Review and Excerpt: Our Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air: A Collection of Poems

Note: The review and poems associated with this post majorly focus on author Ayse Guvenilir

Our Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air is an anthology written by six Muslim women and it is about how they view culture, identity, womanhood, and so much more. Afeefah Khazi-Syed, Aleena Shabbir, Ayse Guvenilir, Maisha M. Prome, Mariam Dogar, and Marwa Abdulhai are a dynamic group of women of various backgrounds who met as undergrads at MIT. Not only do they share a love of STEM, but they also have a passion for poetry. Aside from their studies, they spent their days discussing their shared love of the art form and that love proved to be strong as even COVID-19 couldn’t deter them from continuing what they dub their “grounding medium.” 

The poems “when i think sunshine” and “comb through from root to end” are written by Ayse Guvenilir. Ayse Guvenilir was born in Austin, Texas to a Venezuelan mother and a Turkish father. When I read her poems, I found them to be relatable and very interactive, which added to the experience of her serene and powerful writing. On their website, Ayse says that she sees poetry as, “a form of writing that can surpass the bounds of what words are expected to be.” I truly believe readers will find that sentiment in her entries as well as in the poems of Afeefah, Aleena, Maisha, Mariam, and Marwa.

Reading “when i think sunshine” felt like I was reading about almost every memory I have of enjoying the summertime when I was a kid. Remembering those feelings of running around with my siblings and many cousins, enjoying the hot weather, and feeling like stress didn’t even exist during summer. With being written in haibun, a combination of prose and haiku, there was that added emphasis on those endless summer days that always ended as quickly as they started. Ayse perfectly captured that with the haiku at the conclusion, which only further showcases her strong writing style.

I found “comb through from root to end” to be another powerful entry, not just because of the message but also because of its format. Some lines are written to the left, some to the right, with the last few lines placed in the middle. It felt like I was moving my head back and forth between a conversation of people giving their perceived notions of a person, how they think someone should present themselves based on their identity (or identities), and almost making that person feel less than in terms of who they are. When the format ended in the middle, it felt like a powerful stop to the side comments. Like going in the middle and forging your own path in terms of who you are and who you want to be.

There are many other entries that are uniquely written in terms of format and various poetry styles, making them incredibly immersive. What’s also noteworthy about this collection is that some of the poems come with notes containing extra information, personal and not, about the entry. The additional knowledge makes them even more captivating because readers get to see the inspiration behind the story.

Our Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air has many poems written by Ayse and her fellow co-authors that are incredibly immersive, captivating, and beautiful to read. They are multi-layered and there is always something to take away from their writing. It is a wonderful collection that contains their experiences and explorations into the many facets of their identity.

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Enough

Ayse Guvenilir

I have never been where

I will never go stuck

in this house with a heavy ceiling

reaching for the truth of what

I was trying to do

with you when I said

that I had to go

book the next flight out

would they ever trust me

a gringa—as Abuela dutifully reminds me—

otherwise?

Not that

given the current state of affairs

they would ever trust anyone

outside of whom could fix

every one of their problems bringing

them light

in the middle of the night

it’s so hot

they can hear

their brain sweating feel

their sense slipping waiting

hours upon hours for gas shifts switching

in a car that is going to burn

anyways

the ground beneath my feet has never

felt more unstable than it feels right now

kids in CAGES the world AVOIDING

the humanitarian CRISIS—

like they avoid every crisis—

does anyone hear their cries into the echo

of the storage building

is it real? Does it matter?

How can I be

and not be saving

my home once-removed y

gente who I feel are my gente

bonded by lengua y risas y cultura

rooted in over exaggerations y bendiciones y

Dios te cuide y no te amo te adoro y

seemingly excessive abrazos y besos

that keep us whole.

Will I ever be enough

to save them all?

Enough: The two crises referenced are the immigration deportation and detainment along the border in the United States, and the continued political and economic hardships faced by many in Venezuela.

Excerpted from “Our Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air: A Collection of Poems,” used with permission from Beltway Editions. (c) Ayse Guvenilir.

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Ayse Angela Guvenilir was born in Austin into a family with a Turkish father, a Venezuelan mother, and three older brothers. Growing up in Texas, France, and various parts of upstate New York, Ayse has always used reading and writing for connection, reflection, and relaxation as she moved from place to place. She sees poetry in particular as a form of writing that can surpass the bounds of what words are expected to be, in turn connecting her with others. Ayse got her bachelor’s degree in biological engineering with a minor in creative writing from MIT and is currently a master’s student in the Biomechatronics Group at the MIT Media Lab. Through her work, Ayse aims to empathize, educate, and inspire, the way that the works of others have always done for her.

Melissa Gonzalez (she/her) is a UCLA graduate with a major in American Literature & Culture and a minor in Chicana/o & Central American Studies. She loves boba, horror movies, and reading. You can spot her in the fiction, horror/mystery/thriller, and young adult sections of bookstores. Though she is short, she feels as tall as her TBR pile. You can find Melissa on her book Instagram: @floralchapters

Book Review: Secret Identity by Alex Segura

“This book spans genres and has something for every type of reader: historical fiction, mystery, romance, and murder, all interwoven in Segura’s fast-paced and electric style.”

Secret Identity by Alex Segura is definitely one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time. This book spans genres and has something for every type of reader: historical fiction, mystery, romance, and murder, all interwoven in Segura’s fast-paced and electric style.

Set in 1970s New York City, Carmen Valdez is just an assistant at the low-budget and struggling Triumph Comics, but she has dreams of becoming more. She has loved comics since she was a kid in Miami, and is in New York to make something of herself. When she finally gets a chance to co-write a female superhero, the Lethal Lynx, with her coworker Harvey, he is murdered before giving her any of the credit. Carmen starts on a quest to find out what happened to Harvey and trying to save the Lynx from being put in the hands of lesser writers while being haunted by the life she left in Miami. Segura keeps readers hooked from every angle. Will Carmen get the credit she deserves with the Lynx? Will she clear her name in Harvey’s murder case? What made Carmen leave Miami so quickly?

As someone with a moderate interest in Marvel and other superhero franchises, it was interesting to learn so much comic industry history in this book. The comic strips between chapters were unique and added an extra layer to the story, with the Lynx’s struggles coinciding with Carmen’s journey throughout the book.  

