Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month - a YA Reading List
To continue MPL's celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, here is a list of fantastic Young Adult Literature featuring main characters of Hispanic heritage. From a real life tale of a boy's brave journey from Honduras to the United States, to the dystopian future, these selections will please teens and adults alike.
Enrique's Journey, adapted for young people from the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Sonia Nazario's original 2006 edition, recounts the tale of a brave 17-year-old who traveled 12,000 miles from Honduras to America to reunite with his mother who left for America ten years earlier. Straightforward and timely, an excellent resource to open discussion about immigration, both in the classroom and at home.
Suckerpunch, the first work of fiction for awarding winning poet David Hernandez, is a gritty coming of age story about a young man's plan for revenge on his abusive father. Lyrical writing helps the reader through this tough tale, and it is highly recommended for reluctant male readers.
Winner of multiple honors including the Stonewall Book Award, a Printz Honor Award, and the Pura Belpre Award for narrative, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz lives up to the hype. With nothing in common but their shared Mexican heritage, 15-year-old Ari and Dante become fast friends, even through Dante's confession that he may be in love with Ari. Perfect dialog and riveting family drama make this a modern classic.
In Luminous by Dawn Metcalf, Consuela discovers she has a special ability to slip out of her own skin and create new ones from elements like butterflies or air and also that she may be able to save people from dying prematurely. Fans of strong female characters like Tris from the Divergent Series or Katniss from the Hunger Games can add 17-year-old Consuela to their list of favorites.
In the near future, the United States and Mexico settle their border troubles by creating a third nation, Opium, between them. The House of the Scorpion tells the tale of Matt Alacran, a teenager who learns he is a clone of el Patron, the corrupt 142-year-old leader of Opium. If you enjoy this multiple award winner, check out its sequel, Lord of Opium. We recommend for fans of The Giver by Lois Lowry.