YA National Hispanic Heritage Month

Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month by reading books by contemporary Hispanic authors!

 


Compiled by:
Macklin & Lizzy S.
Ander and Santi Were Here: A Novel

Jonny Garza Villa
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Garvavi)

Nonbinary teen Ander is ready to leave their family's taquería and focus on their art, but when Santi, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, begins to work at the restaurant, the two teens spark a romance made complicated by immigration police.


Ballad & Dagger

Daniel José Older
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Older)

Mateo and Chela discover each other and their powers during a political battle between neighborhood factions. They must learn to set aside their differences in order to unravel the mystery behind their sunken homeland and stop a dangerous political operative who is trying to harness their gifts and unleash terror on the world.


Clap When You Land

Elizabeth Acevedo
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Acevedo)

In the raw and emotional verse novel, Acevedo's exploration of loss packs an effective double punch, unraveling the aftermath of losing a parent alongside the realities of familial inheritance.


Don't Ask Me Where I'm From

Jennifer De Leon
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Deleon)

Liliana Cruz does what it takes to fit in at her new, nearly all-white school, but when family secrets come out and racism at school gets worse than ever, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.


Fire with Fire

Destiny Soria
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Soria)

Raised to kill dragons along with her sister, Dani Rivera unexpectedly forges a rare and magical bond with one who makes her question everything she thought she knew about dragons, which pits her against her sister.


Furia

Yamile Saied Méndez
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Mendez)

Camila Hassan, a rising soccer star in Rosario, Argentina, dreams of playing professionally–in defiance of her father's wishes and at the risk of her budding romance with Diego.


A Girl’s Guide to Love & Magic

Debbie Rigaud
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Rigaud)

Cicely is excited to celebrate the West Indian Day Parade with her aunt and voodoo dabbler, Mimose, but when Mimose's dabbling goes awry and she becomes possessed by a spirit, Cicely, Renee, and Kwame, her crush, must find a way to set things right.


I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Erika L. Sánchez
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Sanchez)

When the sister who delighted their parents by her faithful embrace of Mexican culture dies in a tragic accident, Julia, who longs to go to college and move into a home of her own, discovers from mutual friends that her sister may not have been as perfect as believed.


Into the Light

Mark Oshiro
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Oshiro)

17-year-old queer adoptee Manny, now homeless, sets out to find his sister Elena, who is still enmeshed in Christ's Dominion, the community that abandoned him. However, the journey becomes fraught with danger as he is forced to confront the religious trauma from his past.


Juliet Takes a Breath

Gabby Rivera
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Rivera)

Juliet, a self-identified queer, Bronx-born Puerto Rican American, comes out to her family to disastrous results the night before flying to Portland to intern with her feminist author icon–whom Juliet soon realizes has a problematic definition of feminism that excludes women of color.


Last Sunrise in Eterna

Amparo Ortiz
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Ortiz)

Scavenging and selling elf corpses to support her family, 17-year-old goth Sevim has a chance encounter with an elf prince, setting her revenge in motion. Now, she must enter the magical elven realm where her fate is linked to someone she least expected.


Lobizona

Romina Garber
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Garber)

Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who's on the run from her father's Argentine crime family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida.


The Lost Dreamer

Lizz Huerta
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Huerta)

Indir is a Dreamer, descended from a long line of seers. Able to see beyond reality, she carries the rare gift of "dreaming truth." But when the beloved king dies, his son has no respect for this time-honored tradition.


The Luis Ortega Survival Club

Sonora Reyes
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Reyes)

From the bestselling author of the National Book Award Finalist The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School comes a revenge story told with nuance, heart, and the possibility of healing. An ideal next read for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson.


The Moonlit Vine

Elizabeth Santiago
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Santiag)

Told with interstitial historical chapters, 14-year-old Taína (Ty) must draw from the strength of her Taíno ancestors to bring her family and community hope and healing after a devastating incident.


