While some dates that the Internet celebrates seem bogus (National Burger Day, anyone?) we love spotlighting holidays like National Hispanic American Heritage Month. Taking place from September 15 to October 15, the month honors and recognizes Hispanic Americans who have helped make this country kinder, more compassionate, and all-around better.
Whether you’re part of the community or looking to learn more about the roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population that is, discovering these diverse cultures through great literature is one of the best ways to celebrate. Scroll on for our favorite reads — from instant classics to brand-new releases — that showcase the depth, diversity, and richness of the Hispanic American experience.
Read on for must-read books for your Hispanic American Heritage Month reading list!
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Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez
This mesmerizing novel is about a first-generation Ivy League art history student named Raquel who uncovers the genius work and mysterious death of a rising star artist from decades prior, drawing eerie parallels to the dynamics of her own privileged campus romance. It’s a book you won’t be able to put down and a stunning follow-up to her best-selling Olga Dies Dreaming.
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Tell It To Me Singing by Tita Ramírez
Monica Campo’s life is already undergoing a series of changes when her mom drops a bombshell on her when she has to have heart surgery. Pregnant with her first child, Monica isn’t sure what to think when her mom begins mumbling about an unknown man’s name.
The more her mom begins revealing, the more panicked Monica begins to feel. Instead of turning to her fiancé, she seeks refuge in the ex-boyfriend she was sure wouldn’t come back into her life. Little does Monica know, history has a habit of repeating itself.
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Mexican Gothic
One of TIME’S 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time, Mexican Gothic is set in glamorous 1950s Mexico with a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror. It follows a debutante named Noemí Taboada as she heads to a distant, isolated mansion in the countryside to rescue her newlywed cousin from a menacing aristocrat and the dark secrets of his family’s home.
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A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
Set during the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, this sweeping historical novel follows Roser, a pregnant young widow, and Victor Dalmau, an army doctor, as they flee General Franco’s fascist regime. To survive exile, the two enter into a marriage of convenience and embark on the SS Winnipeg — a ship chartered by poet Pablo Neruda — to build a new life in Chile. Spanning decades and continents, Isabel Allende weaves a deeply moving story of hope, resilience, and the true meaning of home.
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Oye by Melissa Mogollon
Luciana spends her time giving major side character energy in her Colombian-American family, but that changes when tragedy strikes. A devastating hurricane is on it’s way to Miami and it’s the one place her grandmother refuses to uproot herself from. Things are made even worse when Luciana’s grandmother’s learns her health is on the decline. This puts them in each other’s orbit in an unexpected way that makes Luciana feel grateful and annoyed at the same time.
When her grandmother starts revealing things about their family, Luciana begins finding her voice during conversations with her sister Mari.
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The House of Gardenias by Isabel Cañas
Debuting on September 29, this YA novel from gothic storyteller Isabel Cañas is set against a backdrop of political violence and revolution. It follows Minerva Treviño, a young maid who escapes a harsh life to work at a grand mountainside estate, only to discover that the ancient home harbors terrifying, bloodthirsty forces far darker than its cruel human residents.
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Plaintains and Our Becoming by Melania Luisa Marte
Melania Luisa Marte beautifully dives into her identity as an Afro-Latina woman in Plaintains and Our Becoming with no hesitation. She starkly points out the dictionary’s lack of recognition for those who acknowledging their Black and Latina heritages in a poetic way that makes you see life from her eyes.
She discusses everything from self-love to knowledge passed down from ancestors without missing a beat. Always intentional, Marte shows she’s not afraid to balance heavy topics with pride for who she is.
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Neruda on the Park by Cleyvis Natera
Tensions run high in the Guerrero family when their neighborhood in NYC is threatened with plans of fancier condos than the tenements that have been there for decades. As Eusebia and her daughter Luz clash over their differing opinions about this, the patriarch of the family continues building he and his wife’s dream retirement home.
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A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens by Raul Palma
Hugo Contreras has been struggling under the weight of his late wife’s hospital bills and doesn’t see an end to the madness. Somehow he manages to weave his way from his apartment to his job as a resident babaláwo in the midst of it all.Just when he thinks things can’t get any worse, Hugo gets a call from debt collector Alexi Ramirez. He’s Hugo’s enemy so nothing good can come from their conversation until Alexi reveals he’s requesting spiritual guidance.
Believing something is haunting his home, Alexi agrees to eradicate Hugo’s debt if he can get rid of the oppressive spirit. That sounds fair, but Hugo doesn’t really believe in what he does. It’s precisely why he’s caught off guard when his cunning ways are no match for what’s in Alexi’s home. Somehow Alexi failed to mention how bad the evil in his home is and it’s ready to have glorious fun with Hugo’s childhood memories.
