Latinx Authors: Books for Teens

When sixth-grader Chela Gonzalez's father has a stroke and her grandmother moves in to help take care of the family, her world is turned upside down.

"Beatriz loves music. More than her school, more than her friends, and definitely more than her homework. After Beatriz discovers that her grandfather's soul is trapped in his guitar, she becomes determined to get him out. But the only way to free him is to play the perfect song... his perfect song, a song that he never actually wrote down. Fixated on freeing her grandfather, music slowly consumes Beatriz's life. She soon finds herself growing obsessed...

Alex is a baseball player. A great one. His papi is pushing him to go pro, but Alex maybe wants to be a poet. Not that Papi would understand or allow that. Isa is a dancer. She'd love to go pro, if only her Havana-born mom weren't dead set against it...just like she's dead set against her daughter falling for a Latino. And Isa's privileged private-school life-with her dad losing his job and her older brother struggling with mental illness-is falling...

Fifteen-year-old Verdad doesn't think she has time for love. She's still struggling to process the recent death of her best friend, Blanca; dealing with the high expectations of her hardworking Puerto Rican mother and the absence of her remarried father; and keeping everyone at a distance. But when she meets Danny, a new guy at school-who happens to be trans-all bets are off. Verdad suddenly has to deal with her mother's disapproval of her relationship...

Throughout her high school years, as her mother battles cancer, Lupita takes on more responsibility for her house and seven younger siblings, while finding refuge in acting and writing poetry. Includes glossary of Spanish terms.

Pulga has his dreams. Chico has his grief. Pequena has her pride. And these three teens have one another. But, none of them have illusions about the town they've grown up in and the dangers that surround them. Even with the love of family, threats lurk around every corner. And when those threats become all too real, the trio knows they have no choice but to run: from their country, from their families, from their beloved home. Crossing from Guatemala...

"Dani must question everything she's worked for as she learns about the corruption of the Median government"-- At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband's household or raise his children. Both paths promise a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela...

"Guatemalan-American high school senior Millie Vargas struggles to balance her family's needs with her own ambitions, especially after her mother's employer, a Senate candidate, uses Millie as a poster child for 'deserving' immigrants"--Provided by publisher.

Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena's motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight. When Atoc demands the real Condesa's hand in marriage, it's Ximena's duty to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Illustrian...