted new storyteller and trailblazing stylist, Reyes not only transports to other worlds but alerts us to the heartache and injustice of our own.

Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda | Translated by Heather Cleary and Julia Sanches

“Life’s a bitch. That’s why you gotta rattle her cage, even if she’s foaming at the mouth.” In the linked stories of Reservoir Bitches, thirteen Mexican women prod the bitch that is Life and become her. From the all-powerful daughter of a cartel boss to the victim of transfemicide, from a houseful of spinster seamstresses to a socialite who supports her politician husband by faking Indigenous roots, these women spit on their own reduction and invent new ways to endure, telling their own stories in bold, unapologetic voices. At once a work of dark humor and social critique, Reservoir Bitches is a raucous debut from one of Mexico’s most thrilling new writers.

The Only Sound Is the Wind by Pascha Sotolongo

In the tradition of narrativa de lo inusual (narrative of the unusual), The Only Sound Is the Wind combines the fantastic with the everyday, weaving elements of magical realism and surrealist twists to sharpen our view of human (and animal) connection. In the title story, the arrival of a mail-order clone complicates a burgeoning romance; a lonely librarian longing for her homeland strikes up an unusual relationship in the award-winning “The Moth”; when humans start giving birth to puppies and kittens in “This New Turn,” a realignment of the natural order ensues. With a playful tenderness and satirical bent, The Only Sound Is the Wind explores solitude and communion, opening strange new worlds where characters try to make their way toward love.

Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima

At a Halloween party in 1999, a writer slept with the devil. She sees him again and again throughout her life and she writes stories for him about things that are both impossible and true.

Lima lures readers into surreal pockets of the United States and Brazil where they’ll find bite-size Americans in vending machines and the ghosts of people who are not dead. Once there, she speaks to modern Brazilian-American immigrant experiences–of ambition, fear, longing, and belonging—and reveals the porousness of storytelling and of the places we call home.

With humor, an exquisite imagination, and a voice praised as “singular and wise and fresh” (Cathy Park Hong), Lima joins the literary lineage of Bulgakov and Lispector and the company of writers today like Ted Chiang, Carmen Maria Machado, and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil includes: “Rapture,” “Ghost Story,” “Tropicália,” “Antropógaga,” “Idle Hands,” “Rent,” “Porcelain,” “Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory,” and “Hasselblad.”

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Roxanna Cardenas Colmenares is a Venezuelan writer living in New York City who loves to consume, study, and create art. She explores multiple genres in her writing, with a special interest in horror and sci-fi, while working on her B.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration. 

Her work has made her a two-time recipient of the James Tolan Student Writing Award for her critical essays analyzing movies. She has also won The Henry Roth Award in Fiction, The Esther Unger Poetry Prize, and The Allan Danzig Memorial Award in Victorian Literature.

In her free time, she likes to watch movies, dance, and draw doodles that she hopes to be brave enough to share one day.

5 Latinx Books That Portray Neurodiversity

There’s still much work to be done when it comes to diversifying books, but we have come a long way. Lately, more and more stories represent characters of different skin tones, bodies, and brains. To embrace and support diversity in publishing, check out these Latinx books that celebrate neurodiversity.

Pedro & Daniel by Federico Erebia | Illustrated by Julie Kwon

Pedro and Daniel are Mexican-American brothers growing up in 1970s Ohio. Their mom doesn’t like that Pedro is a spitting image of their darker-skinned father, that Daniel plays with dolls, that neither of the boys love sports like the other kids in their neighborhood. Life at home can be rough – but the boys have an unshakable bond that will last their entire lives.

Pedro & Daniel is a sweeping and deeply personal novel – illustrated with beautiful linework throughout by Julie Kwon – that spans from childhood to teenage years to adulthood, all the while tracing the lives of two brothers who are there for each other when no one else is. Together the brothers manage an abusive home life, school, coming out, first loves, first jobs, and the AIDS epidemic, in a coming-of-age story unlike any other.

The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes

Ariana Ruiz wants to be noticed. But as an autistic girl who never talks, she goes largely ignored by her peers—despite her bold fashion choices. So when cute, popular Luis starts to pay attention to her, Ari finally feels seen.

Luis’s attention soon turns to something more, and they have sex at a party—while Ari didn’t say no, she definitely didn’t say yes. Before she has a chance to process what happened and decide if she even has the right to be mad at Luis, the rumor mill begins churning—thanks, she’s sure, to Luis’s ex-girlfriend, Shawni. Boys at school now see Ari as an easy target, someone who won’t say no. 

Then Ari finds a mysterious note in her locker that eventually leads her to a group of students determined to expose Luis for the predator he is. To her surprise, she finds genuine friendship among the group, including her growing feelings for the very last girl she expected to fall for. But in order to take Luis down, she’ll have to come to terms with the truth of what he did to her that night—and risk everything to see justice done. 

Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla | Illustrated by Tania de Regil

Isabel Beane is a shy girl who lives in a home full of havoc and hubbub and hullabaloo. With five siblings, there is always too much too much-ness.

At school, there’s a new girl who is immediately popular, but she’s also not very nice to one person—Isabel.

Isabel has never felt more invisible. She begins to get bombarded by fears, like being abandoned by her classmates and taking the upcoming Extremely Important standardized test. Her fears feel like worry-moths that flutter in her belly. With every passing day, they seem to get stronger and stronger. How can Invisible Isabel make people listen? 

Into the Mighty Sea by Arlene Abundis | Illustrated by Cynthia Alonso

Mariel’s family is a big POP of color! But when her tíos, tías, and cousins arrive for her hermanito’s birthday party, their many besos, noises, and colors start to feel overwhelming. As Mariel’s tears grow into an ocean, she paints a boat to stay afloat and dives into the mighty sea.

When an island calls to her through the swells, she discovers sights, smells, and sounds on its shores that bring back memories of the people she loves the most to guide her back home.

Beautifully illustrated and lyrically written, Into the Mighty Sea is about a girl with big emotions who learns that sometimes taking a step back can be exactly what you need.

Malicia by Steven dos Santos

On a stormy Halloween weekend, Ray enlists his best friends Joaquin, Sofia, and Isabella to help him make a documentary of Malicia, the abandoned theme park off the coast of the Dominican Republic where his mother and brother died in a mass killing thirteen years ago.

But what should be an easy weekend trip quickly turns into something darker because all four friends have come to Malicia for their own reasons:

Ray has come to Malicia to find out the truth of the massacre that destroyed his family. Isabella has come to make art out of Ray’s tragedy for her own personal gain. Sofia has come to support her friends in one last adventure before she goes to med school. Joaquin already knows the truth of the Malicia Massacre and he has come to betray his crush Ray to the evil that made the park possible.

With an impending hurricane and horrors around every corner, they all struggle to face the deadly storm and their own inner demons. But the deadliest evil of all is the ancient malignant presence on the island.

