Spring 2021 Latinx Book Releases

id: blog banner with blue wood background, it reads “Spring 2021 Latinx Book Releases” and as a subtitle it has my @ boricuareads. on the right hand side, there are hearts with the covers of different books that are on this list inside of them, rotated all around. the books in the hearts are: Fearless by Mandy Gonzalez, Migrant Psalms by Darrel Alejandro Holnes, Goddess of the Filth by V Castro, Latinitas by Juliet Menéndez, Toucania by Marianne Ferrer, Oculta by Maya Motayne, I’m a Wild Seed by Sharon Lee de la Cruz, Anchored Hearts by Priscilla Oliveras, The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Mediterranean Wall by Louis-Philippe Dalembert, Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Caela Rivera, and Your Mama by NoNieqa Ramos./end id

Hello! No weird hashtag this time, no summaries either, but still a quality list full of incredible releases written and/or illustrated by Latinx. I’ve been recovering from wisdom teeth surgery, which meant sacrificing my free time to healing instead of doing free labor. Though this quarter’s not as long as Spring lists usually are (they usually encompass May releases as well), that just means I’ll have enough time to plan out my Summer releases list and it’ll be a monster of a post.

This post encompasses books being released by Latinx writers and/or illustrators between February 15th, 2021 and April 30th, 2021. There are about 130 books in this list, which is divided by age range (Picture Books, Middle Grade, YA, Adult) and genre (Contemporary, SFF/Speculative Fiction, etc.) and organized by release date. Each book entry has its title (which is linked to Indiebound, Goodreads, or the Publisher’s website), author and/or illustrator, and release date. A Huge thank you to Latinx in Kidlit, their 2021 releases list for kidlit was incredibly helpful. Make sure to give them a follow as well.

Disclaimer: This compilation is by no means exhaustive or comprehensive; it only contains titles I’ve been able to find through extensive research. If you know of a book I didn’t list, or have a correction to make, don’t hesitate to let me know. I also add books at my own discretion, as I have no intention of boosting sexual harassers, racists, homophobes or transphobes, but if you noticed I slipped and added a book by someone who shouldn’t be here, let me know so I can take them out of the list. This list is in no way an endorsement of the contents of each book, as I don’t have the knowledge of what is in each and every book. All (or, at least almost all) links lead to indiebound.org as I am an Indiebound affiliate. Support your local bookstore!

2020 and 2021 in Reading: A Look Back and What’s Next

id: swirly sort of yellow and orange watercolor background with a cream-colored text box in the center, the black text reads “2020 & 2021 in reading – a look back and what’s next” /end id

2020: A Look Back

This year has been a whirlwind, and not in the whimsical way. From earthquakes to storms, all the way to a full-blown pandemic, 2020 was suffice to say, a rollercoaster. Even with all that, I somehow managed to read a lot this year. I ventured into audiobooks for the first time and enjoyed it, all while trying to wrangle my ever-growing TBR-pile. Let’s delve into what this year brought.

Winter ’20-’21 Latinx Reads

id: background of brown bricks with a a wooden sign pointing in four different directions in the foreground; the four directions are alternating red and blue and have different cities written on them: Chicago, Houston, San Juan, and Sao Paulo. One the top in a red banner is the title of the post “Winter ’20-’21 Latinx Reads List” and in smaller font in the bottom right of it is the handle @boricuareads.Scattered around the banner are the covers of A Sled for Gabo, Muted, Brown Trans Figurations, A Spy in the Struggle, Shaking Up the House, and Pedro’s Theory. /end id

40+ books to hunker down with for the winter, whether by a fireplace or by the beach

There are over 40 books on this list, which consists of books written and/or illustrated by Latinx that are being released between November 27th, 2020 and February 14th, 2021. Because it’s a shorter list, it will be divided by age category only (Picture Books, MG, YA, Adult). Each book has a link to its Indiebound (or Bookshop.org) page, the names of the author, illustrator, editor, or contributors, the release date, and a short description of the book in my own words (or copied and pasted from the back jacket copy). Each part is sorted by release date.

