Have you all heard that the New England Patriots will be playing before the Bad Bunny concert on Sunday? If you’re looking for something to read in the meantime, here are some great recent novels by Puerto Rican writers. You can also listen to Bad Bunny and other artists on Freegal Music’s Super Bowl LX playlist. And if you’re looking to follow Bad Bunny’s suggestion to learn Spanish, you can check out MHL’s access to Mango Languages. O, si Ud. ya hablas español, puedes visitar Estante Infinto o nuestra colección de libros en español.
House of Bone and Rain
by
In Puerto Rico, five teenagers vow vengeance for their friend's mother who was murdered by a drug kingpin, while a hurricane unleashes vengeful spirits on the island, in the new novel from the author of The Devil Takes You Home.
In Puerto Rico, five teenagers vow vengeance for their friend's mother who was murdered by a drug kingpin, while a hurricane unleashes vengeful spirits on the island, in the new novel from the author of The Devil Takes You Home.
After the Hurricane
by
Reminiscent of Gabriela Garcia's OF WOMEN AND SALT, Leah Franqui brings us an engrossing, deeply personal novel with a mystery at its heart as a daughter returns to Puerto Rico to search for her troubled father, who has gone missing after Hurricane Maria.
Reminiscent of Gabriela Garcia's OF WOMEN AND SALT, Leah Franqui brings us an engrossing, deeply personal novel with a mystery at its heart as a daughter returns to Puerto Rico to search for her troubled father, who has gone missing after Hurricane Maria.
Familia: A Riveting and Unforgettable Novel of Sisterhood
by
As the fact checker for a popular magazine, Gabby DiMarco believes in absolute, verifiable Truths--until they throw the facts of her own life into question. The genealogy test she took as research for an article has yielded a baffling result: Gabby has a sister--one who's been desperately trying to find her. Except, as Gabby's beloved parents would confirm if they were still alive, that's impossible. Isabella Ruiz can still picture the face of her baby sister, who disappeared from the streets of San Juan twenty-five years ago. Isabella, an artist, has fought hard for the stable home and loving marriage she has today--yet the longing to find Marianna has never left. At last, she's found a match, and Gabby has agreed to come to Puerto Rico.
As the fact checker for a popular magazine, Gabby DiMarco believes in absolute, verifiable Truths--until they throw the facts of her own life into question. The genealogy test she took as research for an article has yielded a baffling result: Gabby has a sister--one who's been desperately trying to find her. Except, as Gabby's beloved parents would confirm if they were still alive, that's impossible. Isabella Ruiz can still picture the face of her baby sister, who disappeared from the streets of San Juan twenty-five years ago. Isabella, an artist, has fought hard for the stable home and loving marriage she has today--yet the longing to find Marianna has never left. At last, she's found a match, and Gabby has agreed to come to Puerto Rico.
Las Madres
by
From the award-winning, best-selling author of When I Was Puerto Rican, a powerful novel of family, race, faith, sex, and disaster that moves between Puerto Rico and the Bronx, revealing the lives and loves of five women and the secret that binds them together They refer to themselves as las Madres, a close-knit group of women who, with their daughters, have created a family based on friendship and blood ties.Their story begins in Puerto Rico in 1975 when fifteen-year-old Luz, the tallest girl in her dance academy and the only Black one in a sea of petite, light-skinned, delicate swans, is seriously injured in a car accident. Tragically, her brilliant, multilingual scientist parents are both killed in the crash. Now orphaned, Luz navigates the pressures of adolescence and copes with the aftershock of a brain injury, when two new friends enter her life, Ada and Shirley. Luz's days are consumed with aches and pains, and her memory of the accident is wiped clean, but she suffers spells that send her mind to times and places she can't share with others. In 2017, in the Bronx, Luz's adult daughter, Marysol, wishes she better understood her. But how can she when her mother barely remembers her own life? To help, Ada and Shirley's daughter, Graciela, suggests a vacation in Puerto Rico for the extended group, as an opportunity for Luz to unearth long-buried memories and for Marysol to learn more about her mother's early life. But despite all their careful planning, two hurricanes, back-to-back, disrupt their homecoming, and a secret is revealed that blows their lives wide open. In a voice that sings with warmth, humor, friendship, and pride, celebrated author Esmeralda Santiago unspools a story of women's sexuality, shame, disability, and love within a community rocked by disaster.
