Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2012) opens in the summer of 1987 in El Paso, Texas and follows Aristotle Mendoza’s journey toward self-discovery. Fifteen year old Ari is smart and witty but quite isolated from other boys his own age. However, after meeting Dante Quintana at the pool he begins to … Continue reading 5 Reasons to Love Benjamin Alire Saenz’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

In Mayra Lazara Dole’s[1] Down to the Bone (2012) Laura, a Cuban-American high school junior, is forced to come-out when her Catholic school teacher reads Laura’s private texts to her girlfriend aloud to the entire class. As a result, Laura is humiliated, kicked out of school, and asked by her mother to leave their home. … Continue reading YA Latina Lesbians: On Mayra Lazara Dole’s Down to the Bone

In the years that I’ve been researching and writing about Latina/o kid’s literature I’ve gone back and forth about the impact that “happy endings” have on the stories and on children readers. Because I focus specifically on realistic fiction, narratives that capture lived experiences, I found the happy endings to be a bit misleading. Real … Continue reading Happiness as a Social Justice Issue

As a child what I desired most was to be rescued from the violence I experienced at home. I was undocumented and domestic violence was far too common. While I now know that these are real experiences for many Latino homes, these were secrets that I walked around with for fear that my family would … Continue reading “A poet, América knows, belongs everywhere”: Healing & Latina/o Children’s and Young Adult Literature

Rigoberto González’s[1] The Mariposa Club (2009) is the first novel in a three part series followed by Mariposa Gown (2012) and Mariposa U (forthcoming 2014). The series stands out as the first of its kind because it’s the first to center queer Latino youth characters. The series is a part of a growing genealogy of … Continue reading Resilient Butterflies: On Rigoberto Gonzalez’s The Mariposa Club

Isabel Quintero’s debut YA novel, Gabi: A Girl in Pieces, is witty, exciting, and heart-felt. Through a diary entry narrative, the novel follows Gabi Hernandez through her senior year in high school. Gabi is a self-identified light skinned fat Mexican with an insatiable appetite for hot wings, tacos, sopes, and poetry. The novel opens with … Continue reading Gabi: A Girl in Pieces Review