No Filter and Other Lies

Crystal Maldonado
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Maldona)

Kat Sanchez uses photos of a friend to create a fake Instagram account, but when one of her posts goes viral and exposes Kat's duplicity, her entire world–both real and pretend–comes crashing down around her.


Once Upon A Quinceañera

Monica Gomez-Hira
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Gomezhi)

Carmen takes on a summer internship that has her reuniting with estranged family for an over-the-top quinceañera, reluctantly reconnecting to a long-lost ex-boyfriend, and finding happiness in the chaos.


Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories

Yamile Saied Méndez, Amparo Ortiz
- Editors
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Our)

From zombies to cannibals to death incarnate, this cross-genre anthology draws on Latino mythology to offer something for every monster lover. Set across Latin America and its diaspora, the stories explore themes of oppression, grief, sisterhood, identity, first love, and empowerment.


Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success

Jessica Parra
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Parra)

As 17-year-old Rubi secretly juggles participating in a baking competition, improving her grades for college admission, and a newfound romance, she soon realizes she must learn how to manage her family's expectations while finding her own path.


Secret of the Moon Conch

David Bowles, Guadalupe García McCall
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Bowles)

Award-winning authors David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall join forces to craft a sweeping fantasy romance about falling in love despite all odds.


The Sunbearer Trials

Aiden Thomas
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Thomas)

Transgender demigod Teo is unexpectedly selected for the Sunbearer Trials, a fierce competition among demigod heroes where the winner sacrifices the loser to Sol, their blood fueling the Sun Stones that protect Reino del Sol.


A Tall Dark Trouble

Vanessa Montalban
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Montalb)

In contemporary Miami, twins Delfi and Lela are haunted by a family curse that poisons any chance at romantic love. It's no wonder their mother forbids them from getting involved with magic. When Lela and Delfi receive premonitions of a mysterious killer targeting brujas, however, the sisters must embrace their emerging powers to save innocent lives.


This Is Why They Hate Us

Aaron H. Aceves
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Aceves)

Quique decides to get over his crush on Saleem before the end of summer by pursuing other romantic prospects, but he ends up discovering heartfelt truths about friendship, family, and himself.


Tigers, Not Daughters

Samantha Mabry
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Mabry)

Three sisters in San Antonio are shadowed by guilt and grief over the loss of their oldest sister, who still haunts their house.


The Turning Pointe

Vanessa L. Torres
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Torres)

In 1980s Minnesota, when auditions for a concert with Prince are announced, Rosa, the daughter of a tyrant ballet master, is desperate to escape her pointe shoes and show everyone what she can do.


Under This Forgetful Sky

Lauren Yero
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Yero)

When rebels infect his father with a fatal virus, 16-year-old Rumi ventures beyond his city's protected walls and meets Paz, who offers to guide him on his search for a cure, but may have an agenda of her own.


Venom & Vow

Anna-Marie McLemore
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Mclemor)

Teenagers Cade McKenna, a transgender prince doubling for his brother, and lady-in-waiting Valencia Palafox/boy assassin Gael Palma, thanks to their concealed identities, do not realize they are simultaneously falling for and trying to destroy each other.


We Are Not From Here

Jenny Torres Sanchez
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Torres)

Pulga has his dreams. Chico has his grief. Pequeña has her pride. And these three teens have one another. But, none of them have illusions about the town they've grown up in and the dangers that surround them.


Wings in the Wild

Margarita Engle
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Engle)

When a hurricane exposes Soleida's family's secret sculpture garden, the Cuban government arrests her artist parents, forcing her to escape alone to Central America where she meets Dariel, a Cuban American boy, and together they work to protect the environment and bring attention to the imprisoned artists in Cuba.


You Don't Have a Shot

Racquel Marie
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Marie)

17-year-old Valentina jeopardizes her future when she gets into an altercation with her rival, Leticia, during a soccer game, so the two girls must co-captain a soccer team to redeem themselves and what starts as a shaky alliance of necessity blossoms into something more.