If you are looking for a page-turning read that will keep you hooked until the very last page, Secret Identity by Alex Segura is the pick for you.

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Alex Segura is the bestselling and award-winning author of Secret Identity, which The New York Times called “wittily original” and named an Editor’s Choice. NPR described the novel as “masterful,” and it received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist. It was also listed as one of the Best Mysteries of the Year by NPR, Kirkus, Booklist, LitReactor, Gizmodo, BOLO Books, and the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

His upcoming work includes the YA superhero adventure Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow, the spiritual sequel to Secret Identity, Alter Ego, and the sci-fi/espionage thriller, Dark Space (with Rob Hart). Alex is also the author of Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall, the Anthony Award-nominated Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery series, and a number of comic books – including The Mysterious Micro-Face (in partnership with NPR), The Black Ghost, The Archies, The Dusk, The Awakened, Mara Llave – Keeper of Time, Blood Oath, stories featuring Marvel heroes Sunspot, White Tiger, Spider-Man and DC’s Superman and The Question, to name a few. His short story, “90 Miles” was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories for 2021 and won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story. Another short story,“Red Zone,” won the 2020 Anthony Award for Best Short Story.

A Miami native, he lives in New York with his wife and children.

Sabrina Moorer (she/her) is a senior at Towson University double majoring in English and Mass Communications. Even though she works at the library, she still spends all her free time there, searching for the next 5-star read to obsess over.

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Colorful Palate: A Flavorful Journey Through a Mixed American Experience by Raj Tawney

Latinx in Publishing is pleased to exclusively reveal the cover for COLORFUL PALATE written by Raj Tawney, publishing October 3, 2023 from Empire State Editions/Fordham University Press. Read on for the official book synopsis and to view the gorgeous cover!

A timely self-examination of the "mixed" American experience featuring exclusive recipes and photographs from the author’s multicultural family.

Designer: Mark Lerner; Photo: Jeppestown

As citizens continue to evolve and diversify within the United States, the ingredients that comprise each flavorful household are waiting to be discovered and devoured. In Colorful Palate, author Raj Tawney shares his coming-of-age memoir as a young man born into an Indian, Puerto Rican, and Italian-American family, his struggles with understanding his own identity, and the mouthwatering flavors of the melting pot from within his own childhood kitchen.

While the world outside can be cruel and unforgiving, it's even more complicated for a mixed-race kid, unsure of his place in the world. Turning to his mother and grandmother for guidance, Tawney’s assistance in the kitchen provided intimate moments and candor as he listened to the tales behind each culinary delicacy and the women who perfected them. Each lovingly prepared meal offered another opportunity to learn more about his extraordinary heritage. The ability to create delicious fare with his family wasn’t just a duty for the grand ladies who raised him; they were a survival tactic for navigating new and unknown cultures, not always willing to accept them at first or even a hundredth glance. As Tawney examines both himself and his loved ones through the formative stages of his life, from boyhood through adulthood, he begins to realize, through all of the chaos and confusion, just how "American" he actually was. 

In this contemporary coming-of-age tale, Tawney tackles personal hot-button issues about race and identity through poignant, heartfelt moments centered around delicious meals. From succulent tandoori chicken to delectable arroz con habichuelas to scrumptious spaghetti and meatballs, Tawney shares his family recipes along with the intimate stories he overheard in the kitchen as he played sous chef to hundreds of recipes that not only span continents but come with their own personal histories attached. Colorful Palate is a tale of the mixed experience, one of the millions that rarely gets told, undefined by a single group or birthright, and unapologetic about its lack of classification. 

Raj Tawney is a writer and journalist whose work largely reflects his New York upbringing and sensibility. Raised in an Indian, Puerto Rican, and Italian-American household, Tawney has explored his own race and identity through stories published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, USA Today, Smithsonian Magazine, and many other outlets throughout the country.

February 2023 Latinx Releases

 

On Sale February 7

 

A Crown For Corrina by Laekan Zea Kemp and Elisa Chavarri | PICTURE BOOK

Today is Corina's birthday, and she's excited to wear the biggest crown with the most beautiful flowers picked from her abuela's garden.

Each flower tells a special story about all the ways Corina is rooted in the family she loves.

With elegant and eye-catching illustrations from award-winning artist Elisa Chavarri, this charming story shares a beloved family tradition through one girl's journey of self-discovery as she learns about the symbolism behind the Mexican flower crown.

 

When Trying To Return Home by Jennifer Maritza McCauley | SHORT STORIES

Profoundly moving and powerful, the stories in When Trying to Return Home dig deeply into the question of belonging. A young woman is torn between overwhelming love for her mother and the need to break free from her damaging influence during a desperate and disastrous attempt to rescue her brother from foster care. A man, his wife, and his mistress each confront the borders separating love and hate, obligation and longing, on the eve of a flight to San Juan. A college student grapples with the space between chivalry and machismo in a tense encounter involving a nun. And in 1930s Louisiana, a woman attempting to find a place to call her own chances upon an old friend at a bar and must reckon with her troubled past.

Forming a web of desires and consequences that span generations, McCauley's Black American and Afro-Puerto Rican characters remind us that these voices have always been here, occupying the very center of American life--even if we haven't always been willing to listen.

 

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez, Illustrated by Pablo Gerardo Camacho, and translated by Megan McDowell | FICTION

A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality.

For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar's father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate?

Moving back and forth in time, from London in the swinging 1960s to the brutal years of Argentina's military dictatorship and its turbulent aftermath, Our Share of Night is a novel like no other: a family story, a ghost story, a story of the occult and the supernatural, a book about the complexities of love and longing with queer subplots and themes. This is the masterwork of one of Latin America's most original novelists, "a mesmerizing writer," says Dave Eggers, "who demands to be read."

 

No Place Like Home (Horse Country #4) by Yamile Saied Méndez | MIDDLE GRADE

Carolina Aguasvivas's oldest friend, Vida Jones Castillo, has never been interested in riding horses—until now! Carolina is thrilled for her BFF to join Paradise Ranch, along with new sponsorship student Brielle Stuart. The barn is a full, happy house!

But the girls' perfect summer falls apart when they find out that one of the horses might be sold -- Carolina's favorite riding buddy, Shadow. Can Carolina and her friends save her beloved horse... and the future of the Unbridled Dreams program?

