Books to Watch Out for the Summer and Fall of 2022

From picture books to chapter books to graphic novels, Latino authors are booming and sharing amazing stories! Click on this list to review new and exciting titles released in the Summer of 2022 or coming in the Fall of 2022.

Picture Books

Lola Out Loud: Inspired by the Childhood of Activist Dolores Huerta – August 9, 2022 

A powerful and inspiring imagined story about real-life civil rights activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta that  reminds us that even our biggest heroes started out small. 

About the Author and illustrator:  

Jennifer Torres is the author of Stef Soto, Taco Queen; Flor and Miranda Steal the Show; The Fresh New Face  of Griselda; and other books for young readers. She writes stories about home, friendship, and unexpected  courage inspired by her Mexican American heritage.  

Sara Palacios is the illustrator of How to Code a Sandcastle, A Way with Wild Things, and the recipient of a  Pura Belpré Award Honor for illustration for Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match / Marisol McDonald no combina.  A native of Mexico, Sara now lives in San Francisco. 

Isabel and her Colores Go to School by Alexandra Alessandri  – July 15, 2022

English, with its blustery blues and whites, just feels wrong to Isabel. She prefers the warm oranges and pinks  of Spanish. As she prepares for class at a new school, she knows she’s going to have to learn–and she would rather not! Her first day is uncomfortable, until she discovers there’s more than one way to communicate with  friends. This is a universal story about feeling new and making new friends. 

School Library Journal: “A bilingual story sure to resonate with ELL students and instill empathy in  their classmates. “

About the author: Alexandra Alessandri is the award-winning author of Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela! (Albert  Whitman), Isabel and Her Colores go to School (Sleeping Bear Press), and the forthcoming middle grade fantasy  The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía. The daughter of Colombian immigrants, she is also a former associate  professor of English, a writer for Curriculum Associates, and a poet. Alexandra lives in Florida.

Taíno Tales: The Legend of Coquí May 10, 2022 & Taíno Tales: The Secret of the Hummingbird (2020)  by Vicky Weber 

Book 1 -The Legend of Coqui:The son of a Taíno chief would fish late at night and while he did, he’d sing a  special song to Caguana, the spirit of love. The goddess grew fond of him and his daily visits brought her great  joy…but everything changed when Juracán, an evil spirit, grew jealous of the pair. And so begins the Taíno  legend of how the coquí frog came to be. 

Book 2- The Secret of the Hummingbird : Alida lives in paradise, so what could go wrong? When she meets a  boy from the opposing tribe, their friendship quickly blossoms into something more. …What will happen if  someone discovers their forbidden love? 

About the author: Vicky Weber is a Puerto Rican musician and an elementary educator with a love for  children’s literature.  

Middle Grade Chapter Books: 

Tumble by Celia C. Pérez – August 16, 2022 

From the award-winning author of The First Rule of Punk and Strange Birds, a dazzling novel about a young  girl who collects the missing pieces of her origin story from the family of legendary luchadores she’s never met.

Celia C. Pérez is the author of the award-winning and critically acclaimed books The First Rule of Punk and  Strange Birds: A Field Guide to Ruffling Feathers. She lives in Chicago with her family, where in addition to  writing books about lovable weirdos and outsiders, she works as a librarian. When she was in middle school,  she filled diaries with recaps of televised wrestling matches. Visit her at celiacperez.com. 

Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa (March 2022) & Pilar Ramirez and the Curse of San Zenon (book 2 of Pilar Ramirez Duology – February 2023) 

The Land of Stories meets Dominican myths and legends come to life in Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from  Zafa, a blockbuster contemporary middle-grade fantasy duology starter from Julian Randall. Fans of Tristan  Strong and The Storm Runner, here is your next obsession. 

About the author :Julian Randall is a Queer Afro-Latinx poet from Chicago. He has received fellowships from  Callaloo, BOAAT and the Watering Hole. He is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize. Julian is the curator of Winter  Tangerine’s Lineage of Mirrors. His work has been published in New York Times Magazine, Ploughshares, and  POETRY and anthologized in Bettering American Poetry, Nepantla and Furious Flower. He is a candidate for  his MFA in Poetry at Ole Miss. His first book, Refuse (Pitt, Fall 2018), is the winner of the 2017 Cave Canem  Poetry Prize.  

Valentina Salazar is not a Monster Hunter by Zoraida Córdova- June 2022

Carlos Hernandez’s Sal and Gabi Break the Universe meets Supernatural in a heartfelt, hilarious adventure  about a trio of tight-knit, monster-loving siblings. 

About the author:

Zoraida Córdova is the acclaimed author of more than a dozen novels and short stories, including the Brooklyn  Brujas series, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: A Crash of Fate, and The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina. In addition  to writing novels, she serves on the Board of We Need Diverse Books, and is the co-editor of the bestselling  anthology Vampires Never Get Old, as well as the cohost of the writing podcast, Deadline City. She writes  romance novels as Zoey Castile. Zoraida was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and calls New York City home.  

Middle Grade Graphic Novels:

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega – October 18, 2022

A middle grade graphic novel about Marlene, a young girl who stops straightening her hair and embraces her  natural curls. Marlene loves three things: books, her cool Tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend Camila. But  according to her mother, Paola, the only thing she needs to focus on is school and “growing up.” That means  straightening her hair every weekend so she could have “presentable”, “good hair”. But Marlene hates being in the  salon and doesn’t understand why her curls are not considered pretty by those around her. With a few hiccups, a  dash of embarrassment, and the much-needed help of Camila and Tia Ruby―she slowly starts a journey to learn to  appreciate and proudly wear her curly hair. 

