50+ book recommendations for the Latinx Book Bingo | Latinx Heritage Month 2021

~ Sofia @ BookishWanderess
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Hi everyone! Today, I’m bringing a super exciting post that it’s a bit late this year. In this post, I’m recommending books for the 2021 Latinx Book Bingo.

The three previous years I have written really long posts with 90 book recommendations, 100 book recommendations , and 170 book recommendations, but a lot of the books were books that I haven’t read yet, so this year I decided to do something a little bit different. I’m recommending 50+ books by Latinx authors that I have read, enjoyed and that I think you should read. I provide recs for each square in the bingo board, I share a short synopsis of the book and I added information like the genre of the books and the kind of rep they have, so you know if it works for more than one prompt in the bingo board. If you need more options or recommendations, you can always check out the lists from previous years.

If you would like to support me or compensate the work I put into running the Latinx Book Bingo each year and making recommendation lists that take a lot of work (it’s not necessary or expected, but if you want to), you could buy me a Ko-fi. 

Set in Latam

  • Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez:  A YA Contemporary about a girl who is fighting for her dream of being a soccer player despite having to deal with a lot of sexism even from her own family. It has Argentinian rep  and it’s set in Argentina
  • Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo: A YA Contemporary about two sisters that didn’t know theo ther existed until their father dies in a plane crash. Afrolatinx protagonists & author and it’s mostly set in Domican Republic.
  • Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: an adult horror book about a young woman who has to go to a creepy house in the middle of nowhere that it’s inhabited by creepy people who are keeping dark secrets to save her cousin. It has Mexican rep and it’s set in Mexico
  • Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno- Garcia: Adult Fantasy about a young woman who saves the Mayan god of death but ends up tying her fate to his by mistake and has to help him to save herself. It has Mexican rep and it’s set in Mexico.

Name in the Title

Non-fiction

Backlist title

  • Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Sosa: a YA Fantasy about a group of teens trying to pull off a quest that may cost them their lives. it has ace rep, bisexual rep, fat rep and anxiety rep.
  • Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera: A YA Contemporary about a queer Puerto Rican woman who spends a summer in Portland as an intern to a hippy white woman. It has Puerto Rican rep and lesbian rep.
  • Acting on Impulse by Mia Sosa:  Adult Romance about a physical trainer and a Hollywood star falling in love. It has Puerto Rican rep, and Afro-latinx main character and author.
  • Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova: YA Urban Fantasy about a teenage bruja who wants to get rid of her magic and ends up banishing her family to a magical land and has to rescue them. It has Ecuadorian rep, and an f/f romance

Afro-Latinx

  • By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery: a YA contemporary story abouy a young man who is trying to save the bee farm his beloved uncle left him after his death while trying to start a new life at college. It has Brazilian rep, and an Afro-latinx mc & author.
  • The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo: a YA Contemporary about a girl who joind her school’s slam poetry club behind her mother’s back because in a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent. It has Dominican rep and it’s a backlist title.
  • Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older: a Middle Grade Fantasy about a group of kids living in an alternative reality where there are Dinasours in New York during the Civil War. This has afrolatinx rep and it’s a backlist title.
  • Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson YA Paranormal about a girl who resurrects her best friend and 2 other girls from her school using witchcraft  to prove that they were murdered, but they only have 7 days to do it. it has Mexican rep, fat rep, Afro-Latinx mc & author and it’s a backlist title.

Intersectional MC

  • Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore: a YA story about a girl who enters a beauty pageant and asks her ex- best friend for help. To pull off the unlikeliest underdog story in pageant history, they have to imagine a future where girls like them are more than enough. It as fat rep, pansexual rep and trans rep.
  • When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez: a YA Contemporary story abut two girls, who are classmates and who are dealing with depression in very different ways. It has depression rep and it’s a backlist title.
  • Analee, in Real Life by Janelle Milanes YA Contemporary about a girl dealing with the death of her mother and the popular boy who asks her to be his fake girlfriend and coax her out of her comfort zone. It has Cuban rep, social anxiety rep and it’s a backlist title.
  • More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera: a story about a teen who is struggling with family tragedy and with things about himself that he wants to forget, and a memory-alteration procedure that might be the solution. It has gay rep,, Puerto Rican rep, and it’s a backlist title.

Translated book

  • Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica: an adult horror book about an alternative reality where cannibalism is socially accepted and it explores the industry of human meat. It has Argentinian rep and it’s set in Argentina.
  • Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel: a classic about a woman who isn’t allowed to marry because she has to look after her mother until she dies, but she falls in love and her lover marries her sister to stay close to her. It has Mexican rep, it’s set in Mexico and it’s a backlist title.
  • The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende: a classic magical realism book about three generations of the Trueba family, a story that addresses the personal lives of this family and big political events in Chilean history.  It has Chilean rep, it’s set in Chile and it’s a backlist title.
  • City of Clowns by Daniel Alarcon: a graphic novel about a young Peruvian journalist fwho has to confront the idea of his father’s other family after his death while chronicling the life of street clowns in Lima. It has Peruvian rep, it’s set in Peru and it’s a backlist title.

