National Hispanic Heritage Month Reading List
From September 15th to October 15th we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Why does the holiday fall between two calendar months? Originally, the celebration was a week-long commemoration in June of 1968. It wasn’t until Ronald Reagan was president in 1988 that it was extended to 30 days. September 15th is the independence anniversary of El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Many other holidays fall in the days that follow, including Mexico on September 16th, Chile on September 18th, and Belize on September 21st. It continues through October, especially to include Dia de la Raza (Race Day) on October 12th, which is celebrated in Mexico to recognize the mixed Indigenous and European ancestry of the country. This month celebrates the historical contributions that those of Hispanic Heritage have contributed to our country as well as their history and culture.
The Poet X: A Novel
A novel in verse. Frustrated by her Mami's religious aspirations for her, Xiomara copes by writing poetry. When her school starts a poetry club, Xiomara looks for a way to participate in this forbidden activity. Strong language and descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. For senior high and older readers. 2018.
Book Length: 3 hours, 33 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB092221
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
After her older sister, Olga, dies suddenly, Julia knows she cannot live up to her sister's standards in the eyes of her traditional family. But she soon discovers that Olga may not have been as perfect as everyone thought. Contains strong language, some explicit descriptions of sex and some violence. Commercial audiobook. For senior high and older readers. 2017.
Book Length: 9 hours, 44 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB089358
The House of Broken Angels: A Novel
Dying patriarch Miguel Angel de La Cruz, known as Big Angel, gathers his family to him for one last birthday party. His mother, nearly one hundred years old herself, dies in the days leading up to the party. The family reckons with truth. Contains some violence and some strong language. Foreign accent. Commercial audiobook. 2018.
Book Length: 9 hours, 48 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB090352
Don’t Date Rosa Santos
Rosa Santos feels caught between cultures and choices, between her abuela--a beloved pillar of their Cuban community in Florida--and her mother, an artist who is rarely around. As her college decision looms, Rosa meets a mysterious boy. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. For senior high and older readers. 2019.
Book Length: 9 hours, 7 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB095383
Dolores Huerta Stands Strong: the Woman who Demanded Justice
Explores the life of activist Dolores Huerta, from her early years as a teacher to her advocacy work that led to her co-founding the United Farm Workers union with César Chávez. Describes the 2012 ceremony in which Huerta received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For grades 5-8. 2018.
Book Length: 2 hours, 54 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB093905
Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States
History professor examines the Hispanic past of the United States, from Spain's colonization of Puerto Rico in 1505 to the twenty-first-century debate over immigration reform. Encourages the embrace of Hispanic culture and posits that doing so would be to the nation's advantage and enrichment. 2014.
Book Length: 17 hours, 29 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB078528
Mexican Gothic
Mexico City, 1950. After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, socialite Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. Both the home and its owners seem to have a dark past. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2020.
Book Length: 10 hours, 42 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB099404
One Hundred Years of Solitude
1820s to 1920s. Latin American epic tale follows seven generations of the Buendía family through triumphs and disasters that parallel the fortunes and misfortunes of their utopian town, Macondo. By the Colombian Nobel Prize-winning author. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. 1967.
Book Length: 14 hours, 33 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB059490
Olga Dies Dreaming
In 2017, Olga is wedding planner for Manhattan's power brokers, while her brother Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn. Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy--especially as their radical mother comes barreling back into their lives. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2022.
Book Length: 11 hours, 25 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB106303
Daughter of Fortune
In 1849 Eliza Sommers follows her fiancé to California, where he has gone in search of gold. Her experiences in the harsh land gripped by gold fever transform her into an exceptional woman. She is befriended by a Chinese doctor who teaches her about the human condition. Bestseller. 1999.
Book Length: 14 hours, 8 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB048869