Hispanic & Latinx American Literature

From September 15 to October 15, we honor the history, diversity, and talent of the Hispanic and Latinx American communities. You can use this collection to choose texts that explore the literary contributions of Latinx and Hispanic authors.

Publication year 2022

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Language, Society: Immigration, Identity: Race

Tags Realistic Fiction, Race / Racism, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: The Past, Society: Colonialism

Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Spanish Literature, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), History: World, Romance


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Grandparents, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Gender / Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, American Literature


Publication year 1976

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Latin American Literature, Education, Education, LGBTQ, Classic Fiction

In Manuel Puig’s 1978 novel Kiss of the Spider Woman, Luis Alberto Molina, a window dresser, and Valentin Arregui Paz, a Marxist revolutionary, are roommates in a Buenos Aires prison from September to October 1975. Puig uses dialogue, prison reports, and stream-of-consciousness to tell the story, exploring themes of The Fluidity of Gender and Orientation, The Meaning and Value of Liberation, and The Power of Language. The novel is also notable for its use of... Read Kiss of the Spider Woman Summary


Publication year 1945

Genre Play, Fiction

The House of Bernarda Alba: a drama about women in the villages of Spain, or La casa de Bernarda Alba, is a play by Spanish poet, dramatist, and director, Federico García Lorca, that explores themes of sexual repression, inheritance, and violence among three generations of women in rural Spain. The play was Lorca’s last, completed in 1936 only months before his murder at the hands of right-wing nationalist forces at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil... Read La Casa De Bernarda Alba Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Race, Self Discovery, Society: Immigration, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Historical Fiction, WWII / World War II, Latin American Literature, Jewish Literature, Race / Racism, Holocaust, Children's Literature, Military / War, History: World


Publication year 1636

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge

Tags Classic Fiction

La vida es sueño, or, Life’s a Dream, by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, is one of Spain’s most well-known plays. First published and first produced in 1636, during the heyday of Spain’s golden age of literature, Life is a Dream is a play in verse that intertwines a complex family drama with a tale of honor and vengeance. The play begins with a dramatic moment, as Rossaura and her servant, Bugle, happen upon a roughly-built... Read Life Is a Dream Summary


Publication year 1989

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Natural World: Food, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Society: War

Tags Magical Realism, Latin American Literature, Historical Fiction, Romance, Food, Gender / Feminism, Love / Sexuality, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

Like Water for Chocolate is the debut novel of Laura Esquivel, published in Mexico in 1989 and then translated into English by Carol and Thomas Christensen. Esquivel has sold over four million copies of the novel worldwide. She is a novelist and active politician serving in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies. She collaborated with her husband at the time to adapt the novel into a film in 1992, which was then nominated for a Golden... Read Like Water for Chocolate Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Gender

Tags Crime / Legal, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Gender / Feminism, Grief / Death, Latin American Literature


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Language, Society: Immigration, Relationships: Family

Tags Action / Adventure, Immigration / Refugee, Latin American Literature, History: U.S., Modern Classic Fiction, Travel Literature

Lost Children Archive is the first English-language novel by Mexican author Valeria Luiselli. Published in 2019, Lost Children Archive was awarded the 2020 Rathbones Folio Prize and was shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction and the 2019 Booker Prize. The novel illustrates the intersections and overlaps between a troubled family’s cross-country journey and the treacherous journeys of “lost” children migrating from Mexico to the United States.Lost Children Archive is also an archive in... Read Lost Children Archive Summary


Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Aging, Relationships: Marriage

Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Post Modernism, Latin American Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism

Love in the Time of Cholera is a classic work of literary fiction by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. It was published in Spanish in 1985 and translated into English in 1988 by Edith Grossman. The novel was adapted into a film in 2007, which was nominated for several awards including an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Plot SummaryLove in the Time of Cholera is set in... Read Love in the Time of Cholera Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Family

Tags Romance, New Adult


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Relationships: Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Disability, Arts / Culture, American Literature, Children's Literature, Jewish Literature, Realistic Fiction, History: World

Lucky Broken Girl is a middle-grade historical novel by Ruth Behar. Main character Ruthie Mizrahi, an immigrant from Cuba, lives with her parents and brother in 1966 Queens. Together they try to quell their homesickness for Cuba while seeking new opportunities in America. When a car accident injures Ruthie, she becomes bedridden in a full body cast for over a year; during that time, challenges and fears she never anticipated give her a new perspective... Read Lucky Broken Girl Summary


Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Realistic Fiction, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction

Lizet Ramirez comes home to Miami for Thanksgiving during her freshman year of college to find her family turned upside down: Her parents are divorced, her Papi has sold her childhood home in Hialeah, and her Mami, her sister Leidy, and her infant nephew Dante have moved into an apartment in Little Havana. Lizet feels isolated from her home community since leaving for college; no one understands her desire to leave southern Florida, and she... Read Make Your Home Among Strangers Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family

Tags Fantasy, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Arts / Culture, Grief / Death, Education, Relationships, American Literature, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Magical Realism, Action / Adventure


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Identity: Disability, Relationships: Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Relationships, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts / Culture


Publication year 1878

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Beauty

Tags Classic Fiction

Teodoro Golfín, a renowned eye surgeon, has just arrived at the fictional town of Villamojada in Northern Spain in search of the mines of Socrates. At the request of the wealthy Francisco Penáguilas, Teodoro has come to attempt to cure his son, Pablo, of his blindness. On his way to the mines, Teodoro gets lost. He is aided by the arrival of Pablo, who offers to lead Teodoro to the mines where the doctor can... Read Marianela Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Arts / Culture


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Society: Colonialism

Tags Gothic Literature, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World

Book Details & Major ThemesMexican Gothic is a horror novel by Mexican Canadian writer Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Set in 1950s Mexico City and the burned-out mining town of El Triunfo, the novel is a horror-tinged thriller that explores the themes of The Feminist Gothic, Colonialism and Imperialism in Mexico, and Death, Corruption and Objectification in the House of Doyle.The novel centers on Noemí Taboada, a socialite with aspirations to become an anthropologist who goes to El... Read Mexican Gothic Summary