15 Books by Latinx Authors Coming Out in 2022 You Need to Read
Books lovers get ready because 2022 has some amazing libros coming from Latinx authors and we cannot wait
Photos: Scholastic; Harper Collins
Books lovers get ready because 2022 has some amazing libros coming from Latinx authors and we cannot wait. This past year brought us some powerful reads including For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez and the Latinx anthology Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed. Expect some more empowering stories in 2022 from some of our favorite authors including Elizabeth Acevedo, Reyna Grande, Sonia Manzano, and Crystal Maldonado. This list is not exhaustive as there are more books that will be released later in the year but for now we’ve got you covered with 15 books by Latinx authors we are highly anticipating in 2022. So cue up your favorite bookstore‘s web site and get ready to hit that pre-order button.wp_*posts
The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes
Photo: Kensington Books
Release Date: December 28, 2021
Technically, The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes, is a 2021 release, but with the holidays and all of the end-of-year to-dos, there’s no chance we’ll get to read it before the new year begins, so we’re including it here. From the acclaimed author of The Sisters of Alameda Street, The Spanish Daughter falls into the historical fiction genre. It’s the tale of a young, female chocolatier from Spain who travels to her father’s home country of Ecuador to claim her birthright, but when she realizes someone’s out to kill her, she assumes the identity of a man to escape danger and find her father’s cacao estate.wp_*posts
Queen of Urban Prophecy by Aya De León
Photo: Dafina Books/Kensington Books
Release Date: December 28, 2021
Afro-Latina author and activist, Aya de Leon is positively prolific. Between the end of 2021 and the fall of 2023, she’s set to release six books, the next of which is, Queen of Urban Prophecy. The book is a fun but poignant read that sends a clear message about sexism and corporate America. Aya cloaks it in an utterly readable story about an aspiring female rapper who has to face the consequences of her own poor choices in order to incite positive change within her industry.wp_*posts
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
Photo: Macmillan Publishers
Release Date: January 4, 2022
Set in New York City around the time that Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez is about a successful Manhattan wedding planner named Olga. The story follows how she copes with managing her polished public image with the deep political, cultural and family issues that are bubbling up in her life, all of which are threatening to shatter the ideals she’s formed for herself over time. From finding love to coping with the loss of her mother, a Young Lord, 27 years ago as she pursued a militant political cause, Olga is forced to weather both emotional storms and literal ones.
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No Filter and Other Lies by Crystal Maldonado
Photo: Holiday House
Release Date: February 8, 2022
Come February, the wait for fans of author Crystal Maldonado’s Fat Chance, Charlie Vega, will be over. The YA author’s new book, No Filter and Other Lies, is about a teenage influencer who is, well…faking it all. Kate Sanchez is essentially living a double life, as she pretends on social media to have it all together, when in real life, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Not only that, but she technically stole the public image she’s created, and when one of her posts goes viral and the person she’s been stealing from sees it, she has to keep everything from falling apart.wp_*posts
Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity by Angela Velez
💓✨COVER REVEAL✨💓
Meet Lulu and Milagro!!! These 🇵🇪🇺🇸 sisters are stuck on a cross-country road trip that will change their lives!!! 👯♀️🚍✈️ Out 2.8.22
Preorder: https://t.co/aHqgFTt8sO
GR: https://t.co/mHlXz4rcXIAD: Corina Lupp
Lettering + Illustration: Iliana Galvez pic.twitter.com/wSc06vF9jK— Angela Velez (@frozenfresa) June 16, 2021
Release Date: February 8, 2022
The cover art for author Angela Velez’s new book, Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity, alone is enough to make us want to buy it, but we’re excited for the cute YA story too. It’s about two Latina teenaged sisters on completely different paths, who set out on a school-sponsored road trip together. They end up learning more about each other than they ever could have imagined and forming the kind of bond they didn’t know they could share.wp_*posts
Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie
Release Date: February 8, 2022
Racquel Marie describes Ophelia After All as a coming of age story about a 17-year-old girl who is admittedly boy crazy. That is, until after her most recent break up, when she realizes that along with her many other interests, she likes girls too. Not sure what to do with her new realization, Ophelia grapples with her new identity.wp_*posts
The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta
Made a TikTok for my cover reveal too! pic.twitter.com/CEEoH7tyv8
