Here Are Some Incredible Book Recs From 6 Latinx Authors

Book recommendations from Adam Silvera, Elizabeth Acevedo, and more!

To celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, BuzzFeed talked to six young adult authors to see what books they're reading and loving right now. Here's what they said!

1. Mark Oshiro, author of Each of Us a Desert

Zoraida Cordova / Via markoshiro.com, Bloomsbury / Swoon

Mark Oshiro is the author of the YA contemporary novel Anger Is a Gift and upcoming YA fantasy novel Each of Us a Desert about a girl's journey of finding home and falling in love.

What Mark recommends: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

You ever read a book you just know is gonna change lives? The emotional, hilarious, and at times gut-wrenching debut novel from Aiden Thomas, Cemetery Boys is groundbreaking not just in its subject matter — a queer and trans brujo — but in its execution. The pacing? The humor? The deep and layered characterization? It’s got everything. But I’ll keep coming back to the masterful work Thomas does with Yadriel, who summons a bad boy ghost he can’t get rid of. Yadriel is written with such gorgeous compassion and love, and you’ll most likely happy-cry your eyes out by the end of this magnificent book.

Mark also recommends: Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Back in January — truly another time and world — I read Never Look Back in a single sitting while visiting my second home in Hawai’i. I’d just lost one of the most important people in my life, and this book was a balm on my grieving heart. It’s a gorgeous reimagining of Orpheus and Eurydice, but set in the alternating worlds of the Bronx and Puerto Rico. At times, it was haunting and gut-wrenching to read, but Rivera captivated me by always leading me through the darkness with the light of her prose and storytelling. Absolutely one of the best books this year.

2. Isabel Ibañez, author of Written in Starlight

isabelibanez.com, Wednesday Books

Isabel Ibañez is the author of Woven in Moonlight and the upcoming Written in Starlight about an outcast Condesa determined to uncover the city of gold and retake her throne.

What Isabel recommends: Lobizona by Romina Garber

It is such an immersive story and it kept me reading all through the night. Manuela, an undocumented immigrant, has the soul of an explorer, wanting to see more of the world but forced to live in the confines of her small apartment in Miami. When her family is taken by ICE, Manuela begins a journey of discovery and learning, and ends up in a mysterious school. The story takes several magical turns, and soon the pages are filled with the extraordinary; werewolves and witches. The story feels timely, and clever, and rooted in Argentinian folklore. Highly recommend if you want to be swept off your feet.

3. Romina Garber, author of Lobizona

Drew Bordeaux / Via rominagarber.com, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers / Algonquin Young Readers

Romina Garber is the YA author of many books, but most recently Lobizona about a girl who finds a magical world straight out of Argentine folklore.

What Romina recommends: Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi

I’ve been itching to give a shoutout to Sara Saedi’s Americanized, which is SO good — it’s been optioned by Reese Witherspoon’s company, and I can’t wait to see what they do with it. It's #ownvoices at its best — a nuanced narrative so personal that it feels universal. Sara is so unapologetic about her identity that she weaves in lessons on Iranian history and corrects common stereotypes and misconceptions. Despite the heavy subject matter, the inner monologue had me laughing out loud, and at times cringing in relatable pain over world-ending issues like acne and unibrows and how to skip PE. Still, on every page, I feared for Sara and her family’s safety, and I feared even more for the undocumented families living in the US today, who inhale this fear with every breath. Sara includes useful resources at the end of the book for immigrants who want to know their rights and readers who want to learn more about immigration.

Romina also is eager to read: Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez.

It's about a rising soccer star who must put everything on the line — including parental approval and societal expectations and first love — to pursue her dreams. It’s a story about what happens when we dare to defy the expectations placed on us by our community, and our family, and ourselves. It’s about the bravery it takes to chase our passion across all kinds of borders. And for me, it’s about reading a story set in my homeland, with Argentine foods and expressions and traditions. I didn’t have books like these when I was a teen, but I am so thrilled for all the future generations who will read Camila Hassan’s story. This one comes out Sept. 15 and it's my most anticipated read!

4. Adam Silvera, author of Infinity Son

Elliot Knight / Via adamsilvera.com, Swoon Reads

Adam Silvera is a YA author of many books, most recently Infinity Son, a YA fantasy about two very different brothers who get caught in a magical war.

What Adam recommends: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas.

My newest obsession is Cemetery Boys by debut author Aiden Thomas. It's a paranormal romance about a brujo falling for the wrong ghost he accidentally summons while trying to solve the mystery of a loved one's death. As a gay Puerto Rican who loves magic, I would've loved to have grown up with this book that centers queer people of color in a fantasy novel. Yadriel is such a charming narrator and his trans identity elevates the story to compelling heights. Cemetery Boys lives up to the hype!

5. Elizabeth Acevedo, author of Clap When You Land

acevedowrites.com, Bloomsbury YA

Elizabeth Acevedo is a National Book Award–winning and New York Times bestselling author of many YA novels, including her most recent Clap When You Land about two sisters who find each other through a devastating loss.

What Elizabeth recommends: Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

I am such a huge fan of Lilliam Rivera, and her Orpheus and Eurydice–inspired YA novel set during a blistering summer in New York City is nothing short of a marvel. Here's a writer who constantly pushes the boundaries of the kinds of stories and settings magical Latinx folk can occupy, and she does so so tenderly. I will very rarely ever turn my back on a bachata-singing hero, or such a fierce heroine, and I doubt most readers can.

6. Zoraida Córdova, author of Wayward Witch

Sarah Younger / Via zoraidacordova.com, Wednesday Books

Zoraida Córdova is the author of nine fantasy novels, including her most recent one, Wayward Witch, which follows Rose and her father who are pulled through a portal to the land of Adas, a fairy realm hidden in the Caribbean Sea, where they must find a way to save Adas in order to return home.

What Zoraida recommends: Lobizona by Romina Garber

I started reading Lobizona by Romina Garber, which is the first book in the Wolves of No World series. It follows Manuela Azul who is an undocumented immigrant on the run from her father's Argentine-crime family. In Garber's world, inspired by Argentine folklore, the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. Manu shouldn't even exist, according to her family legends. I love the way Romina Garber writes honestly about a girl undergoing the greatest trials of her life. The search for identity and home are themes that everyone can identify, no matter where you are from.

Join BuzzFeed as we celebrate Latinx Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, and explore more content celebrating la cultura.

Charlotte Gomez / BuzzFeed