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Roxanna Cardenas Colmenares is a Venezuelan writer living in New York City who loves to consume, study, and create art. She explores multiple genres in her writing, with a special interest in horror and sci-fi, while working on her B.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration. 

Her work has made her a two-time recipient of the James Tolan Student Writing Award for her critical essays analyzing movies. She has also won The Henry Roth Award in Fiction, The Esther Unger Poetry Prize, and The Allan Danzig Memorial Award in Victorian Literature.

In her free time, she likes to watch movies, dance, and draw doodles that she hopes to be brave enough to share one day.

25 Most Anticipated Books of 2025

Here’s something to look forward to this year–more amazing books by Latine authors! You’re bound to find something you or a loved one would enjoy in this list of our most anticipated titles for 2025, so please peruse. And remember to sign up for our newsletter and keep your eyes on our blog for new releases each month. You won’t want to miss any! 

Black Mestiza by Yael Valencia Aldana | POETRY | On Sale January 21

Yael Valencia Aldana reckons with her identity as a Caribbean Afro-Latinx/e woman with Indigenous, Black, and white roots and pays homage to the legacy, resilience, and fortitude of her ancestors. These stunning poems paint a vivid picture of everyday life and Aldana's experiences as a mixed-race woman, daughter, and mother.

Danilo Was Here by Tamika Burgess | MIDDLE GRADE FICTION | On Sale January 21

From the acclaimed author of Sincerely Sicily, Tamika Burgess, comes a timely coming-of-age story about a young boy’s fight to save his family and his dreams in the aftermath of the US military invasion of Panamá. Perfect for fans of Janae Marks, Adrianna Cuevas, and Chrystal D. Giles!

Loca by Alejandro Heredia | ADULT FICTION | On Sale February 11

Loca follows one daring year in the lives of young people living at the edge of their own patience and desires. With expansive grace, it reveals both the grueling conditions that force people to migrate and the possibility of friendship as home when family, nations, and identity groups fall short.

Lucha of the Forgotten Spring by Tehlor Kay Mejia | YOUNG ADULT FICTION | February 18

Fresh off her triumph in the Night Forest, Lucha Moya is back in Robado to settle unfinished business. The stunning fantasy duology about addiction, power, and love comes to a close in tale of treacherous villains, environmental disaster, and a love triangle its heroine doesn’t see coming.

Guatemalan Rhapsody by Jared Lemus | ADULT FICTION | On sale Mar 4

A vibrant debut story collection—poignant, unflinching, and immersive—masterfully moving between sharp wit and profound tenderness, Guatemalan Rhapsody offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of an ever-changing country, the people who claim it as home, and those who no longer do.

Malinalli by Veronica Chapa | ADULT FICTION | On Sale March 11

An imaginative retelling of the triumphs and sorrows of one of the most controversial and misunderstood women in Mexico’s history and mythology, perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Gods of Jade and Shadow and Zoraida Córdova’s The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina.

The Anatomy of Magic by J.C. Cervantes | ADULT FICTION | On Sale Mar 11

A young woman learns to embrace all the messy imperfections of life and love with some help from her magical family.

Fever Dreams of a Parasite: Stories by Pedro Iniguez | ADULT FICTION | On Sale March 13

Paying homage to Lovecraft, Ligotti, and Langan, these cosmic horror, weird fiction, and folk-inspired stories explore tales of outsiders, killers, and tormented souls as they struggle to survive the lurking terrors of a cold and cruel universe. With symbolism and metaphor pulled from his Latino roots, Iniguez cuts deep into the political undercurrent to expose an America rarely presented in fiction. 

Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa by Sara Andrea Fajardo, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal | PICTURE BOOK | On Sale March 18

What can a potato do? To Peruvian scientist Alberto Salas, they have the power to change the world. Go on the hunt with Alberto for wild potatoes before they go extinct in this playful picture book biography, gorgeously illustrated by Caldecott-honoree Juana Martinez-Neal.

So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color by Caro de Robertis| ADULT NONFICTION | On Sale May 13

Award-winning novelist Caro De Robertis offers a first-of-its-kind, deeply personal, and moving oral history of a generation of queer and trans elders of color, from leading activists to artists to ordinary citizens to tell their stories of breathtaking courage, cultural innovations, and acts of resistance, all in their own words.

Bochica by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro | ADULT FICTION | On Sale May 13

A real-life Latin American haunted mansion. A murky labyrinth of family secrets. A young, aristocratic woman desperate to escape her past. This haunting debut gothic horror novel is perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic and The Shining.

When Javi Dumped Mari by Mia Sosa | ADULT FICTION | On Sale June 24

The USA Today bestselling author of The Worst Best Man is back with a fun and flirty rom-com about a pact between friends that goes awry when one of them suddenly decides to get married.

Miss Camper by Kat Fajardo | MIDDLE GRADE GRAPHIC NOVEL | On Sale July 1

A companion to Miss Quinces, Kat Fajardo's bestselling, award-winning middle-grade graphic novel!

Archive of Unknown Universes by Ruben Reyes Jr. | ADULT FICTION | July 1

From the author of There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven, a piercing debut novel following two families in alternative timelines of the Salvadoran civil war—a stunning exploration of the mechanisms of fate, the gravity of the past, and the endurance of love.

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | ADULT FICTION | On Sale July 15

Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.

Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan | ADULT FICTION | On Sale July 22

For fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic and Ramona Emerson’s Shutter: a gripping retelling of Persephone and Demeter in the Mexicali borderlands.

Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo | ADULT FICTION | July 29

Within the shores of Isla Bestia, guests from around the world discover a utopia of ever-changing performances, sumptuous feasts and beautiful monsters. Many enter, but few ever leave. A freedwoman from a nearby colonized island travels to el Carnaval de Bestias in search of her twin brother, who disappeared five years ago.

Rosa By Any Other Name by Hailey Alcaraz | YOUNG ADULT FICTION | On Sale August 5

In this Romeo and Juliet-inspired retelling set during the civil rights era, a Mexican American girl is driven to join a movement for justice after her white classmate and best friend from the barrio are tragically murdered.

Sundust by Zeke Peña | PICTURE BOOK | On Sale August 5

In his striking author-illustrator debut, Zeke Peña offers an immersive and fantastical look at his hometown of El Paso, where the sun reigns over the vast desert and shapes all that it touches.

My Abuela Is a Bruja by Mayra Cuevas, illustrated by Lorena Alvarez Gómez | PICTURE BOOK | On Sale August 12

From an award-winning author comes a vibrant and heartwarming story of the bond between grandmother and grandchild, with a touch of Puerto Rican magic!

Leyenda/Legends: 60 Latine People Who Changed the World by Mónica Mancillas, illustrated by Isadora Zeferino | MIDDLE GRADE | On Sale August 26

Celebrate sixty legendary Latine icons who have changed the world—from artists to engineers to activists and more! This gorgeous illustrated compendium is perfect for readers of Little Leaders and Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

Fireblooms by Alexandra Villasante | YOUNG ADULT FICTION | On Sale August 30

An absorbing speculative Queer YA romance set in a town that uses technology to prevent hate speech and bullying. From the LAMBDA Award-winning author of The Grief Keeper.

