Tag / hispanic heritage month

by booksoverlookedblog

Sep. 2025 Book Recs.: Hispanic Heritage Month

Without in any way limiting the author’s exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

And we’re back! Thank you to everyone who read my work for Flash Fiction Month.

September marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month! Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the achievement, culture, and traditions of Latinx Americans of Mexican, Central American, South American, Caribbean, and Spanish ancestry.

Hispanic Heritage Month officially begins on September 15, and goes until October 15. The mid-month start date is because many Hispanic countries declared their independence from Spain in September. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua all declared independence on September 15, 1821. Mexico declared its independence on September 16, 1810, and Chile did so on September 18, 1810. Over 150 years later, years later, Belize would declare independence from Great Britain on September 21, 1981.

Nonfiction: Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latin Identity by Paola Ramos

What does it mean to be Latinx? For journalist Paola Ramos, “Latinx” covers who she is: Latina, Cuban, Mexican, and American. But who are the millions of Americans who identify as Latinx? Ramos traveled across the United States to find out. She met with farmworkers in California, old friends in Miami, and Indigenous Maya communities in the Southern United States. She shares an iftar meal with Latinx Muslims in Washington, D.C. and cheers on an undocumented drag queen competing in the Miss Gay America pageant in Missouri. Ramos even sits down with Enrique Tarrio to try to understand what drove this Afro-Latinx man to the White supremacist group, The Proud Boys. (Note: Tarrio’s role in the Jan. 6 attacks is not mentioned. This book was published in 2020, and this chapter was likely written prior to the event.) Ramos gives readers a snapshot of the rich diversity of Latinx people in the United States, from the every day to the extraordinary. 

Fiction: The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

Orquídea Montoya’s living descendants receive a mysterious message from the matriarch of the family: I am dying. Come and collect your inheritance. When the family gathers at the homestead in Four Rivers, but instead of dying, Orquídea transforms into a ceiba tree. Two of Orquídea’s grandchildren, Rey and Marimar, are left with flowers growing out of their bodies, as is Orquídea’s great-granddaughter, Rhiannon. The family is left with more questions than answers, with Marimar pondering Orquídea’s parting words: protect your magic. When a mysterious force begins tearing through the Montoyas, the family travels to Ecuador, Orquídea’s birthplace, searching for answers. Orquídea’s history unfolds in alternating chapters, with her story dovetailing beautifully with her descendents’ during the climax. This is an intergenerational story of magic, monsters, and family secrets coming to light. And if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll see it has something rare: an omniscient narrator that I actually liked. 

by booksoverlookedblog

Sep. 2024 Recs: Hispanic Heritage Month

Without in any way limiting the author’s exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

Just a couple blog updates before we get started with this month’s book list. First: most of my stuff for Flash Fiction Month has been taken down, but there’s still a few stories I decided to leave on here. Second: until the end of the year, I’ll only be posting book recommendation lists here with any consistency. I may have a couple extra posts every so often (I’m working on one now!) but don’t expect them regularly.

September marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month! Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the achievement, culture, and traditions of Latinx Americans of Mexican, Central American, South American, Caribbean, and Spanish ancestry.

Hispanic Heritage Month officially begins on September 15, and goes until October 15. The mid-month start date is because many Hispanic countries declared their independence from Spain in September. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua all declared independence on September 15, 1821. Mexico declared its independence on September 16, 1810, and Chile did so on September 18, 1810. Over 150 years later, years later, Belize would declare independence from Great Britain on September 21, 1981.

For this month’s list, I’ve chosen to only feature graphic novels. I love graphic novels for many reasons, one of which is accessibility. They’re great for reluctant readers, or people who find reading difficult. Graphic novels are also not just for kids! They’re a unique medium that combines art and text to tell stories that can be as emotional, complex, and well-told as any novel. If you’ve never read a comic book as an adult, give ‘em a shot. There’s a ton of great stuff out there! 

¡Vamos a leer!

