Latina Authors You Need to Check Out For Hispanic Heritage Month

As a Puerto Rican woman, I am proud to represent everything Boricua from our choice in music, to the food I cook, to even the books I read. Want to join me in celebrating the accomplishments of Latin women in the US? You can also be there in the front row with me supporting Latina women this upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month.

Similar to Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and credits contributors from Spanish speaking countries like: South America, Central America, Mexico, Spain, and Spanish-speaking nations in the Caribbean in science, music, political and social reform, as well as authors.

While there are many Hispanic actors and singers we can probably name off the top of our head, check out the list below for Latina authors you will want to read.  

hispanic heritage monthYou Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria

Alexis Daria has written another successful Rom-Com with Latinx characters. If you are a fan of the hit show “Jane the Virgin” or “The Kiss Quotient”, you will love this book. Jasmine Lin Rodriguez finds herself all over the tabloids after a messy breakup. She returns home to New York City for a new project, but how far will she go for success?

 

 

 

 

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

Growing up in the countryside of the Dominican Republic, “Dominicana” is about 15-year-old Ana Cancion deciding between her heart and her duty to her family. She moves to New York City engaged to a man twice her age, but she manages to swiftly escape political turmoil in her home country, so does love really matter when it comes to happiness? 

The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

Did you know that award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author, Diana Gabaldon, is of English and Mexican-American descent, making her Latina? She also has a Ph.D. in Ecology, like no big deal. There are 8 books in the Outlander series with book #9 currently being written. Follow the adventures of Claire Randall and James Fraser on paper or the hit television adaptation on Starz.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel CleetonNext Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Originally from Florida, author Chanel Cleeton grew up to stories of her family’s hardships in Cuba following the Cuban Revolution. “Next Year in Havana” is the story of a fellow Cuban-American woman, Marisol Ferrera, traveling to Cuba to spread her grandmother’s ashes, but unveils a dark family secret. Marisol falls for a local man with plenty of secrets of his own. Will the past stop Marisol from discovering her future? Check out Chanel’s other books “When We Left Cuba” and “The Last Train to Key West.”

 

 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican by birth and Canadian by livelihood, Silvia Moreno-Garcia takes her audience on a gothic yet suspenseful journey to Mexico in 1950. Noemi Taboada receives a letter from her newlywed cousin, but is newlywed life all cracked up as the movies make it seem? There are horrible rumors of the marriage and household, yet Noemi thinks the opposite. Will her family be put ahead of personal desires? 

latina authorClap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

New York Times American Dominican bestselling author is probably best known for her novels “The Poet X” and “With the Fire on High” and is back with another masterpiece. “Clap When You Land” is a story about 2 girls, Camino and Yahaira, finding each other in the midst of their grief. A major aircraft crash brings Camino and Yahaira together despite having never met. While going through their own personal struggles, will these two came out of the darkness or come crashing down on their own?

  

We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez

Former English teacher, Jenny Torres Sanchez, takes her readers on a gut-wrenching adventure of desperation, escape, and utter survival on the US-Mexican border. Three teens escape to the border from their own battleground in Guatemala hoping to find freedom and their lives. This powerful novel is inspired by real and current events. 

hispanic heritage monthI Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez

This powerful and incredibly relatable novel by Erika L. Sanchez tells the story of a young girl, Julia, breaking stereotypical norms of what is expected of a daughter. After experiencing tragic grief, can Julia ever really live up to her family’s  expectations of the ‘perfect daughter?’

 

 

 

Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher

How far would you go to find peace and sanctuary? That is the journey Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher take readers in a futuristic version of America set in 2032. Everyone is tracked, there are sanctuary states in America, and there are Deportation Raids occurring frequently. How can Vali and her brother survive in the America they were promised freedom?

Have any other favorites? Let us know in the comments and check out one of these novels during Hispanic Heritage Month – September 15th to October 15th.
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This Southern Belle has lived in Mid-Michigan with her husband Matt and dog Vader for a few years. They welcomed their first heavenly and saintly baby girl, Lynn Sofia, in May 2020 and are expecting a boy in August. Rebeca is a degreed bilingual meteorologist and has graduated with her Master's Degree in Applied Sciences from Mississippi State (the other MSU). When she is not blogging, you can probably catch Rebeca at a local BWW, reading a book outside when the weather is nice, or eating finding a local dive across Mid-Michigan.