 

On Sale February 14

 

Promises of Gold by José Olivarez; translated by David Ruano | POETRY

Love is at the heart of everything we do, and yet it is often mishandled, misrepresented, or narrowly defined. In the words of José Olivarez: "How many bad lovers have gotten poems? How many crushes? No disrespect to romantic love—but what about our friends? Those homies who show up when the romance ends to help you heal your heart. Those homies who are there all along—cheering for us and reminding us that love is abundant."

Written in English and combined with a Spanish translation by poet David Ruano, "Promises of Gold explores many forms of love and how "a promise made isn't always a promise kept," as Olivarez grapples with the contradictions of the American Dream laying bare the ways in which "love is complicated by forces larger than our hearts."

He writes, "For those of us who are hyphenated Americans, where do we belong? Promises of Gold attempts to reckon with colonial legacy and the reality of what those promises have borne out for Mexican descendants. I wrote this book to imagine and document an ongoing practice of healing—healing that requires me to show up for myself, my community, my friends, my family, and my loves every day."

Whether readers enter this collection in English or Spanish, these extraordinary poems are sure to become beloved for their illuminations of life—and love.

 

Everything Within and in Between by Nikki Barthelmess | YOUNG ADULT

For Ri Fernández's entire life, she's been told, "We live in America and we speak English." Raised by her strict Mexican grandma, Ri has never been allowed to learn Spanish.

What's more, her grandma has pulled Ri away from the community where they once belonged. In its place, Ri has grown up trying to fit in among her best friend's world of mansions and country clubs in an attempt try to live out her grandmother's version of the "American Dream."

In her heart, Ri has always believed that her mother, who disappeared when Ri was young, would accept her exactly how she is and not try to turn her into someone she's never wanted to be. So when Ri finds a long-hidden letter from her mom begging for a visit, she decides to reclaim what Grandma kept from her: her heritage and her mom. But nothing goes as planned. Her mom isn't who Ri imagined she would be and finding her doesn't make Ri's struggle to navigate the interweaving threads of her mixed heritage any less complicated. Nobody has any idea of who Ri really is—not even Ri herself.

Everything Within and In Between is a powerful new young adult novel about one young woman's journey to rediscover her roots and redefine herself from acclaimed author Nikki Barthelmess.

 

The Shamshine Blind by Paz Pardo | FICTION

In an alternate 2009, the United States has been a second-rate power for a quarter of a century, ever since Argentina's victory in the Falkland's War thanks to their development of "psychopigments." Created as weapons, these colorful chemicals can produce almost any human emotion upon contact, and they have been embraced in the US as both pharmaceutical cure-alls and popular recreational drugs. Black market traders illegally sell everything from Blackberry Purple (which causes terror) to Sunshine Yellow (which delivers happiness).

Psychopigment Enforcement Agent Kay Curtida works a beat in Daly City, just outside the ruins of San Francisco, chasing down smalltime crooks. But when an old friend shows up with a tantalizing lead on a career-making case, Curtida's humdrum existence suddenly gets a boost. Little does she know that this case will send her down a tangled path of conspiracy and lead to an overdue reckoning with her family and with the truth of her own emotions.

Told in the voice of a funny, brooding, Latinx Sam Spade, The Shamshine Blind is "a rip-roaring beautifully crafted mash-up of cop noir, sci-fi, and alt-history that left me dazzled by its prescience and literary zing" (Leah Hampton, author of F*ckface).

 

On Sale February 21

 

The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía by Alexandra Alessandri | MIDDLE GRADE

Twelve-year-old Valentina wants to focus on drawing the real world around her and hopefully get into art school in Bogotá one day, but Papi has spent his life studying Colombia's legendary creatures and searching for proof of their existence. So when Papi hears that a patasola—a vampire woman with one leg—has been sighted in the Andes, Valentina and her younger brother Julián get dragged along on another magical creature hunt.

While they're in the Andes, a powerful earthquake hits. Valentina and Julián fall through the earth...and find an alternate Colombia where, to Valentina's shock, all the legends are real.

To get home, Valentina and Julián must make a treacherous journey to reach this land's ruler: the madremonte, mother and protector of the earth. She controls the only portal back to the human world—but she absolutely hates humans, and she'll do anything to defend her land.

 

Lotería by Cynthia Pelayo | SHORT STORIES

The Mexican board game of Lotería is a game of chance—similar to bingo. However, in Lotería instead of matching up numbers on a game board, players match up images.

There are 54 cards in the Lotería game, and for this short story collection you will find one unique story per card based on a Latin American myth, folklore, superstition, or belief—with a slant towards the paranormal and horrific. In this deck of cards you will find murderers, ghosts, goblins and ghouls. This collection features creatures and monsters, vampires, werewolves and more.

Many of these legends existed long before their European counterparts—passed throughout the Americas via word of mouth, collected just like the tales the Brothers Grimm. These are indeed fairy tales—Latin American fairy tales--but with a horrifying slant.

 

On Sale February 28

 

The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Nova | MIDDLE GRADE

On Mar León de la Rosa's sixteenth birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn't enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father, and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar's father and the entire crew of their ship.

When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up their soul to save their father by the harvest moon, or never see him again. The task is impossible—Mar refuses to make a bargain, and there's no way their magic is a match for el Diablo. Then Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate—and the captain's son; and Dami, a gender-fluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear.

For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption—or it could mean certain death.

 

Gato Guapo by Anika Aldamuy Densie and illustrated by Zara Gonzalez Hoang | PICTURE BOOK

Nine kittens follow Gato Guapo around, but when it's time to count them, one by one, they go missing, along with a piece of Gato Guapo's clothes!

Young readers will love all the silliness that ensues as each naughty gatito dons a disguise and declares "Yo soy Gato Guapo!".

 

Ana Takes Manhattan by Lissette Decos | FICTION

As a reality TV producer, Ana Karina orchestrates extravagant marriage proposals that always (well, mostly) go as planned. When they don't, she's not afraid to cut and paste scenes to make the moment picture-perfect. If only Ana's own life was as simple to direct. Her colleagues are getting promotions. Her best friend and her younger sister are both getting married. Everyone is moving forward—except Ana.

