Sept. 15 kicks off Latino/a/x Heritage Month, and we’ve compiled a list of books that share the stories and experiences of the Latino/a/x community. Add one or more to your reading list – all are available for checkout at Meyer Library.
Book Recommendations
“Mexican Gothic,” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
“Mexican Gothic” is a feminist Gothic novel by Mexican writer Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Set in 1950s Mexico City and the burned-out mining town of El Triunfo, this thrilling novel tells the story of Noemí Taboada, an aspiring anthropologist, who goes to El Triunfo to rescue her cousin Catalina from an evil family with a long-held secret.
“For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts: A Love Letter to Women of Color,” by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez
In “For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts,” author Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez offers wisdom and advice to women of color. She encourages Brown girls to tell their own stories to decolonize world views and defy white narratives. Her book guides women of color toward a sense of pride and sisterhood and offers essential tools to energize a movement.
“My Broken Language: A Memoir,” by Quiara Alegría Hudes
This Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and co-writer of “In the Heights” tells her coming-of-age story against the backdrop of an ailing Philadelphia barrio, with her sprawling, love-and-trouble-filled Puerto Rican family as a collective muse.
“Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity,” by Paola Ramos
In this empowering travelogue, activist Paola Ramos embarks on a journey to find the communities of people defining the controversial term, “Latinx.” She meets the indigenous Oaxacans who rebuilt the main street in a post-industrial town in upstate New York, the “Las Poderosas” who fight for reproductive rights in Texas, the musicians in Milwaukee whose beats reassure others of their belonging, as well as drag queens, environmental activists, farmworkers, and the migrants detained at the border. Drawing on intensive field research as well as her own personal story, Ramos chronicles how “Latinx” has given rise to a sense of collectivity and solidarity among Latinos.
“Living Beyond Borders: Growing up Mexican in America,” edited by Margarita Longoria
In this mixed-media collection of short stories, personal essays, poetry, and comics, a celebrated group of authors share the borders they have crossed, the struggles they have pushed through, and the two cultures they navigate as Mexican Americans.
“Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora,” edited by Saraciea J. Fennell
A group of award-winning authors (as well as up-and-coming voices) interrogate the different myths and stereotypes about the Latinx diaspora. These fifteen original pieces delve into everything from ghost stories and superheroes to memories in the kitchen and travels around the world, to addiction and grief, to identity and anti-Blackness, to finding love and speaking your truth.