The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes | YOUNG ADULT FICTION |  September 16

From bestselling author Sonora Reyes comes a poignant and searingly honest companion novel to the multi-award-winning The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, following beloved character Cesar Flores as he comes to terms with his sexuality, his new bipolar diagnosis, and more mistakes than he can count.

Enemy of My Enemy: A Daredevil Marvel Crime Novel by Alex Segura | On sale September 23

Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner Alex Segura (Secret Identity) pens an all-new streets-to-courtroom noir tale of the Punisher on trial for the murder of the Kingpin—with Matt Murdock as his defense attorney. Book two in the Marvel Crime series of thrillers for adult readers.

Sing Me a Story: Latine Short Stories in Verse by Latine Authors, edited by Aida Salazar | MIDDLE GRADE | On Sale October 7

Edited by multi-award-winning author Aida Salazar, this anthology brings together a star-studded cast of Latine kidlit verse novelists for an unprecedented collection of short stories in verse about the power of music.

Author Q&A: ‘Eloísa’s Musical Window’ by Margarita Engle and Illustrated by John Parra

In Eloísa’s Musical Window, we meet a young girl in a white dress and chancletas – with dark, chin-length hair adorned in a red bow. Her name is Eloísa, and she adores music.

But, as award-winning author Margarita Engle writes, Eloísa’s family was so poor that they could not afford a radio of their own. So Eloísa spends much of her time at home, by the window, listening to the music that floats in from a neighbor’s house. Adding to this music are the natural, wild melodies all around her Cuban town – from parrots and doves to songbirds.

The music is enough to make Eloísa want to dance, but she is shy. Unlike her Mamá, who would have gone outside to move to the rhythms. But Eloísa’s mother is sick with a mysterious illness.

Out now from Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Eloísa’s Musical Window is a tenderhearted story about a girl and her family finding joy in music. Featuring gorgeous illustrations by John Parra, the picture book was inspired by stories from Engle’s mother.

Engle spoke with Latinx in Publishing about her mother, who she dedicated Eloísa’s Musical Window to, writing about Cuba, and more.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Amaris Castillo: Congratulations on Eloísa’s Musical Window. I understand it is based on stories your mother told you. Can you tell us more about her?

Margarita Engle (ME): She’s 94 now and she has advanced Alzheimer’s at this point, so this was probably the last story about her childhood that she told me before she got very sick. 

She was born in the town of Trinidad, on the south central coast of Cuba. It’s a very old-fashioned town that has been preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage site. When my mother was a teenager, National Geographic had an article with photographs of her town. And my father, who was an artist in Los Angeles, saw the photographs and decided he wanted to go paint there. So he traveled to that town, which was actually very hard to reach at the time. They met on his first day there, which happened to be Valentine’s Day. And they fell in love and got married, even though they couldn’t speak the same language. They were married over 70 years. They moved to Los Angeles, where I was born and raised. 

I had a chance to visit her relatives during the summers when I was a child, until the Cuban Missile Crisis. Then, of course, travel restrictions divided the family. I didn’t get to go back until I was an adult, but I have gone back many times since then. 

When my mother talked about not being able to afford a radio, I’d known she was raised poor, but I didn’t realize it was poor enough in the 1930s to not be able to afford a radio. I knew that her mother had malaria. My grandmother – who lived until 104 – had recurring malaria throughout her life. And my grandfather, even though I never had a chance to meet him because he died young, raised pigeons in their courtyard garden. I didn’t realize until my mother told me this story that the pigeons were for pigeon soup, which was the prescription for a malaria cure at the time…

The happy part of this story was that my mother listened to the neighbor’s music. Eventually, street performers started to practice in front of that window and she was able to hear the live music. That just struck me as such a beautiful thing to focus on. This was right after the pandemic that she was telling me this story, and so it was very fresh in my mind of what it feels like to be stuck indoors and that she had this wonderful way of listening to music. 

I visualized the story with the animals because, at that time, I knew my great-uncle was a dairy farmer and would take the cow from window to window to deliver fresh milk. I thought those kinds of things would be fun for children now, to imagine a kind of old-fashioned style of life.

AC: There’s something so vivid about that scene, and it kicks off the story and all the other natural sounds and music Eloísa hears. How did you determine which sounds would filter in through your character’s window?

ME: I just kind of visualized and listened to the town in my mind. I know this town very well, and they still use a lot of horses and donkeys there because of the severe fuel shortages in Cuba. The streets are cobblestone, so the clip-clop of horses’ hooves on the street is very typical. They don’t deliver the milk by leading the cows through town anymore, but there’s still lots of little dogs and cats. 

I love the way John Parra, the illustrator, added a little green bird that follows the girl on every page of this book. It was just a treat to see how he would illustrate it. I had already written the sounds in, and he added his own touches.

AC: You dedicate the book to your mother. What was it like to work on this book with her in mind?

ME: As we were approaching publication, I knew that there was a chance she might not understand that it was really about her. But when it came out, I read her the Spanish edition and she really enjoyed it and got excited. At first she understood that she was the girl in the story. But a few minutes later, she had forgotten that, so I could start over and she’d enjoy it again. Whether she continues to remember that this is about her or not, I do know that she enjoys it.

One of the interesting things about Alzheimer’s is that music is the last memory to be lost. So songs and music from her childhood are still very much able to cheer her up, and give her a chance to interact in a way that conversation might not.

AC: Eloísa’s Musical Window is the latest addition to your many works rooted in Cuba. What message do you want to give about the country itself through this book? 

ME: I wanted the reader to be left with a sense of joy, of fun and of the beauty of music. And also with empathy for someone who is poor and can’t afford something. I think children now might not be able to relate to the idea of a radio because they get music from so many other sources, but I’m sure they can visualize not having the latest model computer, or the latest video game. There might be children who don’t have a phone or a laptop available to them, so they don’t always have access to everything that their friends are talking about. But the joy comes first, and the empathy might be for a slightly older child. I really wanted just that fun of the rhythms and the lyrical language of poetry, because I think of poetry as music.

“One of the interesting things about Alzheimer’s is that music is the last memory to be lost. So songs and music from her childhood are still very much able to cheer her up, and give her a chance to interact in a way that conversation might not.”

AC: I love that photo of your mother in the book. What did you think about how John illustrated her for the story? 

ME: It’s wonderful. It’s perfect. She had that little short haircut, and kind of a mischievous face in that photo. There’s actually about 100 people in that picture. There was a big family group at a picnic, and they had taken a photo of a whole bunch of people. My great-grandmother is standing behind her in the part that you see in the book. But that cat that she’s holding, she’s smiling because she had just grabbed it away from a little boy sitting there in front of her. He doesn’t show up in the picture here, but he was crying.