From the award-winning, best-selling author of When I Was Puerto Rican, a powerful novel of family, race, faith, sex, and disaster that moves between Puerto Rico and the Bronx, revealing the lives and loves of five women and the secret that binds them together They refer to themselves as las Madres, a close-knit group of women who, with their daughters, have created a family based on friendship and blood ties.Their story begins in Puerto Rico in 1975 when fifteen-year-old Luz, the tallest girl in her dance academy and the only Black one in a sea of petite, light-skinned, delicate swans, is seriously injured in a car accident. Tragically, her brilliant, multilingual scientist parents are both killed in the crash. Now orphaned, Luz navigates the pressures of adolescence and copes with the aftershock of a brain injury, when two new friends enter her life, Ada and Shirley. Luz's days are consumed with aches and pains, and her memory of the accident is wiped clean, but she suffers spells that send her mind to times and places she can't share with others. In 2017, in the Bronx, Luz's adult daughter, Marysol, wishes she better understood her. But how can she when her mother barely remembers her own life? To help, Ada and Shirley's daughter, Graciela, suggests a vacation in Puerto Rico for the extended group, as an opportunity for Luz to unearth long-buried memories and for Marysol to learn more about her mother's early life. But despite all their careful planning, two hurricanes, back-to-back, disrupt their homecoming, and a secret is revealed that blows their lives wide open. In a voice that sings with warmth, humor, friendship, and pride, celebrated author Esmeralda Santiago unspools a story of women's sexuality, shame, disability, and love within a community rocked by disaster.
Last Night in Brooklyn
by
At twenty-six, Alicia Canales Forten feels smothered by her future. She's in a long-distance relationship, living at home with her mother's beliefs, saving up for her wedding to a future doctor. But after Alicia ventures out one night in the neighborhood of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, she finds herself lured by the siren song of youth and possibility that the striving crowd of creatives holds, and moves in. No one embodies this milieu more than La Garza, a larger-than-life, up-and-coming fashion designer whose epic house parties fuel neighborhood lore. La Garza's life, observed by Alicia from her apartment across the street, seems to hold the allure and fearlessness Alicia has never dared to imagine for herself. But when Alicia's wealthy banker cousin moves to the neighborhood, she finds herself increasingly drawn into both his and La Garza's precarious lives. Against the backdrop of a potentially life-changing presidential election and a looming once-in-a-generation fiscal crisis, Last Night in Brooklyn explores the dark compromise of the American Dream for people of color living, unknowingly, in the twilight of a cultural moment. It is a story about everything money can buy--and the destruction of what it can't.
At twenty-six, Alicia Canales Forten feels smothered by her future. She's in a long-distance relationship, living at home with her mother's beliefs, saving up for her wedding to a future doctor. But after Alicia ventures out one night in the neighborhood of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, she finds herself lured by the siren song of youth and possibility that the striving crowd of creatives holds, and moves in. No one embodies this milieu more than La Garza, a larger-than-life, up-and-coming fashion designer whose epic house parties fuel neighborhood lore. La Garza's life, observed by Alicia from her apartment across the street, seems to hold the allure and fearlessness Alicia has never dared to imagine for herself. But when Alicia's wealthy banker cousin moves to the neighborhood, she finds herself increasingly drawn into both his and La Garza's precarious lives. Against the backdrop of a potentially life-changing presidential election and a looming once-in-a-generation fiscal crisis, Last Night in Brooklyn explores the dark compromise of the American Dream for people of color living, unknowingly, in the twilight of a cultural moment. It is a story about everything money can buy--and the destruction of what it can't.
Love of My Lives
by
Fans of Emily Henry and Elena Armas will fall for this fresh take on the soulmate trope set against the vivid beauty of Puerto Rico. Madi Ramírez has it all--a thriving career she loves, a successful boyfriend, and a wedding to plan--when he finally proposes. So why does she feel like there is something missing? Jayden even has the right initials--the JR that appeared to Madi years ago, in a dream visitation from her beloved, wise abuela. Madi's friends think her expectations are too high--but she can't help wishing for that dreamy feeling in real-life. Wishing that Jayden would show her a little more affection. That she could really believe they were meant to be . . . When a business trip to Puerto Rico presents itself, Madi is quick to take it. She can finally scatter her abuela's ashes on the beach, as she wished. And maybe time apart will remind Jayden how much Madi means to him--and maybe he'll begin to show it. But in Puerto Rico, Madi finds something--well, someone--else. A man who makes her heart beat triple-time--and who feels as right as someone Fated--except for those nagging initials . .
