Off the Shelf: National Hispanic Heritage Month Time to Celebrate and Honor Hispanic American Writers
By Savanna Draper on September 11, 2024
National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually from September 15 to October 15 in the United States to recognize the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. Libraries nationwide use this month to celebrate and honor the great literary contributions of Hispanic American writers. We have hand-picked a few fiction novels written by 
Hispanic American authors for you to enjoy this month.
Hispanic American authors for you to enjoy this month.
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia was an instant New York Times Bestseller, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, and has been nominated for and won several awards. Written in 2021, this book has been described as a sweeping, masterful debut about a daughter's fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born.
How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is a Pura Belpré Award-winning young adult novel that's an irresistible romance starring a Mexican American teen, Moon Fuentez, who discovers love and profound truths about the universe when she spends her summer on a road trip across the country. Could this summer change Moon's life as she knows it?
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sa?nchez is a New York Times Bestseller and is a young adult novel about a teenager, Julia, coming to terms with losing her sister and finding herself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican American home. According to Julia, perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college, they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation, and they never abandon their family.
Afterlife by Julia Alvarez was voted the most anticipated book of 2020 by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vogue, Huffington Post, Library Journal, and many more. Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired when her husband suddenly dies, her sister disappears, and a teenager is dropped at her doorstep. Antonia has always sought direction in the literature she loves, but now she finds that the world demands more of her than words.
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli is a novel about a family whose road trip across America collides with an immigration crisis at the southwestern border. A mother and father set out with their two children driving from New York to Arizona in the heat of summer. Their destination: Apacheria, the place the Apaches once called home. This story is told through several compelling voices, blending texts, sounds, and images.