AC: No wonder she had that look on her face.

ME: She was quite mischievous, yes.

AC: What do you hope readers take away from Eloísa’s Musical Window?

ME: The joy and the empathy were the first things I thought of, but at the end of the book there’s also a couple of pages about Cuban musical instruments. I thought it might be something that would help them be curious about Caribbean music – not just Cuban music. And they might listen to some music and learn about the different instruments. If they had a chance, they might even try to play some drums or maracas.

I hope that everybody enjoys poetry as a form of music. I hope that any teachers who use this book will help the children enjoy poetry as a form of music, by asking them how it makes them feel rather than getting them to try and analyze it in any way. Especially with young children, I think it’s just for fun.

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Margarita Engle is the Cuban-American author of many verse novels, including Wild Dreamers, long listed for the National Book Award, and The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor Book. Other awards include Pura Belpré Medals, Walter Honors, Américas Awards, Jane Addams Award, PEN U.S.A., and the NSK Neustadt Prize. Margarita served as the national 2017-2019 Young People’s Poet Laureate. Her most recent picture book is Eloísa’s Musical Window, and her next verse novel is Island Creatures. Margarita was born in Los Angeles, but developed a deep attachment to her mother’s homeland during childhood summers with relatives on the island. She studied agronomy and botany along with creative writing, and now lives in central California with her entomologist husband and soccer playing Border Collie.

John Parra’s illustrations for Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos, written by Monica Brown, earned the book a New York Times Best Illustrated Book designation. He also illustrated Green Is a Chile Pepper: A Book of Colors by Roseanne Thong, which received a Pura Belpré Honor and the Américas Book Award: Commended; Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans by Phil Bildner, which won the Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration and was a Bank Street Best Book of the year; and Hey, Wall, by Susan Verde, which School Library Journal called “a must-purchase” in a starred review. Learn more at JohnParraArt.com.

Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist, writer, and the creator of Bodega Stories, a series featuring real stories from the corner store. Her writing has appeared in La Galería Magazine, Aster(ix) Journal, Spanglish Voces, PALABRITAS, Dominican Moms Be Like… (part of the Dominican Writers Association’s #DWACuenticos chapbook series), and most recently Quislaona: A Dominican Fantasy Anthology and Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice. Her short story, “El Don,” was a prize finalist for the 2022 Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. She is a proud member of Latinx in Publishing’s Writers Mentorship Class of 2023 and lives in Florida with her family.

January 2025 Latinx Releases

On Sale January 7

This Is the Year by Gloria Muñoz | YOUNG ADULT

"In outer space, no one will know me as the girl with the dead sister."

Seventeen-year-old self-proclaimed Goth and aspiring writer Julieta Villarreal is drowning. She's grieving her twin sister who died in a hit-and-run, her Florida home is crumbling under the weight of climate disaster, and she isn't sure how much longer she can stand to stay in a place that doesn't seem to have room for her.

Then, Juli is recruited by Cometa, a private space program enlisting high-aptitude New American teens for a high-stakes mission to establish humanity's first extraterrestrial settlement. Cometa pitches this as an opportunity for Juli to give back to her adopted country; Juli sees it as her only chance to do something big with her life.

Juli begins her training, convinced Cometa is her path to freedom. But her senior year is full of surprises, including new friendships, roller skating, and first love. And through her small but poignant acts of environmentalism, Juli begins to find hope in unexpected places. As her world collapses from the ramifications of the climate crisis, Juli must decide if she'll carry her loss together with her community or leave it all behind.

Told in gripping prose interspersed with poems from Juli's writing journal, this genre-bending novel explores themes of immigration, climate justice, grief, and the power of communities.

Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura|ADULT FICTION

Her mission: find the Lost City of the Moon in the Amazon rainforest.
His mission: protect the holy temple . . . and his heart.

While her mentor may be the world's most badass archaeologist, the only thing bad about Dr. Miriam Jacobs are her corny jokes. But when Miri is charged with leading an unmapped expedition through the Amazon for the fabled Lost City of the Moon, she finally has her chance to prove to her colleagues that she's capable--and hopefully prove it to herself, too.

Journalist Rafael Monfils has joined the archaeological team to chronicle their search for the lost city. Or at least, that's what they think he's doing. Rafa's real goal? Make sure the team does not reach the Cidade da Lua, stopping the desecration of the holy city and protecting his mother's legacy. All he needs to do is keep them on the wrong path.

If only the endearingly quirky Dr. Jacobs wasn't so damn tenacious--each of Rafa's tricks and purposeful wrong turns only seem to fuel her determination. Even worse, he's charmed by her goofy attempts to channel Lara Croft as they traverse the dangerous Brazilian rainforest. But they're not the only crew hunting for the lost city, and soon the untamed jungle--and their untamed hearts--might be the least of their worries...

Mamiachi & Me: My Mami's Mariachi Band by Jolene Gutiérrez and Dakota Gutiérrez | Illustrated by Mirelle Ortega| PICTURE BOOK

Today's the day! Rosa will take the stage next to her mami and play along with her popular mariachi band. But as they fasten the shiny botonaduras and tie the moños on their charra suits, Rosa begins to worry. What if the audience doesn't like her? Is she ready to perform?

With her "mamiachi" and madrinas by her side, Rosa's stage fright is soothed away by the sound of trumpets, guitars, and violins. Centering on the power of sisterhood, community, and music, the warm and lively text by mother-and-son writing duo Jolene and Dakota Gutiérrez--joined by Mirelle Ortega's beautiful illustrations--provides a unique perspective to the male-dominated world of mariachi. Back matter includes additional context on the history of the beloved Mexican tradition and the rise of all-female mariachi groups, as well as a glossary, a bibliography, further reading, and a fun, detailed look at a mariachi's signature charro suit!

Turtles of the Midnight Moon by Mar A. Jos Fitzgerald | MIDDLE GRADE

When poachers threaten the island they love, two girls team up to save the turtles--and each other. An eco-mystery with an unforgettable friendship story at its heart from a fresh new voice in middle grade.

Twelve-year-old Barana lives in a coastal village in Honduras, where she spends every spare minute visiting the sea turtles that nest on the beach.

Abby is feeling adrift in sixth grade, trying to figure out who she is and where she belongs after her best friend moved away from New Jersey.

When Abby's papi plans a work trip to Honduras, she is finally given the opportunity to see his homeland--with Barana as her tour guide. But Barana has other plans: someone has been poaching turtle eggs, and she's determined to catch them! Before long, Abby and Barana are both consumed by the mystery, chasing down suspects, gathering clues, and staking out the beach in the dead of night. . . . Will they find a way to stop the poachers before it's too late?

A heart-pounding mystery with a hint of magic, María José Fitzgerald's debut novel explores the power of friendship, community, and compassion to unite all living creatures.

