Here in the U.S., National Latinx Heritage Month lasts from September 15 – October 15! I’m always looking to diversify my reading, but this month is especially important to me since I’m half Latina myself, and I love exploring parts of my culture and others’ through literature. I sadly didn’t get around to making a recommendations post last year, since it landed when I was still trying to settle into college, but I really wanted to make on this year, so I planned ahead. And even though the header says YA (I’m stingy about my WordPress space), I wanted to include books of all age ranges in this year’s post. Enjoy!
For my past lists for Latinx Heritage Month, click here:
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! What are your favorite books by Latinx authors? Have you read any of these books, and what did you think of them? Let me know in the comments!
Today’s song:
merry Shakey Graves, everybody
That’s it for this post! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
Already a month into 2023! I hope you’ve all been doing well and staying safe. I could do without how freezing it’s been, but it’s been
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
Happy new year! January is usually my least favorite month in general; now that all of the fun of the holidays are over, all of the snow just makes everything look all sad and sludgy. And it’s been a freezing January—as I’m writing this, it’s a balmy 3° outside. We had our first snow day of the year on the second day of school, even though we really didn’t get all that much snow. Not that I’m complaining. It would’ve suckedto walk in all that. Needless to say, I wore my pajamas all day that day.
Winter break lasted blissfully long, and I got to catch up with one of my best friends for coffee, which was wonderful. As far as college goes, I think I’m in for an easier semester—no math or science credits this semester, and it’s still all English/humanities classes. Again, another reason why I’m enjoying this part of college—I’m taking another class where the reading is all comics, a Science Fiction class, and a class on LGBT studies (specifically focusing on Black/African diaspora)! I’m enjoying all of them so far.
I’ve had a fairly decent reading month, I’d say; break gave me some much-needed time to read after finals, and a family friend very generously gave some of his comics to me, so I’ve been slowly making my way through those as well. My reading’s slowed down a tad bit just from getting back into the rhythm of school, but it’s a lot better than the first semester in terms of how much I’m reading. Not complaining that I’m re-reading Slaughterhouse-Five for my intro to fiction class.
Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, playing guitar, trying to write a bit more (gonna need to for class, anyway…), blowing through all three seasons of Derry Girls (we love Clare in this house), and doing my best to stay warm. Fingers crossed that February will be more merciful on the weather front.
Also, you can’t really tell because I’m wearing a beanie in the new pfp, but I shaved my head on New Year’s Eve. Feels lovely, gotta say.
READING AND BLOGGING:
I read 21 books this month! I had a few brief slumps, but overall, I’d say it was a fairly even mix this month; I’ve already had a DNF, but I had two 4.5 star reads as well, so I think that cancels out.
this has been on repeat in my library for eternity
a find from The Heartstopper Yearbook
if I had a nickel for every Gorillaz song that I haven’t been able to stop listening to this month, I’d have two nickels. which isn’t that much, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
a perfect, wintry album for January
NEW BOYGENIUS ALBUM NEW BOYGENIUS ALBUM THIS IS NOT A DRILL Y’ALL
and as if on cue, I’m on a huge Super Furry Animals kick again
Today’s song:
fantastic album!! just finished listening yesterday
That’s it for this month in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
I’ve had The Last Cuentista on my TBR for a fair amount of time, but I’d forgotten about it until I saw a copy at my college’s library, so I ended up picking it up. I remembered almost nothing about the synopsis or why I wanted to pick it up in the first place, but what I found was a beautiful tale of the power of storytelling.
Petra Peña loves nothing more than listening to the stories of her abuelita, and dreams of someday being a storyteller like her. But when Earth is put in danger by a comet, she must abandon her abuelita and travel with her parents and younger brother to planet Sagan, where humanity can start over. But on the centuries-long journey, the ship is infiltrated by the Collective, a shady organization who aims to erase the crimes of humanity’s past by wiping the memories of all the passengers. When Petra wakes up, she realizes that she is the only one who remembers Earth—and the only one who can save what remains of the human species from forgetting itself altogether.
TW/CW: loss of loved ones, descriptions of injury, fear, descriptions of sleep paralysis
Good middle-grade sci-fi is hard to come by, but The Last Cuentista was nothing short of wonderful. With a story as beautiful as its cover, it’s a shining testament to the power of storytelling and a poignant reminder to never forget where you came from.
I know I opened with specifically saying that The Last Cuentista is middle-grade, but I’d say it toes the line right between middle grade and YA. Petra is 13 years old, and there’s certainly some more middle-grade aspects to how the themes are dealt with and some of the character interactions, but it borders on hardcore, nail-biting sci-fi in other places. Think of every piece of sci-fi media that deals with cryosleep for several centuries, and think of all of the potential, existential obstacles that come along with it: chances are, they do end up appearing in this book. It’s a weird place to navigate reading-wise when you’re that age (I certainly remember wishing that there was an in-between place for middle grade and YA), but The Last Cuentista retains a middle-grade sensibility without downplaying the integrity of its themes and world simply because it’s aimed at a younger audience.
One of the strongest aspects of The Last Cuentista was Donna Barba Higuera’s fantastic writing. She especially excels at sensory details; in a particularly nail-biting scene when Petra is still awake while her pod is preparing for cryosleep (AAAAAAAAAAAAAA), Higuera filled her prose with all kinds of sensory details that really sold the crushing fear of the moment. Her descriptions of the bizarre flora and fauna of Sagan are just as lush, painting a picture of an alien planet just as well as Petra’s abuelita paints stories. Higuera’s ability to create suspense and her ability to spin beautiful prose went hand in hand, making for a novel that had me invested the whole time.
The Last Cuentista also had some beautiful themes; Petra’s quest to keep the history of humanity alive through storytelling serves to remind us that we should never forget who we are, despite having a history wracked with war and darkness. The Collective was a perfect, sinister dystopia to set this theme against, and they also added to the suspense that Higuera consistently built throughout the novel. Petra’s journey to return humanity to its roots was poignantly written and so wonderfully timely, and I have no doubt that The Last Cuentista will be a book that stands the test of time. In the end, we are all united by the stories that bind us together. Never underestimate the power of a storyteller.
My only gripe with this novel were some of the characters. Other than Petra and her family, most of the side characters felt interchangeable. A few of them had a few base traits to go off of, but other than that, I often found myself getting them mixed up. The switch from the Greek letter/number designations to nicknames didn’t necessarily help, although it was clearly important thematically. I wish we’d gotten as much development out of at least some of them as we got with Petra and maybe Voxy—the story was powerful by itself, but it would have been more so if some of the other characters were more fleshed out.
All in all, a beautiful piece of sci-fi that reminds us that stories have the power to do anything—change us, teach us, and above all, unite us. 4 stars!
The Last Cuentista is a standalone, but Donna Barba Higuera is also the author of Lupe Wong Won’t Dance, as well as the picture books El Cucuy is Scared, Too! and the upcoming The Yellow Handkerchief.
Today’s song:
shuffle decided to hit me right in the 6th grade feels today, I see
That’s it for this week’s Book Review Tuesday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
The Bookish Mutant 