Sick of feeling stuck, she decides to start living with no regrets. She's going to pitch all her ideas at work, no matter how unlikely. She'll take a chance on a guy even if he doesn't check all her boxes for Mr. Right. Soon, she's swept up in a roller coaster of exhilarating dates—a comedy show, a Jane Austen reenactment, a rave pool party, and a whirlwind trip to Vienna. With all this excitement, Ana should be on her way to her own happily-ever-after, but instead her life is getting messier by the second.

Yet throwing caution to the wind may still bring Ana more than she hoped for as she begins to listen to her heart and realizes the life—and man—truly meant for her might be the one she never saw coming.

 

Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice by Cristina Rivera Garza | NON-FICTION

September 2019. Cristina Rivera Garza travels from her home in Texas to Mexico City, in search of an old, unresolved criminal file. "My name is Cristina Rivera Garza," she wrote in her request to the attorney general, “and I am writing to you as a relative of Liliana Rivera Garza, who was murdered on July 16, 1990." It's been twenty-nine years. Twenty-nine years, three months, and two days since Liliana was murdered by an abusive ex-boyfriend—and Cristina knows there is only a slim chance of recovering the file. And yet, inspired by feminist movements across the world and enraged by the global epidemic of femicide and intimate partner violence, she embarks on a path toward justice. Liliana's Invincible Summer is the account—and the outcome—of that extraordinary quest.

In luminous, poetic prose, Rivera Garza tells a singular yet universally resonant story: that of a spirited, wondrously hopeful young woman who tried to survive in a world of increasingly normalized gendered violence. Following her decision to recover her sister's file, Rivera Garza traces the history of Liliana's life, from her early romance with a handsome but possessive and short-tempered man, to that exhilarating final summer of 1990 when Liliana loved, thought, and traveled more widely and freely than she ever had before.

Using her remarkable talents as an acclaimed scholar, novelist, and poet, Rivera Garza collected and curated evidence—handwritten letters, police reports, school notebooks, interviews with Liliana's loved ones—to render and understand a life beyond the crime itself. Through this remarkable and genre-defying memoir, Rivera Garza confronts the trauma of losing her sister and examines from multiple angles how this tragedy continues to shape who she is—and what she fights for—today.

 

Pilar Ramirez and the Curse of San Zenon by Julian Randall

After being magically transported to the mythical island of Zafa and rescuing her long captive cousin Natasha, Pilar is back in Chicago . . . and hiding the shocking truths about Zafa and Natasha being alive. So, when she and her family are invited on a trip to Santo Domingo, Pilar welcomes the distraction and the chance to see the Dominican Republic for the first time.

But when Ciguapa and close friend Carmen magically appears in the DR searching for help, Pilar is soon on the hunt for the escaped demon El Baca and his mysterious new ally. Now, with a cursed storm gathering over the island to resurrect an ancient enemy, Pilar will have to harness her newfound bruja powers if she has any hope of saving her own world, Zafa, and most importantly her family before the clock runs out and ushers in a new era of evil.

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Mariana Felix-Kim (she/her) lives in Washington, D.C. with her lovely cat, Leo. When she is not working in the environmental science field, Mariana is constantly reading. Her favorite genres include non-fiction, thrillers, and contemporary romances. Mariana is half Mexican and half Korean. You can find her on Instagram: @mariana.reads.books

Book Review: The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

““The House in the Pines” is a fast-paced powerful thriller that really pulls the reader unlike anything I have read before. ”

I love thrillers. The way my heart races as the main character starts putting together the clues, the gasps when new suspects arise, the way I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for the big reveal at the end. The House in the Pines checked all of my boxes.

The eerie backdrop of a small New England town with a mysterious toxic lake is atmospheric and pulls the reader in from the first page.

I really enjoy an unreliable narrator, and Maya is as unreliable as it gets. She witnessed her best friend die a sudden and mysterious death and has been trying to forget it ever since. Everyone says the death was natural, but Maya knows that it was Frank, her mysterious summer fling. Seven years later, Maya is still running from her past and her drug dependency, suppressing it all. But she has no choice but to confront the past when she sees a viral video of another woman dying suddenly and mysteriously in the same way as her friend. Maya knows Frank is somehow responsible for both deaths, but no one believes her. With large gaps of time slowly coming back to her, while also fighting drug withdrawal, Maya must go back to her hometown to find the truth of what happened to both girls and find evidence that Frank is to blame.

The dual timeline from the summer her best friend died to the present day made for a trippy and compelling story that went perfectly with our unreliable narrator putting the pieces together. The House in the Pines is a fast-paced powerful thriller that really pulls the reader unlike anything I have read before. 

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Ana Reyes has an MFA from Louisiana State University and a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her work has appeared in Bodega, Pear Noir!, The New Delta Review, and elsewhere. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and teaches creative writing to older adults at Santa Monica College. The House in the Pines in her first novel.

Sabrina Moorer (she/her) is a senior at Towson University double majoring in English and Mass Communications. Even though she works at the library, she still spends all her free time there, searching for the next 5-star read to obsess over.

Book Review: Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking by Raquel V. Reyes

Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking by Raquel V. Reyes, her second Caribbean Kitchen mystery, returns to Coral Shores, Miami to pick up where Miriam Quinones-Smith left off after her last mystery. With the Halloween season upon the small town, when a body is found among the tombstones on Miriam’s front yard, it seems that her decorations are in the spirit. That is until see realizes that it is not a decoration, but an unconscious woman, and from that moment forward, the bodies keep popping up. Miriam struggles to balance the bodies that keep appearing, no matter what she does, on top of her mother in law’s expectations for the Women’s Club annual gala, which is shortly approaching.

Despite the stressors going on in Miriam’s life, she tries to focus on her everyday activities: taking care of her young son and working on her cooking show segments, on the local Spanish television network. However, Miriam, Coral Shores very own Veronica Mars, cannot stop stumbling onto tiny hints and information that she wants to puzzle together, in order to solve the mystery that seems to be surrounding her.

Visits from her old partner Detective Pullman go from collaborative, to warnings, to stay out of it. But wherever Miriam stumbles, chisme follows or appears at her door unexpectedly. Even her prep for the Women’s Club gala grows dangerous as hints keep appearing. But will Miriam’s “luck” finally catch up to her and leave her in a less than warm embrace?

Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking is a fun and light mystery that takes the reader on a fast pace adventure, filled with the smells and tastes of delicious cultural food (Miriam’s anthropology degree never fails to inspire new information.) Guided by the planning and execution of the Women’s Club gala, the reader works in tandem with the shifting social hierarchy of Coral Shores, in hopes of solving who is behind these sudden murders, before more bodies can be found. Reyes writes in a delightful fashion making the reader fall in love with Miriam and those close to her, no matter how many sticky situations arise. Even though the story is lighthearted, Reyes does address discrimination and stereotypes that Latinx individuals face in a thought-provoking way, without being heavy headed.

“Reyes writes cultural love letters to Latinx communities.”

Miriam consistently stumbles into places she shouldn’t be, but she also shows incredible kindness to those around her, sees the best in people, and is delicate with the cultures around her. This book, while having the perfect dashes of Halloween shivers and mysterious fun, manages to feel like a warm hug. Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking holds community, family, and the joy of food at the heart of it; keeping it immensely joyful, while being an incredibly fun read. For readers that want something a little different, dashes of fun and spooky, to diversify their TBR lists, Reyes and her Caribbean Kitchen Mysteries are perfect. Reyes writes cultural love letters to Latinx communities.

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RAQUEL V. REYES writes Latina protagonists. Her Cuban-American heritage, Miami, and Spanglish feature prominently in her work. Mango, Mambo, and Murder, the first in the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series, won a LEFTY for Best Humorous Mystery. It was nominated for an Agatha Award and optioned for film. Raquel’s short stories appear in various anthologies, including The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022. Find her across social media platforms as @LatinaSleuths and on her website LatinaSleuths.com

TEREZA LOPEZ (she/her) is a recent graduate from Clark University with a double major in English and history. She attended Clark University again in Fall 2021 and obtained a Master’s in communication. When she is not studying, you can find her obsessively reading or taking care of her new kitten.

Book Review: This Is Why They Hate Us by Aaron H. Aceves

In this incredible Young Adult novel, we follow our protagonist, Enrique or Quique, as he navigates his teenage life as a bisexual latine. He’s hopelessly in love with one of his best friends, Saleem, but is 99.9% positive that the feeling is not mutual and that Saleem is straight. Thankfully his best friend (Fabiola) is determined to give Quique a hot girl summer and encourages him to explore different prospects. Quique has a wide range of people to pursue. Through each new interaction, Quique learns about himself and his resilience to overcome the challenges of being bisexual.

I loved this book for so many reasons. The cast of characters are so loveable and were each uniquely flushed out. Their personalities really added to the plot and fed different perspectives to the reader. It was heartwarming to see young adults come together to learn from extremely difficult challenges.

In addition, I thought that the plot was extremely well thought out. Aceves does an amazing job portraying the difficulty of exploring one’s sexuality and the different perspectives people can have. Enrique is put into very challenging scenarios that make him feel ashamed about his sexuality and even objectified. As a reader, it was extremely painful to see Enrique be treated so badly but it was heartwarming to see his growth and realization of the relationship he deserves.

“It was heartwarming to see young adults come together to learn from extremely difficult challenges.”

Contemporary young adult books are some of my favorites to read because it’s so exciting and refreshing to see the increasing diversity in characters and experiences that authors are capturing in the present day. As a half Mexican and half Korean teen, I remember feeling distant from books. However, looking back, I realize it’s because there was nothing connecting me to the characters. I could enjoy reading books but there was always the barrier of not seeing myself in the characters and being able to relate to them. That’s why I’m so happy that there is another book that depicts the strength of a YA latine bisexual character. Bisexuality is not typically represented in LGBTQIA+ books and there is even less representation of the intersectionality of being a bisexual latine teenage male. As painful as some of these scenes were to read, it’s so important to be aware of these uncomfortable possibilities to learn how to stand up for yourself, give yourself grace, or be a better ally, friend, sibling, parent, neighbor, etc.

This will be a great resource for current and future young adult generations but also current older generations that didn’t have this type of book available during their young adult chapter. I hope that Aaron Aceves writes more novels to continue to add representation and help many communities.

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Aaron H. Aceves is a bisexual, Mexican American writer born and raised in East Los Angeles. He graduated from Harvard College and received his MFA from Columbia University. His fiction has appeared in jmww, Epiphany, and them., among other places. He currently lives in Texas, where he serves as an Early Career Provost Fellow at UT Austin. He can be found at AaronHAceves.com or @AaronAceves on Instagram or @AaronHAceves on Twitter and TikTok.

Mariana Felix-Kim (she/her) lives in Washington, D.C. with her lovely cat, Leo. When she is not working in the environmental science field, Mariana is constantly reading. Her favorite genres include non-fiction, thrillers, and contemporary romances. Mariana is half Mexican and half Korean. You can find her on Instagram: @mariana.reads.books

Exclusive Excerpt: Are We Ever Our Own

 

THE BALLAD OF TAM LIN

Before the oyster folk took him from me, my father gave me his fiddle and told me the story it carried. On the island, he said, there were two sisters. I didn’t know if he meant his island—cane and tobacco fields wracked by war—or Mam’s—sea cliffs and highland meadows emptied by famine—or one of the many islands where he’d lived. The crowded island city where he met Mam. Or maybe an island he’d never even been to. My father held his fiddle up so that it seemed to hover in the air between us. Two sisters, he said, one dark-haired and the other one fair and they both fell in love with the miller’s son.

I rolled my eyes. I hated stories about fair-haired sisters and miller’s sons. My father cuffed my ear to make me listen. You’ll like how this one goes, he told me. Both sisters loved the miller’s son, but he had eyes for the fairer one. I scoffed again, but he just smiled. The smile that always made our audience—no matter what town we were in, how small, how ragged, how hungry they were for food other than flour and lard cakes—lean in and listen. The smile that told them he didn’t care how side-eyed the townsfolk had first looked at him, at Mam and him together, at Mrs. Zhao leading her wagon, her daughter June behind her. The smile that said, if they just listened, if they just waited, he’d give them some-thing as fine as stacks of cash-not-company-scrip, as the right amount of rain, as an answer to these hard times that wouldn’t end. I waited for him, just like his smile told me to, just like every audience always did.

My father said the miller’s son only wanted the fairer sister, so the dark-haired one went for a walk with her sister to the furthest point of their island. They passed palm groves and sea grape, walked until they were at the cliff’s very edge. Then the dark-haired sister pushed the fair one over the cliff and down into the waves.