On Sale January 14

Build a Girlfriend by Elba Luz | YOUNG ADULT

A teen deep-dives into her dating history to uncover her mistakes, become the perfect girlfriend, and get revenge on the wrong guy so she can ride into the sunset with the right one in this debut rom-com.

To the surprise of no one, Amelia Hernandez is once again single. It's her family curse at work; whether it's by heartbreak, scandal, or even accidental death, every romantic relationship that a Hernandez woman has will meet its demise eventually. And that may be fine with Amelia's sisters, mom, and aunts, but definitely not with Amelia.

So, convinced that she is the problem, Amelia decides to embark on an "Ex Retrospective: " tracking down her exes, finding out where she went wrong, and using that information to finally become un-break-up-able for whenever her next relationship comes along. Because Amelia is determined to be free of the family curse...and her family.

However, when Amelia is unwillingly reunited with Leon, the ex to end all exes, she can't resist having a little revenge on the side, too. After all, what better way to test out her new persona of perfect girlfriend traits than on the boy who broke her heart?

But old loves die hard, and as Amelia's feelings grow more complicated, she suspects that she may be in for more than she bargained for.

Dreamover by Dani Diaz | YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL

In this captivating debut YA graphic novel, two best friends becoming more than friends feels like a dream come true. But when one sleepover literally turns into a dream, will they ever want to wake up again?

Amber's a headstrong goofball with a temper. Nico's a shy, self-conscious emo boy. But they've been best friends since third grade, and she can't hide her feelings for him any longer. At the end of their eighth-grade beach trip, she confesses... and the feeling is mutual! Thus begins a glorious, blissful summer of first love.

But once high school starts, life gets more complicated. Faced with early mornings, bullies, homework, and other stresses, Amber and Nico cling to each other, neglecting their friends. Soon, Amber starts to wish she and Nico could escape from it all.

One night, as they fall asleep playing video games, Amber gets her wish...

Paloma Flies Away by María J. Guarda | Translated by Melanie Cordova|PICTURE BOOK

Paloma's home has changed. The dictator who took over the country has stripped its people of their freedoms, and it's no longer OK to think for yourself. So, like birds, Paloma and her parents fly away in search of a new home, without a chance to pack or say goodbye. The new country is different and generous, and their arrival is a big adventure. Though things are unfamiliar and Paloma misses the country she left, her new friends are soon like family, and she feels right at home. Then she grows older, and more changes come, and Paloma and family are flying away again, to a country she can barely remember . . . With a simple narration and stunning illustrations, María J. Guarda brings us a tender story about home, family, and identity during times of immeasurable change.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia | ADULT FICTION

Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing and everything in common. The two women don't know each other but are on the same plane. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man--the messages becoming stranger and more erratic.

And then the two women vanish. The texts go silent, the red flags go up, and the panic sets in. When Stephanie and Jasmine are each declared missing and in danger, it begs the questions: Who is Trent McCarthy? What did he do to these women-- or what did they do to him?

Twist upon twist, layer upon layer, where nothing is as it seems, The Business Trip takes you on a descent into the depths of a mastermind manipulator. But who is playing who?

On Sale January 21

The Broposal by Sonora Reyes | ADULT FICTION

It's about time roommates Alejandro and Kenny get married. Or at least, that's what all their close friends and family think when they announce their engagement. The kicker? The two are faking their whole relationship so Alejandro can get a green card. But if Han was going to marry anyone, it would be his ride or die since second grade.

Han has never been able to put down roots, and the only one who truly breaks through his walls is Kenny. Sweet, sensitive Kenny is newly single, and what better distraction from his soul-sucking relationship than proposing marriage to Han? Kenny can't think of anything more fun than spending his life with his best friend, even if it's just for a piece of paper. But as Kenny keeps up the charade, he's soon struggling to resist their sizzling chemistry.

The line between fact and fiction begins to blur the closer they get to their wedding date. With all eyes on Han and Kenny--including a meddling ex and immigration officers--will these two bros make it down the altar for real?

Danilo Was Here by Tamika Burgess | MIDDLE GRADE

Danilo Osorio Jr.'s baseball skills were once the pride of his father and entire hometown of El Chorrillo, Panamá. But that was then, and this is now...

Following 1989's Operation Just Cause, a US military invasion that left his neighborhood decimated, Danilo couldn't care less about baseball or the father who abandoned him for opportunities in the States. Now Danilo's focus is taking care of his mamá and sister and trying to save them all from needing to relocate to a refugee camp.

When Danilo unintentionally catches the eye of a baseball recruiter and is offered the opportunity to visit and train in California--the same place as his father's last known address--he is tasked with deciding to go or stay. But if playing baseball could help him find his father and secure the extra funds his family needs, Danilo is willing to travel anywhere, even to the very country responsible for destroying his home.

Between his tough-as-nails baseball coach, ultracompetitive teammates, and overly enthusiastic host family, Danilo's plans encounter some curveballs. And when his turn to bat finally comes, he'll have to decide what and who he's actually fighting for.

On Sale January 28

On the Wings of La Noche by Vanessa L. Torres | YOUNG ADULT

Death waits for Estrella (Noche) Villanueva. In her human form, she is a lonely science girl grieving the tragic accidental drowning of her girlfriend, Dante Fuentes. At night, she is a Lechuza who visits her dead girlfriend at the lake, desperate for more time with her. The longer Dante's soul roams the earth, the more likely it is that she will fade into the unknown, lost forever, but Noche cannot let go . . .

That's when a new kid comes to town, Jax, another science nerd like Noche. They connect in a way she can't ignore, seemingly pulled together by an invisible thread. For the first time, Noche begins to imagine a life without Dante. As Noche's heart begins to beat for two people, her guilt flares. Then, she finds herself at risk of losing both Jax and Dante, and Noche is forced to question her purpose as a lechuza and everything she has ever believed in.

7 Winter Holiday Books by Latinx Authors and Illustrators

It is the holiday season, at last. Around the globe, communities celebrate their traditions with delicious food, vibrant colors, and family gatherings. It is a time of unity. To accompany you and your loved ones this season, check out these books about the many winter holidays that make this the most wonderful time of the year.

The Last Tamale by Orlando Mendiola | Illustrated by Teresa Martinez

It’s the best day of the year—tamale day. Luis and his family have been making and eating tamales all day. But when Luis, Jacob, and Letty all want the last tamale, there's only one way to choose a winner...

A TAMALE BATTLE!

Round one: Dance Battle. Round Two: Lucha Libre Match. Round Three: Arm Wrestle with Abuelita.

Who will get the last tamale?

A celebration of family, food, and friendly competition, readers will be hungry for The Last Tamale! Perfect for fans of Paletero Man and Friday Night Wrestle Fest. 

Why We Celebrate Chinese New Year: Everything to Know about Your Favorite Holiday by Eugenia Chu | Illustrated by Javiera Mac-lean

Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is a holiday that marks the end of winter and the coming of spring. It's one of the most celebrated holidays in China and around the world! Learn all about the history, traditions, food, and more with this book of facts and activities that encourage you to join in on the fun.

