A Belated Congratulations And I Revisit More Latino Authors Please/Necesitamos mas autores Latinos

I've been awhile for minute and it that time the winner of the NerdsHeartYA, a tournament for underrepresented YA was announced. Congratulations to Renee Watson, who won for What Momma Left Me, one of my favorite reads of 2010. It was up against another 2010 Favorite of mine, Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John. Each year the tournament accomplishes its goal of bringing some much needed and well deserved attention to all nominated titles. NerdsHeartYA is in its third year, and I've yet to be disappointed or underwhelmed by a winning title.


We are right in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month which started on Sept. 15 and runs until Oct 15. There are a lot of great blogs including Latin Baby Book Club and Bookjoy Ever year there seem to be more mainstream Spanish/English picture books which is a very good thing. I only wish that same increase could be seen with early readers, middle grade and young adult novels. As it is now there simply aren't enough books by Latino authors or featuring Latino characters to sustain a blog that isn't centered around picture books.

Last year I did a feature called More Latino Authors Please/necesitamos mas autores Latinos only 15 middle grade and young adult Latino authors were published last year. Initially it was 16 but Guadalupe Garcia McCall's debut, Under the Mesquite with pushed back to this Sept. (loved it) Only 15 authors is beyond ridiculous and lets not forget that's combining middle grade and young adult. There are 15 White young adult authors published any given Tuesday.

When I did that feature I was a bit worked up, seeing the hard facts of a marginalized group having less then 20 authors published in a year its difficult not to feel the injustice of it. But I kept my emotions in check.

Authors Alex Sanchez, Jennifer Cervantes, Christina Gonzalez, Caridad Ferrer and Francisco X. Stork were all kind enough to answers a few question about the issue. I learned something from all of their answers, if you missed it the first time around, the link to all of the authors answer can be found here

This year there were 13 novels published by Latino authors. I could've missed a few but even if one did a margin error of 5 that's still less then 20 titles. I am absolutely loving the fact that two of my favorite debuts are by Latina authors, What Can't Wait by Ashley Hope Perez and Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.

For whatever reason the gatekeepers are doing their best to keep Latino authors out. So it pleases me to no end to see Hope Perez and Garcia McCall bring it hard. Like what? You can't deny my goodness.

The first chapter of What Can't Wait, my interview with the author

An excerpt from Under the Mesquite, the author's interview @ Bookjoy

Give Autographed Books (Support the Economy & Authors of Color)

It's no surprise that many books by children's authors of color have to be ordered. So why not order an autographed copy for the holidays

Tuesday December 7, this Tuesday, YA author Caridad Ferrer will be signing her newest book When the Stars go Blue @ Third Place Books - (206) - 366-3333

When the Stars go Blue is so very good and visually beautiful. I loved the main character Soledad Reyes. This contemporary YA retelling of the Carmen is a great gift for any one who loves the arts.

A personalized copy of When the Stars go Blue would make a wonderful gift for a music or dance instructor.

On Monday December 13th,

Authors - Zetta Elliott, Christopher Grant, Kekla Magoon and Rita Williams -Garcia will be signing @ Daddy's Basement Bookstore - (347) 770-8114
This line up is some serious WOW.

If you've been visiting my blog for awhile now, you know I love Zetta Elliott's A Wish After Midnight - my review when it was re released by Amazon Encore this year, I talked about A Wish After Midnight again will pretty much mention AWAM whenever I can. Its that good.

Teenie is Christopher Grant's YA debut. Its very good. It was such a pleasure to read a hard to put down, contemporary YA novel featuring a Black female character with Caribbean roots.

The Rock and the River is Kekla Magoon's wonderful, award winning middle grade debut. It's historical fiction novel set in 1968 Chicago. 13 yr old Sam must decide which path for change will work better from him. I believe this is the first MG novel that deals with the Black Panthers. (about time). The Rock and the River is very good and shouldn't be missed.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia was a 2010 National Book Award finalist. It's 1968, three sisters will be spending the summer with their mother in Oakland. The sisters spend most of their time at a local committee center run by The Black Panthers. This is one of my favorite middle grade novels of the year.

Every once in awhile, someone on the news will talk about ways to help improve the economy. I have yet to hear anyone give the most obvious answer. Don't Do All Of Your Holiday Shopping Online.

Sure Amazon can give you free shipping, but can Amazon give you a personalized gift? NO!

So order some autographed books for the Holidays. If you do, you'll be supporting the economy, authors of color and giving some great gifts. Everyone wins.

When the Stars go Blue - Caridad Ferrer

When The Stars Go Blue by Caridad Ferrer
18 yr old Soledad has just graduated from a performing arts High School in Miami. She studied dance her entire life. Soledad was going to spend the saving up money to move to NYC. Soledad impulsively changes her plans when, Jonathan, another recent graduate offers up a new dance challenge and his heart.