About the Author 

Claribel’s debut middle grade novel Ghost Squad is a New York Times Bestseller and is being made into a  feature film. Ghost Squad won Best in Middle Grade at the 2021 Ignyte Awards, was a Goodreads Choice  Award finalist, and an International Latino book awards honorary mention for 2020. Her other titles include  Witchlings (Scholastic) and the graphic novel Frizzy (First Second) with Rose Bousamra.

Miss Quinces: A Graphic Novel by Kat Fajardo – May 3, 2022 

Middle-grade graphic novel about a girl who would rather do anything other than celebrate her quinceañera! A  funny and heartfelt coming-of-age story about navigating the expectations of family and cultural tradition. Sue just wants to spend the summer reading and making comics at sleepaway camp with her friends, but  instead she gets stuck going to Honduras to visit relatives with her parents and two sisters. They live way out  in the country, which means no texting, no cable, and no Internet! The trip takes a turn for the worse when  Sue’s mother announces that they’ll be having a surprise quinceañera for Sue, which is the last thing she  wants. She can’t imagine wearing a big, floofy, colorful dress! What is Sue going to do? And how will she  survive all this “quality” time with her rambunctious family? 

About the Author 

Kat Fajardo is a Honduran Colombian award-winning cartoonist and illustrator from the lively and magical  place of Loisaida, New York City. She is the creator of Miss Quinces, which was a National Indie Bestseller,  received two starred reviews, and was selected as a summer reading pick by Entertainment Weekly,  Publishers Weekly, The Horn Book, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It was the first Graphix title to be  simultaneously published in English and Spanish (as Srta. Quinces). She is a graduate of the School of Visual  Arts, and her work has been recognized by online publications such as Remezcla, El Hispanic News, School  Library Journal, Huffington Post Latino Voices, and more. Kat lives in Austin, Texas. Visit her online at  katfajardo.com. 

ISLA TO ISLAND by Alexis Castellanos – March 15, 2022 

Marisol loves her colorful island home. Cuba is vibrant with flowers and food and people…but things are  changing. The home Marisol loves is no longer safe—and then it’s no longer her home at all. Her parents are  sending her to the United States. Alone. Nothing about Marisol’s new life in cold, gray Brooklyn feels like home—not the language, school, or even her  foster parents. But Marisol starts to realize that home isn’t always a place. And finding her way can be as  simple as staying true to herself. 

YA Fiction:

Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester – May 10, 2022 

Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester offers up a twist on the teen romance and a coming-of age story. It’s about a Peruvian American teen from Florida who dreams of becoming a professional mermaid  at a theme park. But she was born with hip dysplasia, and between managing her disability and her  disapproving parents, she’ll have to overcome multiple obstacles to make it to audition day, all while figuring  out her first love. 

Echoes of Grace by Guadalupe Garcia McCall – June 21, 2022 

From Pura Belpré Award-winning author, Guadalupe García McCall, comes Echoes of Grace about a young  woman struggling to come to terms with the visions she has — a gift inherited from her mother. One day, one  of her visions coincides with a tragedy that causes a rift between her and her sister, and in trying to mend their  relationship she discovers hidden truths about her family that she never imagined possible.

Our Shadows Have Claws edited by Yamile Saied Méndez and Amparo Ortiz – September 6,  2022 

We couldn’t be more obsessed with the idea of a Latinx horror anthology in the young adult genre. Edited by  Yamile Saied Méndez and Amparo Ortiz, Our Shadows Have Claws features “monster stories” by Latinx  authors including Julia Alvarez, Claribel A. Ortega, and Ann Dávila. The stories take place throughout Latin  America and the diaspora and feature the creepiest monsters from vampires and zombies to cannibals and  shapeshifters, along with creatures found in Latin mythology and folklore. 

Amparo Ortiz is the author of the YA fantasy Blazewrath Games published in 2020 and 2021: set in an  alternate contemporary world, in which dragons and their riders compete in an international sports tournament.  Main character, Lana Torres, joins the Puerto Rican team as their new runner- the only player without a dragon  steed. While navigating being a new Blazewrath star and her feelings abouts what it means to represent  Puerto Rico, Lana discovers a conspiracy that shows to be deadlier than her beloved sport. 

Adult Fiction: 

Twice a Quinceañera by Yamile Saied Méndez – July 2022

Instead of losing the deposit on her wedding venue, a jilted bride decides to throw herself a quinceañera (times  two) for her 30th birthday in this effervescent rom-com from Yamile Saied Méndez, the acclaimed author of the Reese Witherspoon YA Book Club Pick FURIA. For fans of Never Been Kissed, 13 Going on 30, and The  Wedding Singer . . . con azucar y amor. 

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau – July 19, 2022 

Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife  of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of a researcher who is either a genius or a madman. Montgomery Laughton: A melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who  assists Dr. Moreau with his experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas  and plentiful coffers. 

The hybrids: The fruits of the doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A  motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities. 

All of them live in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde,  the charming and careless son of Dr. Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction. 

For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and, in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may  ignite.