So many ways to get festive—Discover how Chinese New Year is celebrated around the globe with fireworks, dragon dances, parades, gifts, and beyond!

Celebrate at home—Kids will explore Chinese New Year customs with included activities like making Chinese Dumplings and Paper Chinese Lanterns.

Fascinating facts and pictures—Vibrant illustrations and kid-friendly language help bring Chinese New Year to life.

Discover Why We Celebrate Chinese New Year!

La Noche Before Three Kings Day by Sheila Colón-Bagley | Illustrated by Alejandro Mesa

It’s almost Three Kings Day, and while the grownups prepare a large meal, the kids prepare their shoe boxes for los Reyes to arrive later that night. Will they stay up late enough to wish the Kings a Feliz Día de los Reyes? Or will the magic pass them by?

Sing along with a great big familia as they fill up their platos, play their favorite juegos, and wait for the three kings and regalitos to arrive.  

This enchanting celebration of a beloved holiday is brought to life through lively rhyming dual-lingual text by Sheila Colón-Bagley with festive illustrations from Alejandro Mesa. 

Only for the Holidays by Abiola Bello

City girl Tia Solanké is dreading the festive season. She and her boyfriend are on a break and the last thing she wants is to spend Christmas away from London. Dragged to Saiyan Hedge Farm by her mother, Tia takes an instant dislike to the countryside estate. She falls in horse manure, is chased by sheep and the Wi-Fi sucks. How can she stalk her ex and concoct a foolproof plan to win him back from here?

Country boy Quincy Parker and his family run the farm, and this year they’ve been selected to host the biggest event in town—the Winter Ball. Preparations are underway, and Quincy is working around the clock to make it a success while recovering from his own devastating breakup. The only problem is, he’s told everyone he has a date to the ball, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

At first, Tia and Quincy don’t see eye to eye—until they realize they both have something to gain by pretending to be a couple. But when a snowstorm threatens to cancel the Winter Ball, their fake relationship is put to the test. Will Tia and Quincy be able to keep up appearances and save the day, or will real feelings get in the way?

It's Navidad, El Cucuy!: A Bilingual Christmas by Donna Barba Higuera | Illustrated by Juliana Perdomo

Ramón is a little boy who can't wait for Navidad.

El Cucuy is the friendly monster who lives in Ramón's bedroom. He's not so sure that Christmas is for him. The lights are too bright, and the snowman is scary!

So if El Cucuy is hesitant to embrace the holiday cheer, then Ramón will have to bring the spirit of Navidad to him.

A tender, heartwarming story about facing the unknown with a friend by your side, this companion to El Cucuy Is Scared, Too! explores the magic of the holidays and coming together as a community.

May Your Life Be Deliciosa by Michael Genhart | Illustrated by Loris Lora

“What is the recipe?” I ask.
Abuela laughs. “It is in my heart, Rosie. I use mis ojos, my eyes, to measure. Mis manos, my hands, to feel. Mi boca, my mouth, to taste. My abuela gave it to me, and I am giving it to you.”

Each year on Christmas Eve, Rosie’s abuela, mamá, tía, sister, and cousins all gather together in Abuela’s kitchen to make tamales—cleaning corn husks, chopping onions and garlic, roasting chilis, kneading cornmeal dough, seasoning the filling, and folding it all—and tell stories. Rosie learns from her abuela not only how to make a delicious tamale, but how to make a delicious life, one filled with love, plenty of spice, and family.

A Very Mexican Christmas by Carmen Boullosa, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Carlos Fuentes, Laura Esquivel, Amparo Dávila, Sandra Cisneros

This seventh installment in our popular Very Christmas series is a celebration of the Mexican Yuletide spirit. Replete with mouthwatering Nochebuena meals, mysterious felines, multi-colored boxes, marvelous sweet rolls, and many a bedside tale, A Very Mexican Christmas is sure to delight, warm, and astonish by turns. You’ll find spellbinding work by some of Mexico’s most important writers, including Carlos Fuentes, bestselling Laura Esquivel, and other contemporary favorites like Amparo Dávila, Sandra Cisneros, Fabio Morábito, and Carmen Boullosa, as well as fresh translations of classics by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Amado Nervo, and Ignacio Manuel Altamirano. Get a glimpse of how Christmas is done in a land of no snow, as well as among Mexicans living north of the border, with this sparkling assortment of literary gems that will guarantee a very feliz Navidad.

---

Roxanna Cardenas Colmenares is a Venezuelan writer living in New York City who loves to consume, study, and create art. She explores multiple genres in her writing, with a special interest in horror and sci-fi, while working on her B.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration. 

Her work has made her a two-time recipient of the James Tolan Student Writing Award for her critical essays analyzing movies. She has also won The Henry Roth Award in Fiction, The Esther Unger Poetry Prize, and The Allan Danzig Memorial Award in Victorian Literature.

In her free time, she likes to watch movies, dance, and draw doodles that she hopes to be brave enough to share one day.

December 2024 Latinx Releases

On Sale December 3

When the Mapou Sings by Nadine Pinede| YOUNG ADULT

Sixteen-year-old Lucille hopes to one day open a school alongside her best friend where girls just like them can learn what it means to be Haitian: to learn from the mountains and the forests around them, to carve, to sew, to draw, and to sing the songs of the Mapou, the sacred trees that dot the island nation. But when her friend vanishes without a trace, a dream--a gift from the Mapou--tells Lucille to go to her village's section chief, the local face of law, order, and corruption, which puts her life and her family's at risk.
Forced to flee her home, Lucille takes a servant post with a wealthy Haitian woman from society's elite in Port-au-Prince. Despite a warning to avoid him, she falls in love with her employer's son. But when their relationship is found out, she must leave again--this time banished to another city to work for a visiting American writer and academic conducting fieldwork in Haiti. While Lucille's new employer studies vodou and works on the novel that will become Their Eyes Were Watching God, Lucille risks losing everything she cares about--and any chance of seeing her best friend again--as she fights to save their lives and secure her future in this novel in verse with the racing heart of a thriller.

Kingdom of No Tomorrow by Fabienne Josaphat|ADULT FICTION

Nettie Boileau joins the Black Panthers' Free Health Clinics in Oakland in 1968 and is soon swept up in an all-consuming love affair with Melvin Mosley, a defense captain of the Black Panther Party. When Nettie and Melvin head to Chicago to help launch the Illinois chapter of the Panthers, they find themselves targets of J. Edgar Hoover's famous covert campaigns against civil rights leaders.

As she learns more about the inner workings of the Panthers, Nettie discovers that fighting for social justice may not always mean equal justice for women.

Fabienne Josaphat's Kingdom of No Tomorrow is a timely story of self-determination and revolution amid injustice.

