2025 LATINO BOOKS OF THE YEAR

 

List curated by the Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club.

 

Abuela Lore by Isabella Santana (Somos en Escrito Literary Foundation Press)

Alligator Tears by Edgar Gomez (Crown)

Art Above Everything by Stephanie Elizondo Griest (Beacon Press)

Bird of Four Hundred Voices by Eugene Rodriguez (Heyday)

Black Mestiza: Poems by Yael Aldana (University Press of Kentucky)

Badass Bonita by Kim Guerra (Balance)

Brother Brontë by Fernando A. Flores  (MCD)

Daughter of Fire by Sofia Robleda (Amazon Crossing)

Embody Joy by Beatriz Fritschler (independently published)

I’ll Give You a Reason by Annell López (The Feminist Press at CUNY)

Latina Superheroes: Jalisco & Santa Vol. 1 by Kayden Phoenix (Andrews McMeel Publishing)

Las Bugambilias: A Bilingual Queer Novel by Lalo León (Alv Publishing)

Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura (Celadon Books)

Loca by Alejandro Heredia (Simon & Schuster)

Los Muertos: Day of the Dead Fiction by Adela Pineda Franco (Tinta Books)

Malinalli by Veronica Chapa (Atria / Primero Sueño Press)

One Summer Night at the Shore by Caridad Pineiro (independently published)

Ramas y Raices: The Best of CALMA by Colorado Alliance of Latino Mentors and Authors (CALMA)

Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan (Mulholland Books)

Speak Up! by Susana G. Baumann (Excel Branding)

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey)

The Border Between Us by Rudy Ruiz (Blackstone Publishing)

The Prince & The Coyote by David Bowles (Levine Querido)  

The Witches of El Paso by Luis Jaramillo (Atria/ Primero Sueño Press)

Vanishing Daughters by Cynthia Pelayo (Thomas & Mercer)

 

 

The Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club is celebrating its 19th year.

There are book clubs in 12 cities. The Book Club is part of Las Comadres Para Las Americas, a not-for-profit organization for Latinas with 10,000 members worldwide.  The Book Club’s mission is to promote the work of Latine authors to every book lover, to bring our community to bookstores, and to support our writers. 

The Comadres & Friends Book Club Membership is free and open to everyone -- Latinos and non-Latinos.  We read two books by Latino authors every month in English, and hold a Live Author Podcast the last Monday of the month.  Visit us at www.latinolit.com.   

#ReadLatinoLit.

 

 

 

LAS COMADRES & FRIENDS ANNOUNCES ITS BOOKS OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER

 

The Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club is pleased to announce its Books of the Month for October:

 

  

 

LOS MUERTOS: DAY OF THE DEAD FICTION edited by Adela Pineda Franco (Trinity University Press) – The first anthology of fiction devoted to the Day of the Dead celebratory holiday written by Mexican and Mexican American writers.  Twenty plus stories related to memorializing the dead.  (NOTE: Publisher offering 20% discount. Use the code Comadres20 for paperback only.  Here’s the link:  https://tupress.org/9781595343130/los-muertos/)

VANISHING DAUGHTERS by Cynthia Pelayo (Thomas & Mercer) – This Bram Stoker Award-winning author has written a chilling suspense thriller about a haunted woman stalked by a serial killer and the nightmares of real life.   (NOTE:  Kindle Unlimited has this book for $0 now.)

 

  

SAVE THE DATE!  Mark your calendars for Monday, October 27, 8pm ET for the monthly Live Author Podcast when we will get a chance to talk to the authors and ask them about their books.   Register today for the podcast and you may win a FREE BOOK: https://latinolit.com/join-teleconference/

  

Shop for your books here:  https://bookshop.org/shop/lascomadresbookclub

 

Subscribe to the Las Comadres YouTube Channel for more author interviews.  Here's the link to last month's Live Author Podcast: https://youtu.be/jg4yB6FefVM?si=s_xr01YyWGxqVy1L

 

    

Happy Reading and Always Read Latino Lit!

 

 

LAS COMADRES & FRIENDS BOOK CLUB ANNOUNCES BOOKS OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST

The Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club is pleased to announce its Books of the Month for August:

    

      

         

ONE SUMMER NIGHT by Caridad Pineiro – family feuds have kept these childhood sweethearts apart for far too long. Now they are breaking free.