My father paused and raised his eyebrows, as if daring me to stop him, knowing I wouldn’t now. Stories about

miller’s sons and fair sisters never went this way. The fair sister almost always died—on a riverbed or beneath a willow, run through by a saber, dropped by poison wine, or mad in an asylum like Cecilia Valdés—but never by her own sister’s will. My father said the waves swept the fair sister out to sea. Fight as she did, clawing at water, kicking at waves, she sunk beneath the surface. The sea tugged her and carried her and stole her final breath. The sea pulled her deep. Sharks fed on her ribs, shrimp clung to her fingernails, until she was just a body, not a sister anymore and no longer fair.

Finally, the waves spit her back up. A wandering musician found her washed ashore and he didn’t run away or call the priest or the mayor. The wanderer knelt down beside the mound of bones and hair.

My father asked me what I thought the wanderer did and I shook my head. I didn’t know.

The wanderer picked up her finger bones, my father said, and he cut off her long, fair hair. He plucked her sternum from between her ribs and, because he was in need of it, he made a fiddle out of her. Her finger bones became the fiddle pegs, her hair the long bow strings, her white sternum the fiddle bridge.

Then my father handed me his fiddle, which he’d never before let me touch. We’d just crossed the border from Oregon to Washington, and were camped outside a logging town. The mud streets were empty, everyone deep in the woods sawing down cedar and sitka, the ground too wet for our wagons to move through and the rain too hard for even us to play a show in. I crouched on my bunk, tucked in a corner of our wagon. The rain beat down on the canvas tent above us, but it was warm inside. We’d start off again as soon as it was dry, searching for a town with people in it, though what kind of people and what they might ask of us, we never knew.

The pegs of my father’s fiddle were deeply concaved, paper-thin in the middle and a pale yellow like old teeth, with hair-strand-wide dark cracks running over them. The bridge was the same color as the pegs, almost translucent in its delicacy. Since I could remember, I’d wanted to hold his fiddle: to trace the flor de mariposa and banana flowers carved across the back, to touch the wood stained almost black around the f-holes and deep red on the edges where it was constantly touched.

No matter what role he took in our show, my father always played his fiddle. He’d play a fast song at the beginning to rile up the crowd and a sad song at the end because everyone wants a lonesome ending. It brings the audience back again, hopeful they didn’t remember right, that we’ll give them the right ending the next time around. Though my father could play any instrument you could name, the fiddle was his favorite. But when he handed it to me in our muggy wagon—the horses chewing oats out of their feed box, Mam curled around him in their bunk, braiding the fringes on his jacket sleeve—I didn’t question that I should get it. I had wanted it, had wanted the sound it made, the catch and pluck, its power to mold a crowd, to decide how

well we would eat, how long we would stay by this mill or that farmstead. I had wanted the fiddle for what felt like an unimaginably long time. Back then, in our tent, steam rising off the horses and mixing with Mam’s wordless hum, I would have used the word forever.

I didn’t know how young I was. Didn’t doubt what was owed me. Now, I wonder if my father gave me his fiddle because he knew something I didn’t. If he had an idea of what would happen when we reached the oyster town we were headed towards. If he could scent some particular danger in the combination of mud, sea, and sawed cedar, and he gave me what mattered most to him. Offered me his fiddle for safe-keeping, heedless of my clumsy, too-small hands.

My father asked me what I thought the fiddle in the story sounded like. I was still holding his fiddle up in the air as he had handed it to me, not yet believing I could pull it close. When the wanderer first played the fiddle he’d made of the sister’s bones and hair? What was the song? I couldn’t speak, I shook my head again. Finally, I eased the fiddle down into my lap and traced its carvings: the flor de mariposa petals, the spider—intricate as a thousand I’d seen—perched on the flower’s stem.

The fiddle sounded like the wind, my father said. The wind off the sea that carried the sister away, like the water dragging her under and spitting her back a heap of scraps, like the fishes that eat drowned girls. The fiddle sounded like the dark-haired one pushing her only sister off a cliff and the sound the dark-haired one made when she did what she thought she’d wanted and the sea carried her sister away. The fiddle sounded like the dark-haired sister’s cruel heart, like her broken heart. Like the wind too, and like the rain that fell on her sister when she was only bones for a wanderer to comb through.

I nodded. He was right. That was how my father’s fiddle sounded.

Excerpted from "The Ballad of Tam Lin," published in Are We Ever Our Own, copyright May 24, 2022 by Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes, BOA Editions, Ltd., www.boaeditions.org.

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Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes is the author of Are We Ever Our Own, winner of the BOA Short Fiction Prize, and the novel The Sleeping World (Touchstone-Simon & Schuster, 2016). She has received fellowships from Hedgebrook, Willapa Bay Artists in Residency, Yaddo, the Millay Colony, Lighthouse Works, and the Blue Mountain Center. Her work has appeared in New England Review, The Common, One Story, Cosmonauts Avenue, Slice, Pank, NANO Fiction, Western Humanities Review, and elsewhere. She holds a BA from Brown University, an MFA from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. She grew up in a Cuban-Irish-American family in Wisconsin. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland where she teaches creative writing and Latinx literature

January 2023 Latinx Releases

 

On SALE january 3, 2023

 

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SINCERELY SICILY | TAMIKA BURGESS | MIDDLE GRADE

From debut author Tamika Burgess comes the captivating and empowering story of Sicily Jordan—a Black Panamanian fashionista who rocks her braids with pride—who learns to use her voice and take pride in who she is while confronting prejudice in the most unexpected of places.

 

UNSEELIE | IVELISSE HOUSMAN | YOUNG ADULT

Iselia "Seelie" Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde...but as an autistic changeling left in the human world by the fae as an infant, she has always known she is different. Seelie's unpredictable magic makes it hard for her to fit in—and draws her and Isolde into the hunt for a fabled treasure. In a heist gone wrong, the sisters make some unexpected allies and find themselves unraveling a mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.

Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister and herself?

 

BREAKUP FROM HELL | ANN DAVILA CARDINAL | YOUNG ADULT

Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she's known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him.

It's not long before she is under Sam's spell and doing things she's never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches--and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird.

Mica's gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she's ever met. But when Mica discovers his family's roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she's living in a horror novel.

She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves?