Disclaimer: This compilation is by no means exhaustive or comprehensive; it only contains titles I’ve been able to find through extensive research. If you know of a book I didn’t list, or have a correction to make, don’t hesitate to let me know. I also add books at my own discretion, as I have no intention of boosting sexual harassers, racists, homophobes or transphobes, but if you noticed I slipped and added a book by someone who’s been accused of harassment of any kind, let me know so I can take them out of the list. This list is in no way an endorsement of the contents of each book, as I don’t have the knowledge of what is in each and every book. All (or, at least almost all) links lead to indiebound.org as I am an Indiebound affiliate. Support your local bookstore!

Dimension 20’s Fantasy High Characters as YA Books

id: royal blue banner with black heaxagons in the background, the title of the post is at the top, and a picture of Riz Gukgak’s character art is on the left, a twirly arrow in the middle that points from riz to a blurred image of a book cover. at the bottom it says “created by Adriana @boricuareads“

Not many people might know that amidst the quarantines and lockdowns, this year I’ve gone down the rabbit hole and come out a giant fan of Dimension 20. Dimension 20 is CollegeHumor’s response to the rise of Actual Play Dungeons and Dragons shows, placing a group of talented comedians and improvisers playing a tabletop roleplay-game in front of cameras. The anthology series tackles different characters and settings per season, with the first one focusing on a group of first year students at a fantasy high school focusing on adventuring. The season is full of mysteries, discoveries, and teen angst, all while the comedians play as elves, half-orcs, gnomes, and more fantasy races. It’s a show close to my heart, which is why I decided to do a book recommendation post based on the core group of characters, also known as The Bad Kids, in the first season of Fantasy High. I’ve kept it to YA books for the characters, seeing as they would be the target audience of YA books. (All books link to Indiebound, which I’m an affiliate of. By clicking and buying through Indiebound links, you support independent bookstores and your local book blogger.)

#R9, or, the Fall Latinx Reads List featuring Cemetery Boys (Finally)

id: background of grey bricks with a computer monitor in the foreground. On the screen, simulating a Zoom call, it reads “#R9, or the Fall 2020 Latinx Reads List finally featuring Cemetery Boys”. Beneath that text, is a background of orange fall leaves. On the bottom of the screen are little windows with the covers of Never Look Back, If Dominican were a Color, Land of the Cranes, and Prime Deceptions. /end id

Fall has arrived somehow. Time is fake.

Some of the book releases in this list have been postponed by publishers, therefore this list is… ephemeral. But this one FINALLY has Cemetery Boys, so get off my back. It’s also Latinx Heritage Month season so yes I am here to wreck your TBRs.

There are over 90 books on this list, which consists of books written and/or illustrated by Latinx that are being released between September 1st and November 26th, 2020. As always, it will be divided by age category (Picture Books, MG, YA, Adult) as well as genre/subgenre such as SFF, Contemporary, etc. Each book has a link to its Indiebound page, the names of the author, illustrator, editor, or contributors, the release date, and a short description of the book in my own words. The only sections without handmade descriptions are the poetry and non-fiction ones, as they’re hard to describe, so I used descriptions from the jacket copy. Each part is sorted by release date.

Disclaimer: This compilation is by no means exhaustive or comprehensive; it only contains titles I’ve been able to find through extensive research. If you know of a book I didn’t list, or have a correction to make, don’t hesitate to let me know. I also add books at my own discretion, as I have no intention of boosting sexual harassers, racists, homophobes or transphobes, but if you noticed I slipped and added a book by someone who’s been accused of harassment of any kind, let me know so I can take them out of the list. This list is in no way an endorsement of the contents of each book, as I don’t have the knowledge of what is in each and every book. All (or, at least almost all) links lead to indiebound.org as I am an Indiebound affiliate.