Hispanic/Latinx Booklist
Teens
Click on the book cover to access the library’s copy of each title.
Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe
By Benjamin Alire Sáenz
A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship--the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
Don't hate the player
By Alexis Nedd
By day, Emilia is a field hockey star with a popular boyfriend and a mother obsessed with her academic future. But by night, she’s kicking virtual ass as the only female member of a highly competitive eSports team. Emilia has mastered the art of keeping her two worlds thriving, which hinges on them staying completely separate.
When a major eSports tournament comes to her city, Emilia is determined to prove herself to the male-dominated gaming community. But her perfectly balanced life is thrown for a loop when a member of a rival team—Jake—recognizes her . . .
From an exciting new talent, this sweet and charming YA romance will win the hearts of gamers and non-gamers alike.
We were here
By Matt de la Peña
The story of one boy and his journey to find himself.
When it happened, Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge gave him a year in a group home—said he had to write in a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks. The judge had no idea that he actually did Miguel a favor. Ever since it happened, his mom can’t even look at him in the face. Any home besides his would be a better place to live.
But Miguel didn’t bet on meeting Rondell or Mong or on any of what happened after they broke out. He only thought about Mexico and getting to the border to where he could start over. Forget his mom. Forget his brother. Forget himself.
Life usually doesn’t work out how you think it will, though. And most of the time, running away is the quickest path right back to what you’re running from.
Furia
By Yamile Saied Méndez
Rosario, Argentina. At home Camila Hassan lives within her mother's narrow expectations, her soccer-star brother's shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father. On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila dreams of getting an athletic scholarship to a North American university. But her parents wouldn't allow a girl to play fúbol-- and she needs their permission to go any farther. Can she make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her?
Cemetery Boys
By Aiden Thomas
Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.
When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.
However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.
Labyrinth lost
By Zoraida Cordova
I was chosen by the Deos. Even gods make mistakes.
Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo she can’t trust, but who may be Alex’s only chance at saving her family.
We are not from here
By Jenny Torres Sanchez
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. Even with the love of family, threats lurk around every corner. And when those threats become all too real, the trio knows they have no choice but to run: from their country, from their families, from their beloved home.
Crossing from Guatemala through Mexico, they follow the route of La Bestia, the perilous train system that might deliver them to a better life -- if they are lucky enough to survive the journey. With nothing but the bags on their backs and desperation drumming through their hearts, Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña know there is no turning back, despite the unknown that awaits them. And the darkness that seems to follow wherever they go.
Sanctuary
By Paola Mendoza & Abby Sher
In 2032 America, all citizens are chipped and everyone is tracked. It is almost impossible to survive as an undocumented immigrant, but that is exactly what Vali is doing. She and her family have carved out a stable, happy life in small-town Vermont. When Vali's mother's counterfeit chip starts malfunctioning and the Deportation Forces raid their town, they are forced to flee. On the run, Vali and her family are desperately trying to make it to her tía Luna's in California, a sanctuary state that is currently being walled off from the rest of the country. When Vali's mother is detained, Vali must carry on with her younger brother across the country to make it to safety before it is too late.
Lobizona
By Romina Garber
As an undocumented immigrant on the run from her father's Argentine crime-family, Manuela Azul is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida. Then her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past: a mysterious "Z" emblem. It leads her to a secret world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong. It's not just her U.S. residency that's illegal-- it's her entire existence.
How to build a heart
By Maria Padian
Since her Marine father died in Iraq six years ago, Izzy Crawford and her mother have moved to a new town nearly every year. When their small family arrives in Virginia during her junior year, all Izzy's dreams start clicking into place. She likes her new school. And best of all: Izzy's family has been selected by Habitat for Humanity to build and move into a brand-new house. Izzy is this close to the community and permanence she's been searching for... until all the secret pieces of her life begin to collide.
All of Us with Wings
By Michelle Ruiz Keil
Michelle Ruiz Keil’s YA fantasy debut about love, found family, and healing is an ode to post-punk San Francisco through the eyes of a Mexican-American girl.