Jonathan is a trumpet player and a member of the Florida Raiders drum and bugle crops. During the summer they compete against other drum crops. This year the all male team will be doing Carmen. After Jonathan convinces Soledad to audition the part is hers.

This book was so good. I loved Soledad. She wasn't humble about her dancing talent nor was she conceited. She simply owned it and would not allow any one to tell her otherwise.

"As I walked the length of the bleachers and out onto the floor eyeballing the dimensions and staking out a good starting spot, I heard, "What do you want to bet she'll be kiss-ass predictable and do something from Carmen? said fairly quiet, but not that quiet. My gut clenched some but otherwise? Bitch please. I met the offender's gaze head on and smiled that smile I'd learned from Mamacita - the serene,
"come too close and I'll cut you" smile. "

Soledad and Jonathan's relationship comes about fairly quickly, its very believable in its intensity. After the first few fair competitions the Raiders kept running into the same 20 and under all star soccer team from Spain. Soledad catches the eye of Taz, one of the best soccer players. Soledad knows her heart belongs to Jonathan but he just can't see that.

When the Stars go Blue is keep turning the pages good. Part of that comes with the beautiful balance. This is one of the best YA romances I've ever read, yet the author doesn't forget drum crop competition. I could see the Raiders on field with all eyes on Soledad. It was very nice to see Soledad embrace her Cuban curves.

Soledad, Jonathan, and Taz were all very good at what they do. One of the many things I liked, all three had keep practicing to continue to be the best.

This novel has one of the best middle of the book "WOW" didn't see that coming moments I've read in a long time. Ferrer totally crushed it. What made it even better, I was already very much into the story.

This modern retelling of Carmen is a must read for all artistically inclined people. And those who are simply smart enough to appreciate the beautiful art when they see it. An excerpt

On Tuesday Dec. 7, Caridad Ferrer will be signing at Third Place Books in Seattle. @ 7pm. An autographed book would make an excellent holiday gift. A little S&H is nothing when it comes to a well thought out personalized gift. 206-366- 3333

On Sale Now : New Releases (Latino Edition)

I didn't set out to make this the Latino Edition but one thing lead to another.

La aventura del Dia Mundial de al Escuela by Shakira, illus. by Kellee Riley and Kuni Tomita. And yes tt's the grammy award winning artist. This Dora Explorer book is making the list because I know Shakira does a lot of charity work.*


Manolito Four Eyes by Elvira Lindo, illus by Emilio Urberuga, translated by Joanne Moriarty. This is a popular children's series in Spain. An excerpt


When the Stars go Blue by Caridad Ferrer. I love this cover. This sounds like a beautiful story, I can't wait to read it. Even more so after the author was kind enough to answer a few questions about Latino authors and Young Adult literature for my blog back in October. Ferrer's answers were just WOW. I (I already have my copy) read an excerpt or Ari's rave review


I've done many features and interviews this year, More Latino Authors/Necesitamos mas autores Latinos was one of my favorites. It was only as good as it was because of the authors

Three of my favorite Latino Picture Books of 2010

Chavela and the Magic Bubble by Monica Brown illus. by Magaly Morales. my review

Floating on Mama's Song by Laura Lacamara, illus by Yuyi Morales. my review

The Tooth Fairy Meets El Raton Perez by Rene Colato Lainez, illus by Tom Lintern. my review

*Maybe one of Shakira's people will accidentally find this and tell her about "When the Stars Go Blue" a story about a Latina girl who loves to dance. Shakira reads it and loves it,next thing you know, Ferrer's novel is muy caliente.

Latino Authors - The End Has Come

When I do a feature I never know how its going to turn out. I loved this one, thanks to the authors.

In cased you missed it,

More Latino Authors Please/necesitamos mas autores Latinos

The Authors

Alex Sanchez
Jennifer Cervantes
Christina Gonzalez
Caridad Ferrer
Francisco X. Stork

And Finally
Who published what
Cincos Puntos Press

Initially one of the authors I asked to take part was Coert Voorhees I loved his debut novel The Brothers Torres. Voorhees got back to me quickly and informed me that he's White. I was surprised and some what embarrassed for getting his ethnicity wrong. Do I think less of The Brothers Torres, because the author isn't Latino? No. Good is good.

I decided to do this feature because I am for people being able to tell their own stories and create their own characters. Not because I am against writers who write as outsiders. Every writer should have the same freedom to create.

If you are searching for Latino authors, adult and children's literature - La Bloga is a must read.

If you made it all the way to the end. Gracias.