Latinx Heritage Month at OTB

Latinx Heritage Month is an annual celebration from September 15-October 15 recognizing the positive influence and contributions that Latin Americans and Latin American culture have had in the United States! Reading intentionally and reading diversely has been one of the best ways I've stepped up my reading game these  past few years, so I hope you get a chance to expand your world and enjoy a few books from our Latinx Staff Recommendations, including some of my favorites that I've spotlighted below:

Longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award

• The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

I hate saying the word "timely," but that's exactly what this book is. Karla Cornejo Villavicencio beautifully and unabashedly sheds a spotlight on the lives of undocumented folks - from day laborers to curanderos to those seeking asylum in churches to her own family. She flawlessly weaves memoir with reporting in a way that I've never seen before. 

• Mouthful of Birds by Samantha Schweblin 

Reading translated fiction is an incredible way to get exposed to new ways of storytelling. In this short story collection, Samantha Schweblin exposes the realities of womanhood in terrifying tales of bite-size horror. Atmospheric and ambitious with an unbelievable payoff. 

• The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Elizabeth Acevedo is a rockstar. The first thing you'll notice when you pick up this book is the gold medals on the cover from all of the literary awards Acevedo has won for it. It follows the life of Xiomara, a young girl in Harlem trying to wade through High School while battling a rocky relationship with her hyper-religious mother. It's written in verse and each word hits you like a punch. 

• Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis

I will hand-sell Cantoras until my dying day. Both heartbreaking and hopeful, Cantoras follows the lives of five queer women who find each other during the Uruguayan dictatorship in the 1970s. They each pitch in to buy a small shack in a remote town along the coast that acts as a getaway for gatherings and solitude as their friendships and relationships evolve through the decades. The prose moves like the ocean, soothing and strong, as the women fight to live authentically in a world that only acknowledges their existence with violence and oppression.

Blog contribution, shop photo, and Instagram story time by Angie Sanchez.
Edited by Shannon McCarthy.