 

LATIN AMERICANS IN HISTORY: 15 INSPIRING LATINAS AND LATINOS YOU SHOULD KNOW | MONICA OLIVERA | MIDDLE GRADE

Amazing stories of Latin Americans who changed the world.

Discover the incredible contributions that people of Latin American heritage have made to world history! Learn about Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan soldier who helped many South American countries achieve independence from Spain. Meet Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro, a former journalist and the first female president of Nicaragua. And get to know Gloria Estefan, the Cuban singer and songwriter who became the "Queen of Latin Pop." From politicians and physicists to poets and painters, these biographies explore 15 incredible Latin American people who used their creativity, intelligence, and strong beliefs to improve the world around them.

 

THE HOUSE IN THE PINES | ANA REYES | ADULT

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend's sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed.

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they'd been spending time with all summer.

Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can't account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer--the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.

At her mother's house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father's book that didn't stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank's cabin.

 

On SALE january 10, 2023

 

BRIGHTER THAN THE MOON | DAVID VALDES | YOUNG ADULT

Shy foster kid Jonas and self-assured vlogger Shani met online, and so far, that's where their relationship has stayed, sharing memes and baring their souls from behind their screens. Shani is eager to finally meet up, but Jonas isn't so sure—he's not confident Shani will like the real him . . . if he's even sure who that is.

Jonas knows he's trapped himself in a lie with Shani—and wants to dig himself out. But Shani, who's been burned before, may not give him a chance: she talks her best friend Ash into playing spy and finding out the truth. When Ash falls for Jonas, too, he keeps that news from Shani, and soon they're all keeping secrets. Will it matter that their hearts are in the right place? Coming clean will require them to figure out who they really are, which is no easy task when all the pieces of your identity go beyond easy boxes and labels.

 

BARILOCHE | ANDRÉS NEUMAN | TRANSLATED BY ROBIN MYERS | ADULT

Demetrio Rota, a garbage collector from Buenos Aires, sleeps in the afternoons and assembles puzzles at night before leaving for work. His daily life is mediocre and he keeps his balance through sheer exhaustion. However, through the puzzles, Demetrio inspects and sorts through his own memories. At the end of the journey through his history, the present seems to devour him, until he's left with only the emptiness of himself and his daily misery. A parable of memory and deterioration, Andrés Neuman's Bariloche juxtaposes the astonished memories of youth with a skeptical conscience; the impossible idealization of nature or first love with the moral and physical suffocation of the big city; being uprooted with returning to one's origins, with a language fascinated by both lyricism and rottenness.

 

THE NIGHT TRAVELERS | ARMANDO LUCAS CORREA | ADULT

Four generations of women experience love, loss, war, and hope from the rise of Nazism to the Cuban Revolution and finally, the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Berlin, 1931: Ally Keller, a talented young poet, is alone and scared when she gives birth to a mixed-race daughter she names Lilith. As the Nazis rise to power, Ally knows she must keep her baby in the shadows to protect her against Hitler's deadly ideology of Aryan purity. But as she grows, it becomes more and more difficult to keep Lilith hidden so Ally sets in motion a dangerous and desperate plan to send her daughter across the ocean to safety.

Havana, 1958: Now an adult, Lilith has few memories of her mother or her childhood in Germany. Besides, she's too excited for her future with her beloved Martin, a Cuban pilot with strong ties to the Batista government. But as the flames of revolution ignite, Lilith and her newborn daughter, Nadine, find themselves at a terrifying crossroads.

Berlin, 1988: As a scientist in Berlin, Nadine is dedicated to ensuring the dignity of the remains of all those who were murdered by the Nazis. Yet she has spent her entire lifetime avoiding the truth about her own family's history. It takes her daughter, Luna, to encourage Nadine to uncover the truth about the choices her mother and grandmother made to ensure the survival of their children. And it will fall to Luna to come to terms with a shocking betrayal that changes everything she thought she knew about her family's past.

Separated by time but united by sacrifice, four women embark on journeys of self-discovery and find themselves to be living testaments to the power of motherly love.

 

On SALE january 17, 2023

 

ABUELA’S SUPER CAPA | ANA SIQUEIRA | ILLUSTRATOR ELISA CHAVARRI | PICTURE BOOK

A heartwarming bilingual picture book about a young boy who learns to accept that Abuela needs to retire her super capa.

Saturdays are superhero days. Equipped with their milkshakes and capas, Luis and his abuela can turn anything into an adventure.

But when Abuela gets sick, Luis has to learn a new way to be a hero. With some help from his sister, Luis learns that change isn't all that bad and there are many new adventures to have, even if they look a little different.

 

On SALE january 24, 2023

 

THE FARAWAY WORLD | PATRICIA ENGEL | SHORT STORIES

From Patricia Engel comes an exquisite collection of ten haunting, award-winning short stories set across the Americas and linked by themes of migration, sacrifice, and moral compromise.

Two Colombian expats meet as strangers on the rainy streets of New York City, both burdened with traumatic pasts. In Cuba, a woman discovers her deceased brother's bones have been stolen, and the love of her life returns from Ecuador for a one-night visit. A cash-strapped couple hustles in Miami, to life-altering ends.

 

GOD IS JUST LIKE ME | KAREN VALENTIN | ILLUSTRATOR ANTONIETA MUÑ0Z ESTRADA | PICTURE BOOK

God may be hard to describe, but one young Puerto Rican girl in New York City finds examples of God's character all around her. As she goes day-by-day through the week, she talks to God about the delightful ways she and God are similar. From vivid sunrises and colorful paintings, dancing to music in the park, loud thunderstorms, and fishing on a quiet lake, the evidence that she is made in the image of God is everywhere she looks.

This joyful, heartfelt story offers a fresh take on what it means to be made in God's image.

 

LE DICEN FREGONA: POEMAS DE UN CHAVO DE LA FRONTERA | SPANISH EDITION| DAVID BOWLES | POETRY

A companion to the Pura Belpré Honor book They Call Me Güero.

"You can be my boyfriend." It only takes five words to change Güero's life at the end of seventh grade. The summer becomes extra busy as he learns to balance new band practice with his old crew, Los Bobbys, and being Joanna Padilla's boyfriend. They call her "fregona" because she's tough, always sticking up for her family and keeping the school bullyin check. But Güero sees her softness. Together they cook dollar-store spaghetti and holdhands in the orange grove, learning more about themselves and each other than they could have imagined. But when they start eighth grade, Joanna faces a tragedy that requires Güero to reconsider what it means to show up for someone you love.