Nonfiction

Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martín

Pedro calls himself a Mexikid. His parents and older siblings came to the U.S. as immigrants, while he and his younger siblings were born in the United States. With nine kids, life in the Martín house is cramped and chaotic, and Pedro can’t believe that Apá wants to bring their Revolution-era Abuelito from Mexico to live with them. Even more unbelievable, the whole family – all 11 of them – are driving down to Mexico to pick him up. This rollicking road trip is full of pranks, half-bananas, and family legends about Abuelito. Once they arrive, though, Pedro starts to doubt the legends – and himself. Can this old man really be “The Mexican Jedi” he’s heard so much about, and how can artsy Pedro connect with him? Is Pedro “Mexican enough” to really be a part of his extended family? And can he really step up to help his parents, like his older sister believes he can? This is a humorous and often moving memoir, told from the backseat of a Winnebago.

Fiction 

Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriela Epstein 

People think that George, Sara, Dayara, Nico, and Miguel must be the same because they all speak Spanish. The five middle schoolers know differently: the only thing they have in common is that they speak Spanish, and they’re all assigned to clean the cafeteria before school starts. At first, the kids only see the categories their classmates fit into: the brain, the weirdo, tough kid, the entitled rich kid, and the athlete. When George meets a young girl and her mom that really need help, the kids band together. As they do, they learn that there’s more to all of them than just their labels. Each kid has their own problems, and their own strengths and weaknesses. Yet they’re united in their compassion, and determined to help someone truly in need. Can this middle school breakfast club really make a difference in someone’s life? Or will they remain invisible? 

by booksoverlookedblog

Sep. Book Recs: Hispanic Heritage Month

September marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S.! Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15 and goes to October 15. It’s a little unusual for a monthly observation to begin in the middle of the month, but there’s a reason for it. On September 15, 1821, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua declared independence from Spain. Mexico declared its independence on September 16, 1810, and Chile did so on September 18, 1810. Almost 200 years later, Belize would declare independence from Great Britain on September 21, 1981. 

Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the achievement, culture, and traditions of Latinx Americans of Mexican, Central American, South American, Caribbean, and Spanish ancestry. 

As always, I can only offer a smidgen of what is out there for books by and about Latinx individuals. If you’re looking for more, Pura Belpré award winners and honorees are a great place to start! There are also many Latinx authors and illustrators doing stellar work. To name a few: Alma Flor Ada, Julia Alvarez, Jorge Argueta, Monica Brown, Isabel Campoy, Joe Cepeda, Angela Cervantes, Veronica Chambers, Sandra Cisneros, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Raul Colón, Carmen Agra Deedy, Lulu Delacre, David Díaz, Angela Dominguez, Margarita Engle, Xavier Garza, Christina Díaz González, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Susan Guevara, Francisco Jiménez, René Colato Laínez, Rafael López, Meg Medina, Marisa Montes, Pat Mora, Yuyi Morales, Sara Palacios, John Parra, Celia C. Pérez, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Benjamín Alire Sáenz, Garo Soto, Francisco X. Stork, Carmen Tafolla, Raúl the Third, Duncan Tonatiuh, and Erica Velazquez. 

That’s quite a list! You’ll find some of those writers on this list as well. ¡Vamos a leer!

Nonfiction

Enchanted Air: A Memoir by Margarita Engle

Margarita is a child of two countries: the United States, and Cuba. Her mother’s country, Cuba, is a place of dancing trees, singing vendors, and beautiful forests and farms. Cuba is a place where Margarita can be brave – as brave as a boy. But most of the year she lives in Los Angeles, timid and lonely. Growing up in the 1950s and 60s, she doesn’t understand how two countries she loves so much can hate each other. As relations between Cuba and the United States worsen, Margarita wonders: will her relatives in Cuba hate her? Why is her mother choosing to be “stateless”? When will she visit her beloved Cuba again? In evocative verse, Engle shares her experiences growing up Cuban-American during the Bay of Pigs invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis, her summers in Cuba before the United States embargo against the country, and her deep and abiding love for words and poetry. 