ART ABOVE EVERYTHING by Stephanie Elizondo Griest – author travels to 10 nations where she interviews legendary artists, painters, poets, dancers, et al and asks them is art enough?

For complete book summaries and author bios visit:  www.latinolit.com.

SAVE THE DATE!  Mark your calendars for Monday, August 25, 8pm ET for the monthly zoom Teleconference where we will get a chance to talk to the authors and ask them about their books.   

 

Register today for the teleconference and you may win a FREE BOOK: https://latinolit.com/join-teleconference/

  

 

Subscribe to the Las Comadres YouTube Channel for more author interviews.  Here's the link to last month's teleconference:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9oFSBen7sg

 

AND!  Check out our Summer Reading List.  20 hot reads here:  https://latinolit.com/2025-summer-reading-list/

 

   

Happy Reading and Always Read Latino Lit!

 

 

LAS COMADRES & FRIENDS BOOK CLUB ANNOUNCES JULY BOOKS OF THE MONTH

 

The Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club is pleased to announce its July Books of the Month:

 

     

BROTHER BRONTE by Fernando A. Flores (MCD Books) – It’s 2038 and reading has been outlawed. Two women fight to save their dystopian border town—and literature!—in this near-future adventure.

 

MALINALLI by Veronica Chapa (Primero Sueño Press) – A real-life historical figure, Malinalli was considered a goddess, a slave, a traitor.  She was all those and this is her story.

 

 

For complete book summaries and author bios visit:  www.latinolit.com.

  

SAVE THE DATE!  Mark your calendars for Monday, July 28, 8pm ET for the monthly zoom Teleconference where we will get a chance to talk to the authors and ask them about their books.   

 

Register today for the teleconference and you may win a FREE BOOK: https://latinolit.com/join-teleconference/

  

Shop for your books here:  https://bookshop.org/shop/lascomadresbookclub

Subscribe to the Las Comadres YouTube Channel for more author interviews.  Here's the link to last month's teleconference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkckqqwctEs

 

Check out our Summer Reading List.  20 hot reads here:  https://latinolit.com/2025-summer-reading-list/

 

   

Happy Reading and Always Read Latino Lit!

 

LAS COMADRES & FRIENDS BOOK CLUB ANNOUNCES BOOKS FOR JANUARY 2025

CELEBRATING 18 YEARS !

Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club is proud to announce its January Books of the Month:

 

  

THE PRINCE AND THE COYOTE by David Knowles -- A Pura Belpré Award Winner, this book brings to life one of Mexico’s most treasured heroes, Nezahualcoyotl, in a story that will thrill readers far and wide.

 

EMBODY JOY: A WOMAN’S JOURNEY OF RECONNECTION WITH HER BODY by Beatriz Fritschler  -- This memoir is not just a personal account but a universal story of resilience, healing, and the power of embracing one's true self. 

 

For complete book summaries and author bios, visit our website at www.latinolit.com.

 

Shop for your books here:  https://bookshop.org/shop/lascomadresbookclub

 

Subscribe to the Las Comadres YouTube Channel for more author interviews:  https://www.youtube.com/@LasComadresParaLasAmericas/playlists

 

 

SAVE THE DATE! Monday, January 27, 8pm ET for the monthly Teleconference where we will get a chance to talk to the authors and ask them about their books.  

 

Register today for the teleconference and you may win a FREE BOOK: https://latinolit.com/join-teleconference/

 

 

Happy Reading and Always Read Latino Lit!

 

LAS COMADRES CELEBRATES MEMBERS' ACCOMPLISHMENTS & BOOK NEWS -- DECEMBER 2024 / JANUARY 2025

 

Welcome 2025!   We open the new year with a heartfelt Congratulations to the following Comadres on their Accomplishments, and to Comadre Authors on their new books.   

 

 

 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin (Pasadena, CA) -- Received the coveted PEN Nomination for her poem, The Many Faces of La Llorona, published in the Altadena Poetry Anthology Review 2024. I also read Spanish translations from her book, Mi Amor (September 2024) at Los Libros in Lincoln Heights. I recited Nopal, Muse, Medicine and Sustenance from my thrice winning International Latino Book awarded Chicana On Fire (December 2024) at the Xicana Exhibit, El Camino College.  AND!  She exhibited portraits (August-December 2024) at The CASA 0101 Art Gallery and an altar dedicated to recently deceased Gloria Molina, First Latina elected to the CA assembly.

