Hispanic Heritage Month - Teen Reads

Since 1988 the United States has celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th. National Hispanic Heritage month celebrates the history, culture, and important contributions of people whose ancestors and families come from Spain, Mexico, and many other Spanish-speaking nations in the Caribbean, Central, and South America.

Below, you'll find some great reads starring Hispanic characters (most written and/or illustrated by great Hispanic people) perfect for teens in grades 7 through 12. 

 

7th & 8th Grade:

 
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Cover Image of "Woven in Moonlight" by Isabel Ibanez
 
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Cover Image of "Don't Ask Me Where I'm From" by Jennifer De Leon
 
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Cover Image of "Disappeared" by Francisco X. Stork
 
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Cover Image of "Salty, Bitter, Sweet" by Mayra Cuevas
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Cover Image of "Blanca and Roja" by Anna-Marie McLemore
 
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Cover Image of "Tigers, Not Daughters" by Samantha Mabry 

With a Star in My Hand: Rubén Darío, Poetry Hero by Margarita Engle

  • A novel in verse about the life and work of Rubén Darío, a Nicaraguan poet who started life as an abandoned child and grew to become the father of a new literary movement. 

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez

  • 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.

Don't Ask Me Where I'm From by Jennifer De Leon

  • Liliana Cruz does what it takes to fit in at her new nearly all-white school, but when family secrets come out and racism at school gets worse than ever, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.

Disappeared by Francisco X. Stork

  • Four months ago Sara Zapata's best friend, Linda, disappeared from the streets of Juarez, and ever since Sara has been using her job as a reporter to draw attention to the girls who have been kidnapped by the criminals who control the city. (Make sure to check out the sequel: Illegal)

Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas

  • A driven 17-year-old girl whose family life has fallen apart after the death of her Cuban abuela and the divorce of her parents turns to a kitchen apprenticeship in Lyon, France, as the only means to bring order back to her life.

Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

  • Profoundly different sisters Blanca and Roja del Cisne, who know that due to a family curse, they are tied to a flock of swans, and one day one will become a swan while the other remains human, become involved with two local boys.

Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry 

  • Three sisters in San Antonio are shadowed by guilt and grief over the loss of their oldest sister, who still haunts their house

 

9th & 10th Grade:

  
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Cover Image of "Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything" by Raquel Vaquez Gilliland 
  
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Cover Image of "The Last 8" by Laura Pohl  
 
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Cover Image of "The Education of Margot Sanchez" by Lilliam Rivera
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Cover Image of "Five Midnights" by Ann Davila Cardinal
 
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Cover Image of "Incendiary" by Zoraida Cordova
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Cover Image of "Running" by Natalia Sylvester

The New David Espinoza by Fred Aceves

  • Obsessed with the idea that he is not muscular enough and tired of being bullied, David, age seventeen, begins using steroids, endangering his relationships with family and friends.

Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vaquez Gilliland 

  • Artemisia (Sia) Martinez's mother was deported to Mexico by ICE and disappeared in the Sonoran Desert trying to make it back to her American family; Sia believes that she was as-good-as murdered by ICE and the sheriff in their small Arizona town on the edge of the national park, and wants revenge.

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl  

  • After an alien attack devastates the Earth, pilot and future astronaut Clover Martinez bands with seven other teens in a struggle to survive. (Make sure to check out the sequel: The First 7)

The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

  • Margot Sanchez is paying off her debts by working in her family's South Bronx grocery store, but she must make the right choices about her friends, her family, and Moises, the good looking but outspoken boy from the neighborhood.

Five Midnights by Ann Davila Cardinal

  • Lupe Dávila and Javier Utierre try to solve a series of grisly murders sweeping through Puerto Rico before the killer catches up with them. (Make sure to check out the sequel: Category 5)

Incendiary by Zoraida Córdoba

  • Set in a lush world inspired by Inquisition-era Spain, a hotly anticipated fantasy epic follows the experiences of a kidnapped memory thief whose freedom is compromised by those who blame her for her role in a massacre. (Look out for a sequel to Incendiary in 2021)

Running by Natalia Sylvester

  • When fifteen-year-old Cuban American Mariana Ruiz's father runs for president, Mari starts to see him with new eyes. A novel about waking up and standing up, and what happens when you stop seeing your dad as your hero-while the whole country is watching.

         

        11th & 12th Grade:

          
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        Cover Image of "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez 
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        Cover Image of "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
         
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        Cover Image of "We Are Not From Here" by Jenny Torres Sanchez
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        Cover Image of "Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots" by Margarita Engle 
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        Cover Image of "Clap When You Land" by Elizabeth Acevedo
           
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        Cover Image of "We Set The Dark on Fire" by Tehlor Kay Mejia

        Barely Missing Everything by Matt Mendez

        • Three Mexican-Americans--Juan, JD, and Fabi--each try to overcome their individual struggles as they all grapple with how to make a better life for themselves when it seems like brown lives don't matter

           I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez 

          • Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. 

          They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

          • In a near-future New York City where a service alerts people on the day they will die, teenagers Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day.

          We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez

          • Pulga has his dreams. Chico has his grief. Pequeña 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. 

          Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots by Margarita Engle 

          • In early 1940s Los Angeles, Mexican Americans Marisela and Lorena work in canneries all day then jitterbug with sailors all night with their zoot suit wearing younger brother, Ray, as escort until the night racial violence leads to murder. 

          Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

          • Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people... In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal's office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

          We Set The Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

          • When she is asked to spy for a resistance group working to bring equality to Medio, Daniela Vargas, a student at the Medio School for Girls, questions everything she's worked for. (Make sure to check out the sequel: We Unleash the Merciless Storm)

          For even more great titles for young readers in 9th through 12th grade click here.

             

            By LiselyL on August 25, 2020