Once I was You: A Memoir / Una vez fui tuí: Memorias by Maria Hinojosa

When Mexican-born Maria Hinojosa came to the United States as a one-year-old in 1962, she was nearly separated from her family. Only her mother refusing to leave her child allowed Maria to move to the U.S. with her family. In this memoir, Hinojosa chronicles her life and they many identities she has: an immigrant, a woman, a survivor of sexual assault, a wife, mother, and award-winning journalist. She started as an intern at NPR, pitching stories by day and waiting tables by night. Throughout her career, she sought to highlight human stories that are often overlooked, and give a voice to the voiceless. Yet this book is about more than one woman’s life. Opening on an encounter with children who were separated from their families while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, Hinojosa gives a history of changing immigration policies from the 1960s to 2020, when the book was published. She explains the politics behind the end of Immigration Naturalization Services (INS) and the formation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the societal and political changes that brought us to where we are now. Most sobering, Hinojosa describes the horrifying conditions of immigrant detention centers, and the ICE raids that help fill those centers. A powerful memoir of resilience, alongside painful reminders of the U.S.’s broken immigration system today. Published subsequently in Spanish. A young reader’s edition which focuses on Hinojosa’s childhood and adolescence is also available. 

Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora, edited by Saraciea J. Fennell

There are as many ways to be Latinx as there are Latinx people in the world. This essay collection gives voice to Latinx and Afro-Latinx writers’ experiences. Each essay has its own style and theme: “Eres Un Pocho” by Mark Oshira, written as second-person letters to a younger self, and “#JulianforSpiderman” by Julian Randall is a reflection of Afro-Latinx identity told alongside the story of Miles Morales. “More than Nervios” by Lilliam Riviera describes challenges Latinx individuals face in receiving treatment for mental health issues, and Jasminne Mendez recounts coming face to face with racism in theatre. Frequently underrepresented Latinx ethnicities are represented as well, like Honduran and Panamania writers. These beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking essays each tell a unique and personal story, often of seeking and discovering identity. Colorism is another prominent theme. Each essay is deeply human, and the struggle to understand yourself and your place in the world is something everyone can relate to, no matter their background. 

Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism by Laura E. Gómez

“Race isn’t real, but racism is.” This is the thesis statement of Inventing Latinos. Published just before the United States’s controversial 2020 Census, Gómez presents a macro-level overview “the how and why of Latinx identity becoming a distinctive racial identity.” She starts with the legacies of Spanish colonization and American imperialism, the effects of which still echo today. She explores the complexity of racial identity with the mestizaje population, racially mixed people with Indigenous, Spanish, and African ancestry. She also discusses discrimination faced by Latinx Americans, particularly in schools, and that Latinx populations are often treated as a “buffer” group between White and Black populations in the United States. Gómez ends an overview of Trump-era policies steeped in anti-Latinx racism, and argues to list Latino/a/x as a race rather than an ethnicity on future censuses. While not everyone agrees with Gómez on this matter, this academic overview of Latinx identity contains important (if dry at times) information. 

A Land of Books: Dreams of Young Mexihcah Word Painters by Duncan Tonatiuh

Before the arrival of Europeans, Mesoamerica was an amoxtlalpan – a “land of books.” A young Mexihcah (Aztec) girl tells her little brother about the process of making books (amoxtin) to her younger brother, starting with their tlahcuilohqueh parents – painters of words. She describes the process, from creating paper pulp from tree bark and dyes from plants and insects to paint the books. The book informs readers about Mexihcah culture, including education, literacy, and religion. Nahuatl words are used throughout the text, with a glossary and pronunciation guide in the back. This picture book has beautiful illustrations, done in the Pre-Columbian style inspired by Indigenous Mesoamerican art. A detailed author’s note talks about the history of Mexihcah codices (of which only 15 remain) and the importance of preserving Indigenous art. 

