8 Must-Read Books by Latinx Authors

Stories about immigration might sound familiar and similar to many, but each one of them carries a uniqueness to it, and they are also permeated by the time when they happen. In Dominicana ($19), Angie Cruz makes us travel in time to the 1960s, when Ana Canción marries a man twice her age because it is an opportunity for her to immigrate to New York from the Dominican Republic. In this novel, we go through her life and experience as an immigrant in the '60s and how she fights to have a place and a voice in an unknown land.

Colombian writer and artist Amalia Andrade made it all the way from Cali and translated her first book to English. She explores creative and interactive ways to get over a broken heart, accompanied by quirky illustrations, song lyrics that fit into the moment, recipes to eat your feelings, and so much more. Amalia understands a broken heart all too well, and she knows that even though it looks like the end of the world, it's certainly not the case. You Always Change the Love of Your Life ($9) is a guide to mending your heart and figuring out what to do with it, whether to open it again or keep it guarded.

Five women — Romina, Flaca, Anita, Paz, y Malena — find each other in 1977 Uruguay, during a military government that is used to repress political dissent. They will be tested by society, their families, lovers, and everyone who sees them try to live authentic lives. Described as a "breathtaking portrait of queer love, community, forgotten history, and the strength of the human spirit," Cantoras ($16) is a tale about women with fire in their souls, fighting until the end for the right to be themselves.

Coming up on March 31, the English edition of the acclaimed novel by Mexican writer Fernanda Melchor will be available. The body of a witch is discovered by a group of children in a small town, a mystery that becomes the catalyst for a hurricane of perspectives from different villagers, theories, and speculation from different personal narratives. Hurricane Season ($16) is a book that touches on femicide and the small communities left behind by global capitalism, the ones that still function under certain "magical" elements and beliefs that in a certain way drive how they live their lives and the way they see the world.

Joseph Cassara's highly anticipated debut novel incorporates stories from the real-life House of Xtravaganza, the first Latinx house of the underground ballroom scene of New York City in the '80s. Deep in the heart of Harlem, The House of Impossible Beauties ($11) tells the story of Angel and Hector, the founders of Xtravaganza, and the way they navigate their lives into the drag world, facing problems like addiction, sex work, and abuse.

Octavio Solis grew up in El Paso, TX, right next to the Mexican border and within a culture infused with the habits and culture of both countries. In Retablos ($12), Solis feeds on all of this rich culture to tell stories of events, moments, and transformations that marked his childhood by the border, like his parents' move from Mexico to the US, finding a migrant girl hidden in the cotton fields, and his first encounter with racism.

If you loved Gilmore Girls or To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Don't Date Rosa Santos ($9) is the book for you. This Cuban-American novel is all you expect from a rom-com (in fact, it would make an amazing movie), and Nina Moreno does a great job describing all the details of the story of Rosa, a girl who people believe is cursed and who lives between her life in Florida and the legacy of her Cuban family, including her beloved abuela.

The daughter of Cuban refugees and raised in Miami, Jennine Capó Crucet knows well what it is to find herself a stranger in the place she was born. In My Time Among the Whites ($13), a collection of essays, the writer explores the many aspects of her identity, the different places where she experienced them as an "outsider," and how she came to the conclusion that she will never fit in entirely with the white American narrative, all with a bit of humor that teaches us how many first-generation Americans have to live and learn to adapt themselves to a world that seems strange to them.