Honoring multiple poetic traditions, They Call Her Fregona is a bittersweet first-love story inverse and the highly anticipated follow-up to They Call Me Güero.

 

On SALE january 31, 2023

PLÁTANOS GO WITH EVERYTHING / LOS PLÁTANOS VAN CON TODO | LISSETTE NORMAN | ILLUSTRATOR SARA PALACIOS | PICTURE BOOK

Plátanos are Yesenia's favorite food. They can be sweet and sugary, or salty and savory. And they're a part of almost every meal her Dominican family makes.

Stop by her apartment and find out why plátanos go with everything--especially love!

Best Books of 2022 According to Latinx In Publishing

2022 has been a wonderful year for Latine books. This year we asked the Latinx in Publishing board and our co-directors what books moved them, and that they would highly recommend. Here’s what they selected!

MISS QUINCES by Kat Fajardo

Kat Fajardo makes a funny, touching middle grade debut with this graphic novel. Sue just wants to spend her summer with her friends, but instead she gets dragged on a family trip to Honduras. She is not happy: she loves her abuela, but there’s NO INTERNET, she has to spend a bunch of time with her older sister who calls her “boring and weird,” and all her mom seems to care about this summer is throwing Sue a quinceañera celebration she doesn’t want. But the trip ends up opening Sue’s eyes to things she never saw before—and her family eventually sees the value in celebrating Sue the way she WANTS to be celebrated. Fajardo is a truly excellent visual storyteller, and there’s so much in this story to relate to and be moved by for anyone who’s felt like a misfit in their family.

– Sophia Jimenez, Writers Mentorship Co-Director 

 

How Not To Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz

An absolutely captivating story about Cara Romero, a Dominican woman in her 50s in the Bronx, who through the act of seeking employment lays bear her entire life. This is a book that makes me forget I am reading. I see Cara sitting right in front of me, addressing me, in all her messy, irresistible humanity. Inspiring both deep belly laughs and streaming tears, Angie's Cruz's latest novel is for all those seeking an unpretentious and yet profound read.

–Toni Kirkpatrick, Board Secretary 

 

HIGH-RISK HOMOSEXUAL by Edgar Gomez

 Diagnosed with a serious case of being a 'high-risk homosexual," Edgar writes a memoir exploring the interacting layers of identity as a gay, Latinx man and the love it takes to be proud to be who you are in a culture intent on erasing you. We follow Edgar from childhood within the confines of machismo, opening from his uncle's cockfighting ring in Nicaragua where he is taken to become “a man,” to the queer spaces he navigates in Florida and other parts of the U.S. as he comes of age. Smart, funny, and with sharp fashion sense, it's hard to imagine Edgar as kind of shy... but that's where his vulnerability and thoughtfulness shine as a writer. One thing about Edgar in this book, he's going to be honest about the mess. A strong-hearted debut!

–Andrea Morales, Communications Co-Director 

 

A WOMAN OF ENDURANCE by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

This is a powerful story about Pola, who is taken from her home in Africa and enslaved in Puerto Rico, where she is used for breeding purposes. Pola has a hard life, but she endures. She fights to survive and then she fights to reclaim her humanity in the face of brutal circumstances. It's a hard read at the beginning but at the end we have a woman with the strength and courage to love herself and embrace the community around her.  Very emotional read but so worth it.

–Maria Ferrer, Board Member, Interim Treasurer & Events Director 

 

Frizzy by Claribel Ortega, illustrated by Rose Bousamra

 Marlene is dealing with a mother and a society that tells her that her natural hair isn’t desirable or acceptable. And all everyone in her family can talk about is how people look, which can get pretty exhausting. Luckily she has her awesome Tía Ruby (we all need a Tía Ruby!) to provide some rooftop gardening time and much-needed perspective. 

My ten-year-old and I read this graphic novel together, and I’m so glad that she and other young readers have this powerful book that will encourage them to question the adults in their lives, to name and recognize anti-Blackness when they see it, and to speak up for themselves when necessary. And for adult readers, this books acts as a gentle reminder that it’s *our* job to unlearn and heal from the messages we may have internalized when we were young. Beautifully illustrated and highly recommended.

–Nancy Mercado, Board Member, Fellowships Co-Director 

 

WILDS OF THE UNITED STATES: The Animals' Survival Field Guide by Alexander Vidal 

This beautiful and informative guidebook tells the stories of the wild creatures that live from Alaska to Florida and explores each unique region in the United States. Alexander Vidal visited more than 30 national parks, forests, grasslands, mountains and oceans researching this book. Readers will feel as if they are along for the hike meeting their animal neighbors to see up-close the skills that the animals use to survive. The author also includes a Land Acknowledgement honoring Indigenous communities. Packed with information and lushly illustrated, this book is a one-of-a-kind gift for any family passionate about nature, animals, travel and outdoor adventure.

–Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel, Board Member, Fellowships Co-Director 

 

Mariana and Her Familia Written by Mónica Mancillas and illustrated by Erika Meza

 This heartwarming picture book follows Mariana on her first trip to visit family in Mexico, where she becomes overwhelmed by new faces and Spanish phrases she doesn’t understand only to soon learn there's no language barrier when it comes to love. Mariana and Her Familia is perfect for any reader who, like me, has a big, warm extended family to visit over the holidays, but not so much the fluency to keep up with all the chisme. It'll have you quickly remembering that there are many ways to treasure time with loved ones.

– Carolina Ortiz, Writers Mentorship Co-Director 

 

YOU SOUND LIKE A WHITE GIRL by Julissa Arce

I love a good nonfiction book, especially one that I can find some common ground with. It's also important for me to read books by authors from all backgrounds and paths of life. I enjoy strong, unapologetic voices who believe deeply in their subject matter. I appreciated the blunt and honest way in which Arce approached this book and her sincerity and vulnerability in discussing her personal life; her journey to break her assimilation into our complex society. I love the detailed accounts that were provided of historical events. I also found that there were many ideas left for discussion, contemplation and analysis. Books that strive to make a difference in the lives of others and society are a must for me. 

– Tiffany Gonzalez, Communications Co-Director 

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