Some readers may be familiar with the term "own voices" or "#ownvoices" but some may not! The term, started on Twitter which explains the hashtag, was coined by YA author Corinne Duyvis in 2015, is meant to indicate books, "about diverse characters written by authors from that same diverse group." In this context, we're highlighting Latinx characters in tween and teen books that are written by Latinx authors. Like we've mentioned before, the term 'Latinx' can encompass a wide range of experiences and backgrounds and so do these books!
Featuring #ownvoices titles with everything from a Mexican-American punk rock tween to a Cuban-American teenager under a love curse to an Afro-Cuban girl living in an alternate history where dinosaurs are used in the Civil War (seriously!!), this list is sure to have something for the middle and high schoolers in your life!
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The first rule of punk
by Celia C. Pérez After María Luisa O'Neill-Morales moves with her Mexican-American mother to Chicago, she violates her school's dress code with her punk rock aesthetic and spurns the school's most popular girl in favor of starting a band with a group of like-minded friends. |
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Dactyl Hill Squad. Book one
by Daniel José Older During the Civil War, orphan Magdalys Roca is just trying to survive, but when she receives a letter telling her that her brother Montez is wounded, she is determined to reach him and her ability to communicate telepathically with dinosaurs may help. |
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Ask my mood ring how I feel
by Diana López When thirteen-year-old Erica "Chia" Montenegro finds out her mother has breast cancer, she makes a promise to God to raise money for breast cancer awareness and discovers that when family and friends work together, miracles can happen. |
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Merci Suárez changes gears
by Meg Medina Alienated from her more privileged classmates at a Florida private school, sixth-grade scholarship student Merci Suarez is targeted by a competitive rival at the same time her beloved grandfather begins to develop memory problems. |
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Don't date Rosa Santos
by Nina Moreno Growing up in a cross-cultural region of Florida under the shadow of a sea curse that scares away most sailors, a Cuban-American teen struggles with family dynamics and college dreams before falling for a mysterious tattooed boy from the local marina who compels her to pursue her freedom. |
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Labyrinth lost
by Zoraida Córdova Alex is a bruja and the most powerful witch in her family. But she's hated magic ever since it made her father disappear into thin air. When a curse she performs to rid herself of magic backfires and her family vanishes, she must travel to Los Lagos, a land in-between as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland, to get her family back. |
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The living
by Matt de la Peña Taking a summer job on a Pacific luxury cruise liner to help his struggling family, Shy anticipates a season of lucrative tips and pretty girlfriends only to have everything radically transformed by a massive California earthquake that jeopardizes the survival of everyone he knows. |
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Gabi, a girl in pieces
by Isabel Quintero Sixteen-year-old Gabi Hernandez chronicles her senior year in high school as she copes with her friend Cindy's pregnancy, friend Sebastian's coming out, her father's meth habit, her own cravings for food and cute boys, and especially, the poetry that helps forge her identity. |
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Anger is a gift
by Mark Oshiro Struggling with panic attacks and grief over his father's death, high school junior Moss, in the face of a racist school administration, decides to organize a protest that escalates into violence. |
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With the fire on high
by Elizabeth Acevedo Navigating the challenges of finishing high school while caring for a daughter, talented cook Emoni Santiago struggles with a lack of time and money that complicate her dream of working in a professional kitchen. |
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The education of Margot Sanchez
by Lilliam Rivera Margot Sanchez is paying off her debts by working in her family's South Bronx grocery store, but she must make the right choices about her friends, her family, and Moises, the good looking but outspoken boy from the neighborhood. |
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Blanca & Roja
by Anna-Marie McLemore Profoundly different sisters Blanca and Roja del Cisne, who know that due to a family curse, they are tied to a flock of swans, and one day one will become a swan while the other remains human, become involved with two local boys. |
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Juliet takes a breath
by Gabby Rivera Coming out to her Puerto Rican-American family, a girl from the Bronx pursues an internship under a legendary feminist author during a summer of exploring identity, race and first love. |
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What if it's us
by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera The award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and the best-selling author of They Both Die in the End present the story of two very different boys who cannot decide if the universe is pushing them together or pulling them apart. |