Spanning from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Hispanic Heritage Month is a celebration of Latinx and Hispanic communities across the United States, recognizing the rich histories and myriad achievements of their people. The significance of its midmonth start is to encompass the Independence Days of Belize, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
While this heritage month uplifts the contributions, triumphs, and breakthroughs of Hispanic and Latinx people in all areas of life from the arts and sciences to politics and activism and beyond, in this guide, we are shining a light on 10 incredible books by Latinx authors to enjoy this month and always. Each one beautifully interweaves levity and humor with the complications of personal and cultural history. We hope you can also take your support one step further by purchasing from a Latinx- or Hispanic-owned bookstore, too.
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1‘The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories’ by Mariana Enriquez
If you've read and loved Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body and Other Parties, pick this one up next. This surrealist, folkloric, and pretty damn dark collection of short stories is just the thing we want to pick up when the air begins to turn crisp again.
Mariana Enriquez's 12 tales of sex, death, and sociopolitical strife take place in current-day Argentina, vividly setting the stage for an unforgettable reading experience.
This kaleidoscopic family saga spans five generations of women hailing from Cuba, Mexico, Texas, and Miami. It details the trauma of displacement and the hard choices that these women have made at pivotal moments in order to protect themselves and their loved ones.
With a little overlapping between perspectives, it is truly like reading multiple books in one.
This otherworldly YA novel is a gripping story following Marisol, a Salvadoran girl beset with grief and terror following the murder of her brother. In order to keep her sister from the same fate, they flee together to the United States.
The only way they can live safely as undocumented citizens is by Marisol taking part in an experimental procedure in which she absorbs the grief of another to keep inside of her own body.
Set in the mid-’60s, this coming-of-age story follows Ana Cancion, a Dominican teenager whose life is changed forever when she marries the much older Juan, who will give her a new life in New York City. While far from being her dream, it is her family’s only escape route amidst the political turmoil of their home country.
With the help and encouragement of Juan's brother Cesar, Ana reckons with her loneliness and fear of the unknown — she gradually begins to embrace her home in Washington Heights, exercising newfound independence that she never knew was possible.
5‘I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter’ by Erika L. Sánchez
Living under the weight of familial and cultural standards is hard enough, but the sudden death of a sibling — the one who was the shining star at home — is earth-shattering.
This novel story follows Julia, a misfit grappling with both the grief of losing Olga and the expectation to be the perfect Mexican daughter that she has no interest or intention of being. However, she later learns that putting her sister on a pedestal does not, in fact, do her memory justice.
6‘The House of Impossible Beauties: A Novel’ by Joseph Cassara
Lyrical, vivacious, and heartrending, Joseph Cassara’s debut novel is set during the ’80s Harlem ballroom scene. It follows Angel, a newcomer to the drag and ballroom culture, who is enchanted by the fierce strength and style of the community and determined to create a space of her own.
Along with her love Hector, they form an all-Latinx house, cultivating an essential support system and family for those who are left without one.
It's hard when we just want to be OK with ourselves, and the world just won't let that happen. Charlie Vega knows she's awesome, creative, and talented, so it really sucks that she lives in a society (and with a mother) that's so fatphobic.
When she starts a flirtation with her cute classmate Brian and starts to think that she has everything in her life under control for once, she soon learns that he actually asked out her best friend first! This coming-of-age story will make you feel all the feels — readers love its message of self-love above all.
Camila Hassan lives under her parents' oppressive thumb, but on the fútbol field, she becomes La Furia, a formidable talent that cannot be stopped. She's living a double life, and to complicate things further, her former love Diego just returned from his fútbol career in Italy, and things between them just can't be the way they were before.
In order to achieve her dream of leaving home in Argentina to play in North America, Camila will need to face her fears to break free of the pressure that holds her back.
A brilliant addition to the gothic horror genre, Mexican Gothic is as grim and unsettling in tone as it is lush with detail. Noemí Taboada is summoned by a frightening message from her newlywed cousin to a mysterious home in the Mexican countryside called High Place — an estate belonging to her husband's English family.
Winding through the inhospitable home, sensing that much long-buried violence occurred there, and confronting the lies the family tells about the provenance of their estate, Noemí finds herself repelled and seduced by the house's otherworldly aura.
There is a unique tension in having a church-centric upbringing while discovering your own queerness. This witty, irreverent, and bilingual read follows Francisca, who's recently immigrated from Colombia to Miami, as she falls for the pastor's daughter, Carmen. This book deftly balances the grief and lightness of life in such a vivid way.
Melanie YatesSenior Home Decor EditorMelanie is the senior home decor editor of Best Products, where she's been researching and testing out home and bedding products since 2015 — her work can also be found on House Beautiful and Women's Health.
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