My Favorite Scar by Nicolás Ferraro | Translated by Mallory Craig-Kuhn | ADULT FICTION

A teenage girl and her gangster father embark on a road trip toward revenge in this award-winning coming-of-age Argentinian noir.

Fifteen-year-old Ámbar has never known any parent other than her father, Víctor Mondragón, nor any life other than his. On any given Friday night, Ámbar longs to be at the arcade or a rock concert, but she's more likely to be patching up Víctor's latest bullet hole in a dingy motel or creating a new set of fake identities for the both of them.

When a tattooed mercenary kills Víctor's best friend and vows that Víctor is next, father and daughter set off on a joyride across Argentina in search of bloody retribution. But Ámbar's growing pains hurt worse than her beloved sawed-off shotgun's kickback as she begins to question the structure of her world. How much is her father not telling her? Could her life ever be different? And will she survive long enough to find out?

I Might Be in Trouble by Daniel Aleman | ADULT FICTION

A suspenseful dark comedy about a struggling writer who wakes up to find his date from the night before dead--and must then decide how far he's willing to go to spin the misadventure into his next big book.

A few years ago, David Alvarez had it all: a six-figure book deal, a loving boyfriend, and an exciting writing career. His debut novel was a resounding success, which made the publication of his second book--a total flop--all the more devastating. Now, David is single, lonely, and desperately trying to come up with the next great idea for his third manuscript, one that will redeem him in the eyes of readers, reviewers, the entire publishing world...and maybe even his ex-boyfriend.

After one of the best nights of his life, David wakes up hungover but giddy--only to find prince charming dead next to him in bed. Horrified, completely confused, and suddenly faced with the implausible-but-somehow-plausible idea that he may have actually killed his date, David calls the only person he can trust in a moment of crisis: his literary agent, Stacey.

Together, David and Stacey must untangle the events of the previous night, cover their tracks, and spin the entire misadventure into David's career-defining novel--if only they can figure out what to do with the body first.

Main Street Millionaire: How to Make Extraordinary Wealth Buying Ordinary Businesses by Codie Sanchez | ADULT NONFICTION

Rich people know a secret. In this book, former Wall Street investor Codie Sanchez pulls back the curtain.

Most people look for wealth in all the wrong places. From dropshipping and startups to grinding for promotions, you might believe you have to trade your life to be one of the few who win. But the truly rich know these paths are paved with delusion and false promises.

In Main Street Millionaire, Codie Sanchez teaches you the path the wealthy really walk. Instead of risking it all with little chance of success, she shows you how to acquire cash-flowing businesses that are winning right now.

Sanchez, one of the world's leading small business experts, reveals the dealmaking framework she's taught to tens of thousands, and that she's used to build her own 9-figure holding company. Her secret? She acquires overlooked "Main Street" businesses. We're talking about the unsexy but reliably profitable industries -- like plumbing, construction, cleaning, electrical -- that white collar workers have overlooked.
In this book, you'll see practical strategies and step by step processes to acquire cash flow and freedom.

Alter Ego by Alex Segura | ADULT FICTION

Annie Bustamante is a cultural force like none other: an acclaimed filmmaker, an author, a comic book artist known for one of the all time best superhero comics in recent memory. But she's never been able to tackle her longtime favorite superhero, the Lethal Lynx. Only known to the most die-hard comics fans and long out of print, the rights were never available--until now.

But Annie is skeptical of who is making the offer: Bert Carlyle's father started Triumph Comics, and has long claimed ownership of the Lynx. When she starts getting anonymous messages urging her not to trust anyone, Annie's inner alarms go off. Even worse? Carlyle wants to pair her with a disgraced filmmaker for a desperate media play.

Annie, who has been called a genius, a sell-out, a visionary, a hack, and everything else under the sun, is sick of the money grab. For the first time since she started reading a tattered copy of The Legendary Lynx #1 as a kid, she feels a pure, creative spark. The chance to tell a story her way. She's not about to let that go. Even if it means uncovering the dark truth about the character she loves.

When We Sold God's Eye: Diamonds, Murder, and a Clash of Worlds in the Amazon by Alex Cuadros | ADULT NONFICTION

Growing up in a remote corner of the world's largest rainforest, Pio, Maria, and Oita learned to hunt wild pigs and tapirs, gathering Brazil nuts and açaí berries from centuries-old trees. Then the first highway pierced through, ranchers, loggers, and prospectors invaded, and they lost their families to terrible new weapons and diseases. Pushed by the government to assimilate, they struggled to figure out their new, capitalist reality, discovering its wonders as well as its horrors. They ended up forging an uneasy symbiosis with their white antagonists--until decades of suppressed trauma erupted into a massacre, an act of retribution that made headlines across the globe.

Based on six years of immersive reporting and research, WHEN WE SOLD GOD'S EYE tells a unique kind of adventure story, one that begins with a river journey by Teddy Roosevelt and ends with smugglers from Antwerp and New York City's Diamond District. It's a story of survival against all odds; of the temptations of wealth and the dreams of prosperity; of a vital ecosystem threatened by the hunger for natural resources; of genocide and revenge. It's a story as old as the first European encounters with Indigenous peoples, playing out in the present day. But most of all, it's about a few startlingly clever individuals and their power to adapt and even thrive in the most unlikely circumstances.

Manga Drawing: Bloody Battles: Draw Your Own Dramatic Sword Fights, Deadly Brawls, and Melee Attacks in 4 Easy Steps! By Leo Campos | GRAPHIC NOVEL HOW-TO

Learn to draw iconic manga characters and thrilling fight scenes!

Become a true manga master withManga Drawing: Bloody Battles, the action-focused drawing book for artists and die-hard fans ofDemon Slayer,Naruto,Attack on Titan,My Hero Academia, andChainsaw Man. With step-by-step directions and a pro manga artist to guide you, you'll learn to draw bold heroes, like samurai warriors and shape-shifters, and vengeful enemies that leap off the page. Learn basic to advanced drawing principles and draw more than 30 battle-ready characters including:

- Martial artists
- Teen heroes
- Undercover spies
- Terrifying monsters
- The nine-tailed fox

With more than 60 fierce fighting poses to choose from and epic manga battles to bring to life, you'll create electrifying, action-packed comics all your own.

My Fault (Deluxe Edition) by Mercedes Ron | YOUNG ADULT

**This deluxe edition comes with an exclusive foiled cover, pink stained edges, interior cover design, and full-color art**

Seventeen-year-old Noah Morgan loves her quiet, normal life in Toronto. But when her mother returns from a cruise unexpectedly married to a billionaire and announces they are moving to L.A., Noah is suddenly shoved out of her comfort zone and into a glittering world of illegal street races, lavish pool parties, and spoiled rich kids.

And her new stepbrother Nicholas is the most spoiled of them all. Arrogant, aloof, and viciously attractive, Nick is everything she hates, especially when she learns his bad boy persona isn't just a façade. She's spent her life running from danger, and Nick is danger incarnate. Yet neither of them can prevent the powerful attraction that flares between them--enough to turn their worlds upside-down and tempt them beyond all reason.