Rec’d by a Latinx Reader (my recommendations!)

  • Land of Cranes
  • Lobizona by Romina Garber: A YA Fantasy about a girl who is an undocumented immigrant and she has a distinctive eye color, which ends up connecting her to a secret magical world of lobizones (werewolves) and witches. It has Argentinian Rep.
  • You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria: an adult romance about a soap opera star and a Telenovela star, who have to work together in a tv show for the biggest streaming service in the country and end up falling in love. It has Puerto Rican Rep.
  • Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar a middle grade contemporary about a little girl whose dad gets deported and, later on, her and her pregnant mom are also taken into a deportation facility. it has Mexican rep.
  • Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova: A YA fantasy about a girl who has a magical ability that makes her feared and that has to infiltrate the palace in her kingdom to help a group of rebels that wants to save her people from persecution.

Queer Rep

  • Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: A YA fantasy about a trans boy and a ghost who are trying to solve a murder mystery and end up falling in love. It has latinx and trans rep and a m/m relationship.
  • When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore: A Magical Realism story about two best friends, a trans boy who loves the moon and a Latina who grows roses from her hands, and how they face their struggles while falling in love. It has latinx and trans rep and it’s a backlist title.
  • They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera: A YA Sci-fi story set in a world where people know when they are going to die and two teens decide to spend their last day together. It has gay rep, OCD & anxiety rep, Puerto Rican and Cuban American Rep. It has an intersectional mc and it’s a backlist title.
  • Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro: a YA Fantasy about a girl who has to listen and ,magically absorbe the stories of the people of her town that may produce bad feels because if she doesn’t the stories manifest themselves as monsters. It has a f/f relationship.

Song Title

For this prompt, you can chose a book with a title that has the word “song” in it, or a title that it’s the same as the name of a song or it’s the same as song lyrics.

  • Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera: A YA retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, it deals withe mental illness, toxic realtionships and trauma. It has Puerto Rican Rep.
  • Dance All Night by Alexis Daria: romance novella about a broadway start and a dancer who works for a tv dance competion falling in love.
  • We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia: A YA Fantasy about a young woman forced to help a rebelious group to save herself, who learns to stand up for what she believes in. It has a f/f romance.
  • Pride by Ibi Zoboi: A YA retelling of Pride and Prejudice that focuses on gentrification. It has Haitian-Dominican Rep and it’s a backlist title.

Author’s debut

  • Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz: a YA Fantasy about a group of teens who are representing Puerto Rico in the Blazewrath games, which is an international sports tournament where teams of dragons and humans compete. It has Puerto Rican rep.  
  • Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega: A Middle Grade Fantasy about two girls who accidentally awaken malicious spirits and have to team up with a grandma and a cat to save their town. It has Dominican rep.
  • The Dream Weaver by Reina Luz Alegre: a Middle Grade Contemporary about a girl who has to go live with her grandfather and ends up joining a bowling team and trying to save here grandpa’s bowling alley. It has Cuban Rep.
  • American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera: Adult Romance about the owner of a food truck and a nerdy librarian who fall in love. It has a Afro-Latinx main character and author, it has gay rep and it’s a backlist title.

Any book by a Latinx author

  • His Perfect Partner by Priscilla Oliveras: this is an adult romance about a single dad and his daughter’s dance teacher. It has Puerto Rican & Mexican Rep and it’s a backlist title.
  • Nocturna by Maya Motayne: A YA Fantasy about a thief and a prince who have to work together to save their kingdom after freeing an ancient evil power. This is Dominican inspired.
  • Category Five by Ann Davila Madrigal:  A YA Horror about about teenagers who get involved with a supernatural mystery involving ghosts. It has Puerto Rican Rep and it’s set in Puerto Rico.
  • With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo: A YA Contemporary about a teen mom fighting for her dream of becoming a chef while falling in love with a cute guy. It has Puerto Rican rep.

Indie Published

  • The Infamous Miss Rodriguez by Lydia San Andres: Adult Historical Romance about a rebellious Afrolatinx heroine and an Argentinian hero. It’s set in the Caribbean, it has a Afrolatinx protagonist and it’s a backlist title.
  • Peluda by Melissa Lozada-Olivia: a poetry collection about the link between femininity, body hair, the immigrant experience and Latina identity. The author is Guatemalan-Colombian.

2021 Release

This is the only category where I’m recommending books that I haven’t read, because the 2021 releases that I have read are either sequels or I didn’t love them enough to recommend them. So what I’m going to do is mention the 2021 releases that are not part of a series and that I can’t wait to read.

I hope this post is useful to everyone participating in the Latinx Book Bingo or to anyone who wants to read more books by Latinx authors!
Are you participating in the Latinx Book Bingo? Have you picked the books for your tbr?
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Published by Sofia @ BookishWanderess

11 thoughts on “50+ book recommendations for the Latinx Book Bingo | Latinx Heritage Month 2021”

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