— Lizz Huerta (@lizzhuerta) February 25, 2021
Release Date: March 1, 2022
How gorgeous is the cover of Lizz Huerta’s The Lost Dreamer? This upcoming YA novel celebrates indigenous Latin American culture and spirituality with a story of a girl who possesses the gift of dreaming truth and another who is a seer. With a new king reigning and threats surrounding them, both must make difficult decisions that will change their lives forever.wp_*posts
A Ballad of Love and Glory by Reyna Grande
Release Date: March 15, 2022
Author Reyna Grande’s first novel in 12 years, the upcoming book, A Ballad of Love and Glory, is a beautiful, romantic historical fiction story that takes place in 1846. It follows the love story of a Mexican healer and an Irish-American soldier whose been sent south by the Yankee Army during their attempt to take land at the Río Grande border, but winds up deserting and switching sides. Not only is this one a thrilling romance, but it also highlights some interesting truths related to the current border crisis.wp_*posts
You Sound Like a White Girl by Julissa Arce
Photo: Macmillan Publishers
Release Date: March 22, 2022
So many of us have heard it, haven’t we? “You sound like a white girl.” Now, bestselling author, Julissa Arce, is tackling the stigma and using her voice to speak up against assimilation in her upcoming book, You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation. Based on history and her own personal experiences, Julissa extolls the virtues of setting aside the goal of assimilation and instead embracing our unique identities so that we can be fully ourselves so that we can achieve true belonging.wp_*posts
Does My Body Offend You? by Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquardt
Release Date: April 5, 2022
Co-written by Mayra Cuevas (who incidentally is a co-founder of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival) and Marie Marquardt, Does My Body Offend You?, is a really interesting YA novel about two teen girls who decide to step up and lead when faced with unfair practices against girls at their school. When Malena, who moved to Florida from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria destroyed her family’s home, is humiliated by school administration for not wearing a bra, the two band together to stand up for their rights and the rights of all girls.wp_*posts
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Release Date: April 19, 2022
Baker Abby Jimenez somehow managed to turn her Cupcake Wars fame into a successful career as a romance novelist, and we’re totally here for it. Her fourth book, Part of Your World, comes out in April, and it’s the perfect lighthearted read to enjoy over spring break. It’s about a city-dwelling ER doctor who falls for a much younger, working-class guy and has to decide whether their differences are surmountable or if their relationship is destined to be just a fling.wp_*posts
Coming Up Cuban by Sonia Manzano
Photo: Scholastic
Release Date: May 3, 2022
Author and Sesame Street icon Sonia Manzano is releasing her second YA novel, Coming Up Cuban, this spring. It’s the tale of four Cuban children and how their lives unfold in the wake of the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Spread out from Havana to New York City, each of them remains connected by their shared experience and history, despite the vastly different paths their lives follow.wp_*posts
Inheritance by Elizabeth Acevedo
Photo: HarperCollins
Release Date: May 3, 2022
It’s almost here! It feels like we’ve been waiting for Dominican-American poet Elizabeth Acevedo’s new book forever, but it looks like it’s going to be worth the wait. The book is titled Inheritance, and will be what’s described as a “visual poem.” In it, Elizabeth tackles the loaded and convoluted concepts of “pelo malo,” colorism, and Afro-Latinidad, all of which have become major topics within the Latinx community over the past several years. The book is comprised of a single poem that is illustrated with vibrant pictures created by artist, Andrea Pippin, and is intended to appeal to a wide range of women of any age including children.wp_*posts
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
Release Date: May 10, 2022
We are so excited to read a horror novel by a Latina author. The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas is the super-spooky, supernatural tale of a young woman whose father was killed during the Mexican War of Independence. Hoping for security, she agrees to marry a handsome and wealthy man. After the wedding, she moves into his home and he returns to work in the city, but before long, she begins to suspect her new home is haunted by a dangerous, dark presence.wp_*posts
Café Con Lychee by Emery Lee
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVjFja6v_gA/
Release Date: May 10, 2022
Author Emory Lee’s multi-ethnic heritage informs the storyline of his upcoming novel, Café Con Lychee, which is a sweet rom-com about two teen boys who’ve known each other their whole lives, but never gotten along that well, are forced to work together to save their parents’ businesses so they can move on with their own lives. Only, as they spend more time together, they begin to realize that romantic feelings are blossoming.
