National Hispanic Heritage Month runs in the U.S. from September 15 to October 15, to recognize the histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic Americans. We’re just at the end of it, but I was inspired by a similar post on Goodreads and wanted to share some of my favorite books written by Hispanic or Latin American authors.
Favorite authors:
- Elizabeth Acevedo: While I wasn’t the biggest fan of Family Lore, I did love The Poet X and With the Fire on High, as well as Clap When You Land. Really, you can’t miss with her books, and she’s an excellent audiobook narrator as well.
- Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I’ve loved nearly everything I’ve read by this author, and she has quite a range of different types of books. She’s also a perfect read if you’re looking for Halloween related books. My favorites are Gods of Jade and Shadow, Certain Dark Things, and Signal to Noise, but gothic horror fans will also love Mexican Gothic, and I still need to read Silver Nitrate, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, and The Beautiful Ones.
- Isabel Allende: I prefer her older books to her more recent ones, but I highly recommend The House of the Spirits and Eva Luna. Paula, Maya’s Notebook and Zorro are also worth reading. She’s a prolific writer so there are plenty of other novels to choose from.
Recommended Fiction:
- The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
- The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
- What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez
- You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria
- The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova
- The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan (about Pablo Neruda)
Nonfiction:
- My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
- American Like Me edited by America Ferrera
- Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas
- In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
I hope you’ll be inspired to try something on this list. Please let me know if you agree or disagree with any of these selections, or add some recommendations of your own. I’m sure I’ve missed some good ones. I’ve added a number of books to my own TBR list based on the Goodreads list (linked above).
