Ten Latina Authored Books For Summer

By Kalyn Belsha, Voxxi

Now that spring is officially behind us, you’re probably on the hunt for some beach reads that are not Fifty Shades of Grey.

Luckily, Latino Literacy Now just named its top books at the International Latino Book Awards, awarding several Latina authors top honors earlier this month.

Below are 10 prize-winning books by Latinas that you can add to your summer reading list:

1. ¿Qué hago con el sexo? By Flavia Dos Santos

This Spanish-language advice book answers 300 of the most-frequently-asked questions about sex that Dos Santos, a Brazilian sexologist, psychologist and couples’ therapist, has fielded at her practice. Dos Santos used to host a similar Q&A TV program in Colombia, so no topic is off limits here.

From cross-dressing to anal sex to role-playing to bestiality, Dos Santos tackles it all. (Note: Book is available for pre-order in the United States, but is for sale in Latin America.)

2. L.A. Xicano, Edited by Chon A. Noriega, Terezita Romo and Pilar Tompkins Rivas

A perfect coffee table book, L.A. Xicano is the written counterpart to four art exhibitions about the contributions of Mexican-American and Chicano artists to American art, with a focus on Los Angeles since 1945. Romo and Tompkins Rivas are independent curators.

3. Latinnovating: Green American Jobs and the Latinos Creating Them, By Graciela Tiscareño-Sato

It’s not often you see Latinos recognized for their environmental entrepreneurial spirit, so it’s refreshing to see Tiscareño-Sato highlighting 10 case studies from the field. An inspiration to young Latinos considering entering the green economy, Latinnovating has been praised by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

4. Conversations With My Skin, By Peggy Robles-Alvarado

Conversations With My Skin is Robles-Alvarado’s debut collection of poetryabout the Puerto Rican and Dominican author’s journey through teen pregnancy, an abusive relationship and growth as a woman. Hailed as powerful, honest, moving and brutal by Being Latino.

5. Traces of Bliss, By Cecilia Velástegui

Velástegui’s novel, set in the wealthy Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, explores the intersection of memory, betrayal, curanderismo and the history of Amazonian Ecuador, the author’s native country.

6. Chicanas of 18th Street, By Leonard Ramirez with Yenelli Flores, Maria Gamboa, Isaura Gonzalez, Victoria Perez, Madga Ramirez-Castaneda and Cristina Vital

A must-read for fans of Chicano history and women’s oral history, this book explores the stories of six female community organizers working in Chicago’s Mexican-American neighborhood of Pilsen during the 1960s and ‘70s.

7. Vademécum Mujeres: Para que la vida no se te vuelva de cuadritos, By Maria Villegas and Jennie Kent

A resource book for young women with advice about balancing your health, finances, relationships, career and social life. (Available for pre-order, with an August release date.)

8. Finding Fernanda: Two Mothers, One Child, and a Cross-Border Search for Truth, By Erin Siegal

Siegal’s non-fiction book about the lucrative, 30-year-old Guatemalan adoption industry reads like a mystery novel, exploring the true story of a Guatemalan mother whose two young daughters were stolen from her and the American housewife who almost adopts one.

9. Time in Between (also available in Spanish as El Tiempo Entre Costuras), By María Dueñas

This historical fiction debut novel from a Spanish author details the life of a young woman who flees Spain before the Spanish Civil War, follows her lover to Morocco and ends up a spy for the Allies during World War II.

10. A Song in My Heart, By Roma Calatayud-Stocks

The first in a trilogy, this historical novel weaves music, art, and romance set against the backdrop of Minneapolis in the early 20th century.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Kalyn Belsha is a freelance journalist based in Chicago. Her primary areas of interest are language education, immigration policy, changing demographics and Latino community news.