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A Sunny Place for Shady People by Marian Enriquez
Mariana Enriquez introduces readers to 12 new terrifying stories where people encounter haunts and other spooky elements in A Sunny Place for Shady People. There’s a neighborhood that becomes the unfortunate playground for meddlesome ghosts, a forgotten hotel where a drowning victim’s unusual death won’t allow her to leave, and more.
Every page turn shines light on the grey area between right and wrong, making it harder to decipher who the true villains are.
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Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó Crucet
Lizet is the daughter of Cuban immigrants and attends a private university in the Northeast — something her family could never have dreamed of. But juggling her college experience with family drama back at home is difficult. The challenging dance of trying to balance two different cultures is all too real.
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The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Equal parts heartwarming and insightful, this book is a series of short stories, all told through a Latina girl named Esperenza, who is living in Chicago. People in Esperenza’s run-down town might have low expectations for the woman she will become, but she has bigger dreams for herself.
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When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmerelda Santiago
In this true story, Esmerelda Santiago writes about what it was like growing up in Puerto Rico. Spoiler alert: It was complicated. When her family uproots and moves to New York, she’s suddenly thrown into a whole new culture. Seeing what it is like for a child trying to navigate a new life in the US is truly eye-opening.
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Hollywood Notebook by Wendy Ortiz
Not all the books on this list are told through the eyes of a schoolgirl. In Hollywood Notebook, a 20-something living in LA invites readers into her world as she tackles relationships, family drama and trying to figure out how to become a functioning adult in a city she wants to adopt as her home.
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A Cup of Water Under My Bed by Daisy Hernández
This memoir not only tackles what it’s like to grow up as a Cuban-Colombian, but also what it’s like to grow up gay. Hernandez confesses her experiences finding a new community where she could freely be herself, without letting go of her roots.
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The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli
This novel is about Gustavo, a guy who collects teeth from famous people, like Virginia Woolf and Plato. Seriously. Gustavo takes readers on a voyage from Chicago to Mexico City. It’s a quirky plot, and you can’t help but get sucked in.
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Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
You knew this one was coming, right? If you escaped having to read it during your lunch box days, now’s the time to pick it up. The novel is about a young couple very much in love, but things fall apart and the woman in question marries someone else. But her beau will never give up on their love…
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Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
Get a glimpse at the (fictional) diary of a Latina high-school girl who definitely has her fair share of friend drama and family issues. She struggles to cope with her father’s drug addiction, the news that her close friend is pregnant and, of course, crushes. In the midst of it all, she discovers who she is, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch unfold.
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The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez
What is it like to leave Latin America and come to the US? This is one of the Hispanic Heritage Month books that shows you, plainly and profoundly. The voices vary, but what stays the same is the longing for keeping those you love close, no matter what comes.
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Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
When you’re assimilated to life in America, but your extended family has a very different life in Latin America, it can be a challenge to relate to them. For Lala, a teen who visits her grandmother every year in Mexico City, it’s hard for her to understand her grandmother’s life. Learning the truth is painful, but it’s something she must discover to, in turn, learn who she is.
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
This one is a best-seller for a reason: It’s both gripping and poetically written. All Oscar dreams of is becoming a famous writer and falling in love, but those dreams seem like a far cry from the reality of his mundane life in New Jersey, where he’s teased for being fat. In his sweet tone, Oscar tells the story of his Dominican-American family and shows that he will never give up on love.
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
For any teen, it’s your friends who shape you, and Aristotle and Dante are no exception. Both loners, they meet by chance and become fast friends. Though they are both 15, they’re very different from each other and it’s only by learning about each other that they learn even more about themselves.
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
After the unexpected death of her older sister, Olga, Julia is left to pick up the shattered pieces of her family. Under the scrutiny of her grieving mother, Julia now bears the weight of living up to her “perfect” sister. But was she really as perfect as she was made out to be? With the help of her best friend and boyfriend, Julia seeks to dive below her sister’s polished surface.
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The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende
Across time and continents, “The Wind Knows My Name” delves into the tales of two children thrust into unfamiliar territories by the historic perils faced in their homelands. Despite the generational gap that separates them, Samuel, a resilient six-year-old who fled Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938 without his parents, and Anita, a blind 7-year-old escaping El Salvador amidst the backdrop of the 2019 family separation policy, find their stories intertwined by an uncanny thread of fate.
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This post has been updated.