 

Andrea Arroyo (New York, NY) – Was a guest at art conferences and exhibitions in Italy and France last year. Her solo exhibition "Faces & Façades" at the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum in Manhattan (https://morrisjumel.org/exhibitions/faces-facades/) was featured in the NY Amsterdam News and is on view through March 23, 2025. Please email me for a QR code that grants free entrance to the museum; email amae347@yahoo.com.

 

Julieta Corpus (Weslaco, TX) – Her book, Of Love And Departures/ De Amor Y Despedidas, is a bilingual poetry book available through Amazon. It is a collection of poems in English and in Spanish about love and loss and grief written during and after the death of her late husband Arturo Saldana, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2014 and passed away in March 2016.

 

Yanelba Ferreira (Bronx, NY) – Happy to announce her recent acting roles!  (1.) Performed as Jury Foreperson (co-star role) in Law & Order, Season 23, Episode 4 which aired on February 8, 2024.  (2.)  Performed as Rosa Castillo (supporting role) in the short film “Hello Brooklyn!” directed by Dustin Prestige, premiered at Stuart Cinema in Brooklyn, NY on October 8, 2024 and is also available for viewing on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_wlJzVUmTU0.  (3.) Performed as Mami (supporting role) in the short film “Niña Linda” directed by Ashley Morales, premiered at Rider University on December 8, 2024. Film is currently not available for viewing online as it is being submitted to film festivals.

 

Lourdes Ortiz (North Attleboro & Massachusetts) -- Graduates with an MBA in May 2025. She has three small children – 6, 4 and 1.  She works a full-time job; cares for her three kids; and stays up many late nights, sometimes ‘til 3am, studying. Lourdes is very happy and very proud of herself.  [We are too!]

 

Mirtha Perez (Cedar Park, TX) -- The week before Christmas, Mirtha and her daughter went to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to kick off her gymnastics season with Acrotex Cedar Park.  She competed in the Puerto Rico Classic and got 1st in Bars, 3rd in Beam and 3rd All Around. She qualified for the Laurie Hernandez Champions Challenge the next day where she got 5th place All Around, and Laurie was there to give some pep talks to the gymnasts.  It was an amazing experience for both!

 

Susana Sandoval (Denver /Chicago/Los Angeles) – Won a Scholarship for her annual grantsmanship training (recertification).

 

Leonor Vargas (Austin, TX) -- This year, Wisdom En Familias LLC, was honored to collaborate with the Community Advancement Network to design and lead outreach for the bilingual mobile Mental Health Outreach Toolkit (Pathways to Mental Health Healing). This initiative was created to uplift and serve Spanish-speaking communities, addressing the urgent need for accessible mental health resources. With the steadfast support of our incredible partners—Southwest Key Programs, NAMI, our advisory group, and funders—we worked passionately to empower individuals and families. Through this effort, Wisdom En Familias delivered 53 presentations and reached 725 participants, offering knowledge, tools, and hope for healing.  (From Leonor: Mil gracias to everyone who contributed to this transformative work. Together, we are fostering stronger, healthier communities. Here’s to building on this important mission in 2025 and beyond!)

 

 

 

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COMADRE AUTHORS

 

Congratulations to our COMADRE AUTHORS for their latest publications.

 

 

 

 

NOVEMBER 2024

 

Nimia Maria Ramos Beauchamp (Bayamon, PR) –  Nimia and Kimia Shahrokhi, known for a series of coloring books as Drs. Kimia & Nimia, have new book available, AyurPermaVerse Coloring Book, based on Ayurveda, Permaculture, Botany principles for children from 5-14 but all ages can color!   

 

 

 

DECEMBER 2024

  

Anjanette Delgado (Florida) -- published a book this month with a small independent publisher in Puerto Rico. It's called El sexilio, mostly in Spanish, and talks about us women and how sometimes we are forced to exile because of the violence against the feminine. 

 

 

JANUARY 2025

 

Dr. Melba Salazar-Lucio (San Antonio, TX) – her memoir, WHERE I AM FROM, will be published by Storyworth.

 

Las Comadres Para Las Americas (Austin, TX) – published COOKING WITH LAS COMADRES cookbook.  60 Comadres contributed 130+ recipes from main dishes to soups to pastelones to surrollitos to carne guisada to flan to sangria to coquito.  This cookbook is a fundraiser for Las Comadres, all proceeds go to fund 2025 programs.  Order your copy here.  

 

  

Congratulations to all !