Clap When You Land
By Elizabeth Acevedo
In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.
Manuelito: a graphic novel
Written by Elisa Amado ; illustrated by Abraham Urias
Thirteen-year-old Manuelito is a gentle boy who lives with his family in a tiny village in the Guatemalan countryside. But life is far from idyllic: PACs--armed civil patrol--are a constant presence in the streets, and terrifying memories of the country's war linger in the villagers' collective conscience. Things deteriorate further when government-backed drug gangs arrive and take control of the village. Fearing their son will be forced to join a gang, Manuelito's parents make the desperate decision to send him to live with his aunt in America.
Mexican Whiteboy
By Matt de la Peña
Sixteen-year-old Danny searches for his identity amidst the confusion of being half-Mexican and half-white while spending a summer with his cousin and new friends on the baseball fields and back alleys of San Diego County, California.
Teen Titans : Raven [graphic novel]
By Kami Garcia ; illustrated by Gabriel Picolo
When a tragic accident takes the life of seventeen-year-old Raven Roth's foster mom and Raven's memory, she moves to New Orleans to live with her foster mother's family and finish her senior year of high school. Starting over isn't easy, and when strange things start happening, Raven starts to think it might be better not to know who she was in her previous life. But as she grows closer to her foster sister, Max, her new friends, and Tommy Torres, a guy who accepts her for who she is now, Raven has to decide if she's ready to face what's buried in the past...and the darkness building inside her.
The New David Espinoza
By Fred Aceves
What does not kill me makes me stronger. When a video of him getting knocked down by a bully goes viral at the end of junior year, David Espinoza vows to use the summer to bulk up, become a man, and wow everyone when school starts again the fall. Spending his time and money at Iron Life, a nearby gym that is full of bodybuilders, David becomes frustrated with his slow progress. As his life begins to revolve about his muscle gains, he falls into the dark side of the bodybuilding world. Pursuing his ideal body at all costs, he will eventually have to grapple with the fact that it could actually cost him everything.
The Education of Margot Sanchez
By Lilliam Rivera
Pretty in Pink comes to the South Bronx in this bold and romantic coming-of-age novel about dysfunctional families, good and bad choices, and finding the courage to question everything you ever thought you wanted.
I Got This : to Gold and Beyond
By Laurie Hernandez
A Latina Jersey girl, Laurie Hernandez saw her life take a dramatic turn when she was chosen to be a part of the 2016 US Olympic gymnastics team. After winning gold in Rio as part of the Final Five, Laurie also earned an individual silver medal for her performance on the balance beam. Poignant and funny, Laurie’s story is about growing up with the dream of becoming an Olympian and what it took to win gold. She talks about her loving family, her rigorous training, her intense sacrifices, and her amazing triumphs.
Mexican American Civil Rights Movement
By Christine Honders
Since the days of westward expansion and the U.S.-Mexican War, people of Mexican descent have faced great discrimination in the United States. This volume introduces readers to the historical background of the Mexican American civil rights movement, as well as its key figures and events. Photographs and primary sources will transport readers back in time to truly grasp the importance of this movement. Readers will learn about current issues pertaining to Mexican Americans and immigration, and learn what they could do to advance the movement for equality.
Breaking Through
By Francisco Jiménez
As he prepares to recite the Declaration of Independence before his eighth grade social studies class in California, the thing Francisco has feared for ten years finally happens. La migra, the immigration police, come to his classroom and pick him up for deportation to Mexico. Soon back in the United States with a "green card," Francisco struggles through adolescence, working two or three jobs a day and striving to excel at school. But he also finds time to be a typical teenager in the 1950s, an era of cool cars, dances, and Elvis.
Reaching Out
By Francisco Jiménez
The author describes the many challenges he faced as the son of Mexican American migrant workers during his quest to continue his education and become an academic success, overcoming poverty, family turmoil, guilt, and self-doubt.