Fiction

Cuba in my Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas

After the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion solidifies Fidel Castro’s power in Cuba, twelve-year-old Cumba lives in fear. Fear of executions, fear of whispering neighbors, and fear of the soldier who seems to track his every footstep. In danger of being recruited into Young Rebels, and eventually military service, Cumba’s family decides to send him to the United States. After reaching Miami, Cumba must contend with not knowing English, strange food, and most of all, missing his family. He gradually adjusts to life in the United States, sharing Prima Benita’s house with two other teenage refugees. He deeply misses home, and struggles to hold out hope that his family will join him in the U.S. in the future. 

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez

In this Bolivian-inspired fantasy, Ximena was left orphaned after the Llascan revolt leveled her home and forced Illustrians like herself out of La Ciudad. After the revolt, Ximena was plucked out of the rubble due to her resemblance to the last surviving Illustrian royal, the condesa Catalina. For ten years Ximena has acted as Catalina’s decoy, and only Catalina’s inner circle knows the truth. When the Llascan king Atoc demands the condesa’s hand in marriage, it is Ximena’s duty to go to the capital in her place. Yet she has no plans to see herself or Catalina married. Thirsty for revenge, she will spy and search for the Estrella, a mysterious artifact that Atoc used to summon an army of ghosts during the revolt. Using her gift to spin thread from moonlight, Ximena sends messages hidden in tapestries back to Catalina. Yet as she comes to know the Llascans around her – and the mysterious vigilante, El Lobo – she begins to question her mission. Atoc is too dangerous to remain on the throne, but is Catalina really the queen that they need?

Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories, edited by Yamile Saied Méndez and Amparo Ortiz

A black wolf with red eyes stalks a high school bully. Death welcomes a girl into her home. A girl raised as a vampire hunter prepares for the fight of her life. Our Shadows Have Claws is an anthology of fifteen different monster stories set across Latin America and the Latinx Diaspora. Despite what the title suggests, these are not all horror stories. Some are romance, some are heartwarming, and some will make you shiver when you hear something go “bump” in the night. Themes of racism and colorism are woven throughout; environmentalism, heritage, and finding home are other important themes. All but one of the stories star girls, but each lead character must face their fears to protect their loved ones, themselves, or just to discover who they are. “Beware the Empty Subway Car” by Maika and Maritza Moulite was my favorite, the story of a hidden lougarou who suddenly wants to be seen. If you like supernatural stories, there’s something for everyone in this collection. 

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Jazz Age is in full swing, and Casiopea Tun has dreams – dreams of driving an automobile, swimming in the Pacific, and dancing fast in nightclubs. She has no way of chasing those dreams, living as her grandfather’s servant following the death of her Mayan father. She thinks she must simply wait for the old man to die before she can leave her small town on the Yucatán Peninsula…until she opens a mysterious box and accidentally frees a Mayan god of death from imprisonment. Hun-Kamé once reigned over the underworld Xibalba, until his treacherous brother beheaded him and scattered his eye, ear, finger, and jade necklace across Mexico. Hun-Kamé’s and Casiopea’s fates are now tied together, and she must help him retrieve what has been stolen from him. Their time is short – the bond between them drains Casiopea’s life and threatens Hun-Kamé’s godhood. Together, they travel across Mexico and face challenges Casiopea has only read about in books. A gorgeous fairytale, rich with Mayan mythology. 

My Papi Has a Motorcycle / Mi papi tiene una moto by Isabel Quintero. Illustrated by Zeke Peña. 

Daisy loves riding around town with her Papi on his motorcycle. Like a streaking comet, they fly through the neighborhood. Daisy can see how her city is changing: Don Rudy’s Raspados has shut down; new homes are being built where citrus groves once stood. Yet Daisy knows that, no matter how much her city changes, it will always be a part of her, just like her father’s love. With a beautiful palette of sunset colors, this picture book tells the story of a neighborhood gentrifying, but the strong sense of community binding it together. Published concurrently in Spanish and English, Spanish words are sprinkled throughout the English version. 

And for girls with dads with motorcycles, this hits straight home.