But Noah's past may be even more dangerous than their forbidden romance. And if he wants her, Nick will have to decide if he's willing to risk everything.

Encanto: Nightmares and Sueños by Alex Segura | YOUNG ADULT

Seventeen-year-old Bruno has never really fit in with his family--why can't he be as outgoing as his sister Pepa, or as friendly as his sister Julieta? Does he like being the awkward loaner who never seems to find where he can fit in? But it's hard to be popular when you have the power to tell the future and people don't always like what you are telling them. So Bruno devises an act, and begins to model the behavior he feels the town wants to see in a hero.

But is being dishonest to himself and others the right path to walk down in order to make friends, or is Bruno just kidding himself as he hides from his own destiny that threatens to destroy all he holds dear?

On Sale December 10

Why We Celebrate Chinese New Year: Everything to Know about Your Favorite Holiday by Eugenia Chu |Illustrated by Javiera Mac-Lean | PICTURE BOOK

Celebrate Chinese New Year with this festive introduction for kids ages 6 to 9!

Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is a holiday that marks the end of winter and the coming of spring. It's one of the most celebrated holidays in China and around the world! Learn all about the history, traditions, food, and more with this book of facts and activities that encourage you to join in on the fun.

So many ways to get festive--Discover how Chinese New Year is celebrated around the globe with fireworks, dragon dances, parades, gifts, and beyond!

Celebrate at home--Kids will explore Chinese New Year customs with included activities like making Chinese Dumplings and Paper Chinese Lanterns.

Fascinating facts and pictures--Vibrant illustrations and kid-friendly language help bring Chinese New Year to life.

El Tummy Time: A High-Contrast Board Book Featuring Animals from Latin America by Mike Alfaro |Illustrated by Gerardo Guillén | PICTURE BOOK

A first-of-its-kind tummy time book inspired by papel picados--featuring high-contrast art of animals from Latin America!

Infants have limited capabilities with vision upon birth and respond well to high-contrast images, which is why this vibrant book is perfect for their young and growing minds. This unique accordion-style board book--inspired by papel picados and featuring animals from Latin America--provides developmentally appropriate visual stimuli for your baby's visual development, while exposing them to Spanish vocabulary words.

No Place to Bury the Dead by Karina Sainz Borgo | Translated by Elizabeth Bryer | ADULT FICTION

In an unnamed Latin American country, a mysterious plague quickly spreads, erasing the memory of anyone infected. Angustias Romero flees with her family, but their flight is tragically cut short when she loses both her children. Consumed by grief, she finds herself within the hallucinatory expanse of Mezquite--a town corrupted by greed and populated by storytellers, refugees, and violent, predatory gangs.

Here, Angustias is finally able to lay her children to rest at the Third Country, a cemetery run by the larger-than-life Visitación Salazar and a refuge beyond suffering and fear. While Visitación remains defiant in her mission to care for the dead, the cemetery she oversees is the focal point of a bitter land dispute with Alcides Abundio, the most feared landowner of the border. Caught in this power struggle, Angustias and Visitación-friends and sometimes rivals- stand their ground on a frontier where the law is dictated by violence; a surreal territory whose very nature blurs the boundaries between life and death.

On Sale December 17

The Return of the Contemporary: The Latin American Novel in the End Times by Nicolás Campisi

In The Return of the Contemporary, Nicolás Campisi combines the fields of post-dictatorship studies and environmental humanities to analyze Latin American cultural production in the neoliberal age. Each chapter pairs two authors from different parts of Latin America and the Caribbean who create a common vocabulary in which to frame the various crises of the region's present and recent past, such as climate change, forced migration, the collapse of state institutions, and the afterlives of slavery. By situating itself at the intersection of ecocritical and environmental humanities, affect studies, and the politics of memory and postmemory, Campisi presents new comparative methods to show how Latin America's neoliberal crisis prompted significant changes in how the novel as a form imagines a different future.

A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya | YOUNG ADULT

A fledgling vampire and a headstrong vampire huntress must work together--against their better judgment--to rid the world of monsters in this irresistible romantasy.

Carolina Fuentes wants to join her family in hunting the bloodthirsty vampiros that plague her pueblo. Her father, however, wishes to marry her off to a husband of his choosing, someone who'll take her away from danger.

Determined to prove she'd make a better slayer than wife, Carolina vows to take down a monster herself. But when she runs into un vampiro who is somehow extremely attractive and kind, her plan crumbles.

Lalo Villalobos was content leading a perfectly dull life until un vampiro turned him. Now forced to flee his city, he heads to the pueblo where he believes the first vampiro was made. Surely its residents must know how to reverse this dreadful curse. Instead of finding salvation, Lalo collides with a beautiful young woman who'd gladly drive a dagger through his heart.

Fortunately, Lalo and Carolina share a common enemy. They can wipe out this evil. Together. If his fangs and her fists can stay focused, they might just triumph and discover what it feels like to take a bite out of love.

On Sale December 24

After the Ocean by Lauren E. Rico | ADULT FICTION

Thirty years ago, musicians Emilia Oliveras and Paul Winstead were married in Puerto Rico. Forty-eight hours later, Paul vanished from their honeymoon cruise, leaving Emilia devastated--and the prime suspect in his disappearance. So, she ran for her life, leaving behind her love, her dreams, and her identity.

Today "Emily Oliver" is a divorced music teacher and mother of two daughters who know nothing about her past: Gracie, a talented attorney who excels in the courtroom but grapples with personal relationships, and Meg, a gifted concert pianist who wrestles with her ambition and purpose.

When a cryptic caller claims the unthinkable--that Paul is alive, Emily returns to Puerto Rico in search of the truth. What she doesn't know is that her daughters aren't far behind. Shocked to find their mother isn't the woman they thought she was, Gracie and Meg wonder how much of their lives have been a lie.

As the paths of the three women intertwine, they are compelled to confront their pasts, reevaluate their relationships, and seek forgiveness. Together they embark on a quest to unravel the mystery of Paul's disappearance and redefine their futures on their own terms, navigating a maze of family ties, secrets, and redemption.

One in the Chamber by Robin Peguero | ADULT FICTION

From a former U.S. House spokesman and Senate speechwriter, a group of junior staffers working on Capitol Hill find themselves in the middle of a political standoff in this satirical novel.

Iowa Farm boy Cameron Leann is new to Washington, D.C., joining a group of employees working for a powerful cohort of U.S. Senators known as The Gang of Six. All of Cam's new colleagues have one thing in common: they hate their bosses.

When a bombshell revelation threatens to sink the President's Supreme Court pick, the Gang of Six fractures, pitting senator against senator in a confirmation battle for the ages. Alliances shift with the wind. Everyone is lying to everyone.

Cam and his friends are caught up in the midst of everything...and on Election Night, one senator will end up dead.