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Latino/x/e Voices for Teens

By Anna B, Isaac F, and Lisa T.
October 18, 2022

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Jump to: Young Teen

TEENS

Ballad & Dagger by Daniel José Older

When he witnesses a brutal murder by a person he thought he knew, Mateo is thrust into an ancient battle that spans years and oceans– and awakens a power that not only links him to the killer but could unravel the secrets behind his lost homeland.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Yadriel, a trans boy, summons the angry spirit of his high school’s bad boy, and agrees to help him learn how he died, thereby proving himself a brujo, not a bruja, to his conservative family.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Separated by distance — and Papi’s secrets — two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

Don’t Hate the Player by Alexis Nedd

By day, Emilia is a field hockey star with a popular boyfriend and a mother obsessed with her academic future. By night, she’s kicking virtual butt as the only female member of a highly competitive eSports team. Her perfectly balanced life is thrown for a loop when Jake, a member of a rival team, recognizes her. Will the pressures from their teams, and their nongaming worlds, pull them apart?

Flirting with Fate by Jennifer Cervantes

Ava Granados arrives too late to for her grandmother’s deathbed blessing, then Nana appears as a ghost asking for help so Ava, with the help of her two older sisters and bumbling spiritual guide, Medardus, must befriend the mysterious boy who received the blessing the night of the storm.

Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez

When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila dreams of getting an athletic scholarship to a North American university. But her parents wouldn’t allow a girl to play fúbol– and she needs their permission to go any farther. Can she make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her?

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

After a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves her older sister Olga dead, Julia is left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too.

Lake Lore by Anna-Marie McLemore

Everyone who lives near the lake knows the stories about the world underneath it, an ethereal landscape rumored to be half-air, half-water. But Bastián Silvano and Lore Garcia are the only ones who’ve been there.

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

Graciela’s whole world changes after she and a boy she barely knows are assaulted at the same party. Ciela is haunted by what happened to her, but when the boy, Lock, shows up at Ciela’s school, he has no memory of that night, and no clue that a single piece of mirrored glass is taking his life apart.

No Filter and Other Lies by Crystal Maldonado

Seventeen-year-old Kat Sanchez uses photos of a friend to create a fake Instagram account, but when one of her posts goes viral and exposes Kat’s duplicity, her entire world–both real and pretend–comes crashing down around her.

On the Hook by Francisco X. Stork

A violent confrontation lands Hector in a reform school where he has to live side-by-side with his enemy, Joey. There, it’s up to Hector to choose whether he’s going to lose himself to anger and seek revenge, or get back to the hard work of living.

Reclaim the Stars by various authors

In this collection of stories by acclaimed young adult authors the Latin American diaspora travels to places of fantasy and out into space.

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp

Told in two voices, Pen, whose dream of taking over her family’s restaurant has been destroyed, and Xander, a new, undocumented, employee seeking his father, form a bond.

Together We Burn by Isabel Ibañez

Eighteen-year-old flamenco dancer Zarela Zalvidar must work with a disgraced dragon hunter to learn the ways of a Dragador and save her ancestral home.

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children.

Woven In Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez

When Atoc demands the real Condesa’s hand in marriage, it’s Ximena’s duty to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Illustrian spies have reported that Atoc’s no longer carrying his deadly relic. If Ximena can find it, she can return the true aristócrata to their rightful place.

YOUNG TEENS

The Insiders by Mark Oshiro

Twelve-year-old Héctor Muñoz, fleeing from bullies, discovers a magical closet that not only provides him sanctuary, but also unites him with two other kids facing similar problems at their own schools, helping them find friendship and strength in each other.

Join the Club, Maggie Diaz by Nina Moreno

After school her friends are wrapped up in their various clubs, her mother is attending college, and her older sister Caro has her sports and tutoring, so Maggie decides that she will find a club to join as well.

Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar

In 1960s New York, fifth-grader Ruthie, a Cuban-Jewish immigrant, must rely on books, art, her family, and friends in her multicultural neighborhood when an accident puts her in a body cast.

Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

Thoughtful, strong-willed sixth-grader Merci Suárez navigates difficult changes with friends, family, and everyone in between.

Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia

In Silver Springs, Arizona, her mother’s stories of the monstrous La Llorona are thrilling but unbelievable to science-loving Paola until she and her best friends Dante and Emma take a walk through a cactus field near the Gila River.

Rima’s Rebellion by Margarita Engle

In 1920s Cuba, Rima is bullied and shunned for her illegitimacy, but finds solace in riding her horse and forges unexpected friendships with others who share her dreams of freedom and suffrage.

The Storm Runner by Jennifer Cervantes

To prevent the Mayan gods from battling each other and destroying the world, thirteen-year-old Zane must unravel an ancient prophecy, stop an evil god, and discover how the physical disability that makes him reliant on a cane also connects him to his father and his ancestry.

They Call Me Güero : a Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles

Twelve-year-old Güero, a red-headed, freckled Mexican American border kid, discovers the joy of writing poetry, thanks to his seventh grade English teacher.