11 Ownvoices YA Latinx Book Recommendations to Celebrate and Read Beyond Latinx Heritage Month!

It’s the last day of Latinx Heritage Month!

I wanted to make sure I’m boosting Latinx stories and voices as much as I can, so of course I’m posting a list of my personal Latinx book recommendations! and even though this post is a bit later than I would have liked, it’s a great reminder that you should be reading these books (and other POC books) beyond their “designated” month!!

I could do a lot better with reading Latinx books, since most of the POC books are Asian (since I’m… Asian…), but there are still quite a few I’ve enjoyed. I also wanted to make sure to list ownvoices novels, though I’ve read some non-OV ones that handled rep just fine, according to Latinx reviewers! (It’s not YA but if you haven’t read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, please do it NOW.)

(And yes I tried to choose mostly lesser popular novels with the purpose of hyping! them!! up!!!)

ANNA-MARIE MCLEMORE’S BOOKS

     

If you all know me, you know I’m absolutely in love with everything Anna-Marie writes, and I think she deserves so much more hype and love. I’ve loved all the books they’ve written, which include: When the Moon Was Ours, Wild Beauty, Blanca y Roja, and The Weight of Feathers. You all are paying her DUST, I swear, DUST!!!

All of her books include Latinx MCs, as well as many queer (including genderqueer!) MCs. They’re all magical realism, and written so so beautifully; I genuinely believe Anna-Marie writes some of the prettiest prose in YA right now. And the stories she tells are just as gorgeous too, and I adore all the characters she writes. Plus, the way she unashamedly writes QPOC characters is so admirable and I love her more for it.

ELIZABETH ACEVEDO’S BOOKS

THE POET X

The Poet X is a book written in verse about Xiomara, and it’s such a gut-wrenching, hard-hitting story about body acceptance, rape culture, religion, and so much more. It’s won a lot of awards, and it’s so well-deserving of all of them, because Acevedo’s writing is absolutely stunning.

⇒ rep: Dominican fat MC

WITH THE FIRE ON HIGH

This book follows Emoni, a teen mom as she goes through high school life having to take care of her baby but also wanting to chase after her dreams of being a cook. It’s a beautiful story of family and ambition, and the food descriptions were to die for!! I also read it super fast (as in I binged like 300 pages in a day).

⇒ rep: Afro-Latinx (Black Puerto Rican) MC

ADAM SILVERA’S BOOKS

MORE HAPPY THAN NOT

I don’t remember this one very well since I read it in 2017, but it’s about a boy named Aaron dealing with his sexuality in a world where technology that can suppress certain memories exists. It deals with the intersectionality of his race and sexuality, and it’s dark and brutal and sad, but also just really really beautiful.

⇒ rep: Puerto Rican gay MC

THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END

I sobbed a lot reading this book, and I think everyone should go through that experience!! This is about a world where on the day you’ll die, you get a call telling you exactly that, and I loved it so so much. I hate insta-love, but this insta-love was written so well in a way that I was actually rooting for the romance. (And the themes about living and dying were so good!)

⇒ rep: Puerto Rican gay MC, Cuban bi MC

THE GRIEF KEEPER

This was a book for school, and even though I chose to read it, my enjoyment of books I read for school are usually destroyed by the amount of analyzing I have to do. But I absolutely loved it! (I also met the author, and she’s so sweet.) It’s a beautiful f/f story about grief and trauma, as an immigrant and a lesbian, and it was just… really really heartwrenching. Also the cover is absolutely gorgeous!!

⇒ rep: El Salvadorian lesbian MC

LIKE WATER

This book is one that I would call really quiet, both because it’s not very hyped and it’s more focused on the characters’ journeys than any kind of action in the plot. But it’s a really beautiful book, especially with how it portrays the characters and their flaws. And a bonus is that it’s a book about a romance between girl and a genderqueer character, which isn’t that common in YA right now, especially with one of them as a POC!

⇒ rep: Mexican bi MC

UNDEAD GIRL GANG

If you’re looking for a fun, humorous, and well-set-up mystery, this is for you! It’s an excellent, underhyped book that I really loved, especially its strong themes, friendship elements, and humor. Also, the concept and execution were really unique, and that’s why even with my terrible memory, this book is still unforgettable to me!

⇒ rep: Mexican fat Wiccan MC

MORE RECS!

• Latinx Book Club
• Latinx Readers Recommend Latinx Books
• Latinx Book Bingo
• and also Marie’s post (sharing because she had the same idea of posting recs on the last day and I think that’s cute of us!!)

---

what are some of your favorite Latinx books? have you read any of the ones on my list? do you have any recs for me? what should I prioritize because I have a LOT on my TBR!!