Fans of Emily Henry and Elena Armas will fall for this fresh take on the soulmate trope set against the vivid beauty of Puerto Rico. Madi Ramírez has it all--a thriving career she loves, a successful boyfriend, and a wedding to plan--when he finally proposes. So why does she feel like there is something missing? Jayden even has the right initials--the JR that appeared to Madi years ago, in a dream visitation from her beloved, wise abuela. Madi's friends think her expectations are too high--but she can't help wishing for that dreamy feeling in real-life. Wishing that Jayden would show her a little more affection. That she could really believe they were meant to be . . . When a business trip to Puerto Rico presents itself, Madi is quick to take it. She can finally scatter her abuela's ashes on the beach, as she wished. And maybe time apart will remind Jayden how much Madi means to him--and maybe he'll begin to show it. But in Puerto Rico, Madi finds something--well, someone--else. A man who makes her heart beat triple-time--and who feels as right as someone Fated--except for those nagging initials . .
Sordidez
by
After a devastating hurricane, a trans man leaves Puerto Rico to seek the Indigenous rebel who could save his beloved island.
After a devastating hurricane, a trans man leaves Puerto Rico to seek the Indigenous rebel who could save his beloved island.
The Things We Didn't Know
by
Andrea Rodriguez is nine years old when her mother whisks her and her brother, Pablo, away from Woronoco, the tiny Massachusetts factory town that is the only home they've known. With no plan and no money, she leaves them with family in the mountainside villages of Puerto Rico and promises to return. Months later, when Andrea and Pablo are brought back to Massachusetts, they find their hometown significantly changed. As they navigate the rifts between their family's values and all-American culture and face the harsh realities of growing up, they must embrace both the triumphs and heartache that mark the journey to adulthood.
Andrea Rodriguez is nine years old when her mother whisks her and her brother, Pablo, away from Woronoco, the tiny Massachusetts factory town that is the only home they've known. With no plan and no money, she leaves them with family in the mountainside villages of Puerto Rico and promises to return. Months later, when Andrea and Pablo are brought back to Massachusetts, they find their hometown significantly changed. As they navigate the rifts between their family's values and all-American culture and face the harsh realities of growing up, they must embrace both the triumphs and heartache that mark the journey to adulthood.
This Is the Only Kingdom
by
When Maricarmen meets Rey el Cantante, beloved small-time Robin Hood and local musician on the rise, she begins to envision a life beyond the tight-knit community of el Caserâio, Puerto Rico - beyond cleaning houses, beyond waiting tables, beyond the constant tug of war between the street hustlers and los camarones. But breaking free proves more difficult than she imagined, and she soon finds herself struggling to make a home for herself, for Rey, his young brother Tito, and eventually, their daughter Nena. Until one fateful day changes everything. Fifteen years later, Maricarmen and Nena find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation as the community that once rallied to support Rey turns against them. Now Nena, a teenager haunted by loss and betrayal and exploring her sexual identity, must learn to fight for herself and her family in a world not always welcoming.
When Maricarmen meets Rey el Cantante, beloved small-time Robin Hood and local musician on the rise, she begins to envision a life beyond the tight-knit community of el Caserâio, Puerto Rico - beyond cleaning houses, beyond waiting tables, beyond the constant tug of war between the street hustlers and los camarones. But breaking free proves more difficult than she imagined, and she soon finds herself struggling to make a home for herself, for Rey, his young brother Tito, and eventually, their daughter Nena. Until one fateful day changes everything. Fifteen years later, Maricarmen and Nena find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation as the community that once rallied to support Rey turns against them. Now Nena, a teenager haunted by loss and betrayal and exploring her sexual identity, must learn to fight for herself and her family in a world not always welcoming.
Tiny threads : a novel
by
A young woman gets her dream job working for a famous designer—and discovers the dark side of the glamorous world of fashion.
A young woman gets her dream job working for a famous designer—and discovers the dark side of the glamorous world of fashion.