Latinx Heritage Month is celebrated between September 15 and October 15 each year. To honor the occasion, we’ve rounded up new and upcoming 2020 books by Latinx authors for your TBR. These books represent a very small selection of the large body of incredible work done by Latinx authors, and we encourage readers to enjoy work from these authors not just this month, but all year long. Join us in celebrating, and dive in!
Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez
Set in Rosario, Argentina, this YA novel tracks Camila Hassan’s journey towards her dream. Camila’s parents don’t know that she spends all of her free time on the soccer field. They would never approve of her ambitions to earn an athletic scholarship to a North American university, or her hopes of one day playing for a professional team. When her local team qualifies for a South American soccer tournament, Camila must decide if she’s going to follow her parents’ rules or take a once-in-a-lifetime chance to forge her own path.
The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
Historical fiction readers will want this new novel from Chanel Cleeton at the top of their TBR piles. Cleeton weaves together the stories of three women in Key West in 1935 whose lives are changed by a deadly hurricane. While local Helen Berner dreams of leaving, Mirta Perez and Elizabeth Preston arrive with hopes of leaving the Keys better than when they arrived. Elizabeth comes from New York on a mission to help her family after they lost everything in the Wall Street crash, while Mirta is on her honeymoon and struggling to find balance between her growing attraction to the stranger she married and her fears about his business dealings.
The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa
Enemies find common ground in Mia Sosa’s latest romance. Years after being left at the altar, wedding planner Carolina Santos finds herself reluctantly teaming up with Max Hartley, her ex-fiancé’s brother, on a presentation that could change her life. She still hasn’t forgiven Max for the role he played in ruining her big day, but as they grow closer Lina starts to realize she may have misjudged him. In an interview with We Are Bookish earlier this year, Sosa shared the inspiration behind the book, the cover, and her love of writing about weddings.
Wayward Witch by Zoraida Córdova
The third and final book in the Brooklyn Brujas series is now on shelves! Between learning to manage her new powers and helping her family adjust to the return of her amnesiac father, Rose Mortiz has a lot on her plate. But life gets even more complicated when she’s dragged through a portal to a fairy realm hidden in the Caribbean Sea. Wayward Witch is only one of the new releases Zoraida Córdova has out this year, and readers will surely want to check out both Incendiary and Vampires Never Get Old.
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
This work of nonfiction is one of the buzziest of the year. In it, journalist Karla Cornejo Villavicencio shares the stories of undocumented immigrants across the country—from Latin American workers who cleaned up Ground Zero to families affected by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Throughout she weaves in her own experiences of coming to America from Ecuador as a child, her relationship with her parents, and her time attending Harvard. It’s a personal and powerful story that is not to be missed.
Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Chances are, Mexican Gothic is already on your radar (it’s definitely been on ours), and we want to make sure Untamed Shore is there as well. Published earlier this year, it’s Moreno-Garcia’s first thriller. Set in Baja California in 1979, Untamed Shore follows Viridiana as she gets to know three wealthy American tourists who are visiting for the summer. When one of them dies, she finds herself further drawn into their web and starts to believe that the remaining two are hiding dangerous secrets.
Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore
YA authors Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore teamed up to write this novel about two ex-best friends who reunite to win the Miss Meteor beauty pageant. The local pageant winners are always the same: thin, white, and blonde. Lita Perez and Chicky Quintanilla want to change that. In truth, Chicky’s never cared about the pageant, but when she learns that her bully is being called the favorite to win, she decides to do whatever it takes to help Lita win the crown. This tale of friendship and finding pride in who you are is sure to be a winner.
Afterlife by Julia Alvarez
After nearly 15 years, Julia Alvarez is back with a novel about a newly retired college English professor in the midst of grieving for her husband. Antonia Vega is struggling to cope with the sudden death of her husband Sam, as well as the disappearance of her older sister Izzy. As she attempts to move forward, she’s surprised to discover Estela, an undocumented pregnant teen, seeking shelter in her garage. Antonia, who is an immigrant herself from the Dominican Republic, grapples with the ideas of what we owe to ourselves and to others as she mourns her husband and begins to care for Estela.
Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras
Priscilla Oliveras transports readers to Key West in this enchanting romance. Sara Vance is en route to a family vacation and needs a replacement boyfriend and fast. Her family is already dismissive of her career as a social media influencer, and the last thing she needs is comments on her absentee boyfriend. Thankfully, local firefighter Luis Navarro is willing to step in to help. But as the days in the sun fly by, Sara finds that their fake relationship is resulting in very real feelings.
Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Raquel Vasquez Gilliland’s YA debut follows Artemisia “Sia” Martinez, a Mexican American 17-year-old living in a mostly white town in Arizona. Sia’s mother disappeared after an ICE raid three years ago, and ever since Sia has driven into the desert to leave candles that she prays will help guide her mother home. During one of her drives, strange lights appear in the sky and a spaceship carrying her mother crash lands in front of her car. With the help of Noah, new to town and making Sia’s heart skip beats, she sets out to save her mom.
The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa is one of the best books I have read this year. It was so good!