“Every woman in this house had inherited it, the same way they had inherited the loss and the broken hearts written into their blood” —Anna-Marie McLemore, Wild Beauty Estrella Nomeolvides refers to her and/or her family as being poison ten times throughout the novel. The Nomeolvides women grow flowers by digging their hands into the earth … Continue reading Generational Trauma and Learning to Love in Anna-Marie McLemore’s Wild Beauty
4 YA Novels in Verse by U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera
1. Crashboomlove (University of New Mexico Press, 1999) From Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Cesar Garcia is careening. His father, Papi Cesar, has left the migrant circuit in California for his other wife and children in Denver. Sweet Mama Lucy tries to provide for her son with dichos and tales of her own misspent youth. But at Rambling West High … Continue reading 4 YA Novels in Verse by U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera
Good Men & Bad Men: On Latino Masculinities in Joe Jiménez’s Bloodline
Throughout this presidential campaign, Donald Trump has referred to Latino men, generally speaking, as “criminals,” “rapists,” and “bad hombres.” Unfortunately, the image of Latino men in popular culture as hyper-masculine, violent, and dangerous is not new. Trump tapped into, and exploited, a long standing, racist, xenophobic fear of black and brown men in this country. … Continue reading Good Men & Bad Men: On Latino Masculinities in Joe Jiménez’s Bloodline
Gaby, Lost and Found: Expanding the Conversation on Latinx Kids Books + Immigration
Gaby, Lost and Found by Angela Cervantes tells the story of Gaby Ramirez Howard, whose mom is deported to Honduras. Gaby is left under the care of her father, who she does not know well and who does not seem too interested in parenting. Gaby’s story is one that remains painfully relevant. Since 2009, more … Continue reading Gaby, Lost and Found: Expanding the Conversation on Latinx Kids Books + Immigration
Latinx Gay YA
There remains a great need for Latinx Gay young adult literature. The list below is a compilation of texts that center and complicate these experiences. I’ve decided to make this list a space dedicated to stories written by self-identifying Latinx authors who have created gay Latinx protagonists. There are certainly other books with gay Latinx … Continue reading Latinx Gay YA
30 Second Bilingual Book Talk on Angela Cervantes’s Gaby, Lost and Found
Juliet Takes a Breath: A How-To Guide for Young Queer Latinas
Juliet Milagros Palante is a 19-year-old Puertoriqueña from the Bronx. She knows she’s gay but hasn’t told her family. She decides to come out to her family the night she’s set to travel to Portland, Oregon[1] for her summer internship with the renowned white feminist Harlowe Brisbane. After having read Harlowe’s book Raging Flower: Empowering … Continue reading Juliet Takes a Breath: A How-To Guide for Young Queer Latinas
30 Second Bilingual Book Talk on Pam Muñoz-Ryan’s The Dreamer
The Pura Belpré Award: Continuing Belpré’s Legacy of Lighting the Storyteller’s Candle–Part 1
By Sujei Lugo & Dr. Sonia Alejandra Rodríguez By now, we are all familiar with the various conversations about the need for children of color and Native children to see themselves represented in the stories they read. However, not many know that these discussions, as they pertain to Latinx children, have been taking place since … Continue reading The Pura Belpré Award: Continuing Belpré’s Legacy of Lighting the Storyteller’s Candle–Part 1
Susan Guevara Illustrations Review
Susan Guevara won the Pura Belpré award for illustration in 1996 and 2001 for her work with Gary Soto in Chato’s Kitchen (1995) and Chato and the Party Animals (2000). Soto introduces readers to the coolest cat in the East Los barrio. In Chato’s Kitchen, Chato plans an elaborate scheme to get some delicious ratoncitos … Continue reading Susan Guevara Illustrations Review
Sonia Alejandra Rodríguez 