But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role.

Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.

But it's not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister's story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

Julia no es la hija mexicana perfecta. Ese era el rol de su hermana Olga. Olga no fue a la universidad, se quedó en casa para cuidar a sus padres, limpiar la casa y trabajar a medio tiempo. Julia tiene grandes sueños y no quiere formar parte del camino de su hermana mayor. Pero un solo error, que ocurre mientras enviaba un mensaje de texto al mismo tiempo que cruzaba la calle más concurrida de Chicago, resulta en la muerte de Olga, dejando atrás a Julia para ocuparse de las secuelas.

Sus padres, quienes inmigraron ilegalmente a Chicago desde México en busca de una vida mejor, están inconsolables. La madre de Julia parece canalizar su dolor para señalar de todas las maneras posibles que Julia no es la hija mexicana perfecta que Olga era. Pero Julia pronto descubre que Olga puede haber tenido secretos, también. Con la ayuda de su mejor amiga Lorena, Julia está decidida a descubrirlo. Era Olga realmente lo que parecía? O había algo más en la historia de su hermana? Y de cualquier manera, cómo puede Julia incluso intentar vivir a la altura de un ideal aparentemente imposible?

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

National Book Award Finalist!
Instant New York Times Bestseller!
TIMES 2020 100 Best YA of All Times

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian meets Jane the Virgin in this poignant but often laugh-out-loud funny contemporary YA about losing a sister and finding yourself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican American home.

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.

But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role.

Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.

But it's not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend, Lorena, and her first love (first everything), Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister's story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

When it comes to romance, Maya still believes in meet-cutes, but she's done with boys wasting her time. After her freshman romance refuses to put a label on their relationship, Maya decides to reclaim her life and completely turnaround her college experience. She's got big plans to throw the most spectacular Holi--a colorful Hindu festival symbolizing rebirth, which Maya feels she desperately needs.

Enter college heartthrob Nishant Rai, an upperclassman, notorious playboy, and well-connected DJ. After the student council makes him Maya's co-planner, she finds herself working closely with the one guy on campus she can't have and definitely doesn't want. He plans to turn the event into #HoliFest, a flashy EDM festival blending old traditions with the fresh new twist of a music festival. As the two grow closer, Maya realizes Nishant is so much more than a pretty face. Is he just wasting her time, or has she finally found her meet-cute?

Have you ever encountered a book that KO'd you, Iron Mike Tyson style? One that hit you square in the face and heart like some abracadabra casting a hex from an unknown planet?

For sixteen-year-old poet and b-baller Marcos Cadena, that book is the beat-up copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude he finds among his late father's possessions after Papi is killed in an accident.

Marcos' papi has always loomed large in his eyes. So, when Marcos travels to his parents' childhood home of Cartagena, Colombia to spread Papi's ashes, he brings his father's book with him, convinced that Gabriel García Márquez's masterpiece holds the key to understanding Papi's life and accepting his death.

In Cartagena, Marcos befriends eighteen-year-old Camilo, a taxi driver and fellow García Márquez fan who appoints himself Marcos' unofficial tour guide. Together, the two boys explore the landscape of Cartagena, from the picturesque streets of Old Town to the poor neighborhood where Camilo grew up. But when Camilo reveals a troubling secret from his past, Marcos must ask himself whether everyone deserves a second chance.

Woven through with themes of friendship, family, and forgiveness, this poignant novel in verse is also a love letter to Colombia and to the books of Gabriel García Márquez.

From renowned author Julia Alvarez comes an unforgettable story about adolescence, perseverance, and one girl's struggle to be free while living in the Dominican Republic under the rule of a dictator.

Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her twelfth birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have immigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government's secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition to Trujillo's iron-fisted rule.

Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind.

A stirring work of art. --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

A realistic and compelling account of a girl growing up too quickly while coming to terms with the cost of freedom. --The Horn Book, Starred Review

Diary entries written by the child while in hiding will remind readers of Anne Frank's story. . . . Readers will bite their nails as the story moves to its inexorable conclusion. --SLJ

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Best Book of the Year

Ignacio Iggy Garcia is an Ohio-born Colombian American teen living his best life. After bumping into Marisol (and her coffee) at school, Iggy's world is spun around. But Marisol has too much going on to be bothered with the likes of Iggy. She has school, work, family, and the uphill battle of getting her legal papers. As Iggy stresses over how to get Marisol to like him, his grandfather comes to the rescue. The thing is, not only is his abuelito dead, but he also gives terrible love advice. The worst. And so, with his ghost abuelito's meddling, Iggy's life begins to unravel as he sets off on a journey of self-discovery.

Call me Iggy tells the story of Iggy searching for his place in his family, his school, his community, and ultimately--as the political climate in America changes during the 2016 election--his country. Focusing on familial ties and budding love, Call me Iggy challenges our assumptions about Latino-American identity while reaffirming our belief in the hope that all young people represent. Perfect for lovers of multigenerational stories like Displacement and The Magic Fish.

Danny is tall and skinny. Even though he's not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five mile an hour fastball, but the boy's not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound, he loses it.

But at his private school, they don't expect much else from him. Danny is brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can't speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they've got him pegged. But it works the other way too. And Danny's convinced it's his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico.

That's why he's spending the summer with his dad's family. But to find himself, he may just have to face the demons he refuses to see--the demons that are right in front of his face. And open up to a friendship he never saw coming.

Matt de la Peña's critically acclaimed novel is an intimate and moving story that offers hope to those who least expect it.

[A] first-rate exploration of self-identity. --SLJ

Unique in its gritty realism and honest portrayal of the complexities of life for inner-city teens...de la Peña poignantly conveys the message that, despite obstacles, you must believe in yourself and shape your own future. --The Horn Book Magazine

The baseball scenes...sizzle like Danny's fastball. Danny's struggle to find his place will speak strongly to all teens, but especially to those of mixed race. --Booklist

De la Peña blends sports and street together in a satisfying search for personal identity. --Kirkus Reviews

Mexican WhiteBoy...shows that no matter what obstacles you face, you can still reach your dreams with a positive attitude. This is more than a book about a baseball player--this is a book about life. --Curtis Granderson, New York Mets outfielder

An ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults

A Junior Library Guild Selection

The Spanish edition of Call Me Iggy, a young adult graphic novel about a Colombian American teen who gets help from his grandfather's ghost to win over his crush.

Iggy lo tenía todo tan fácil.

Ignacio Iggy García es un adolescente Colombiano-Americano nacido en Ohio que vive encantado de la vida. Su mundo da un gran giro luego de tropezar con Marisol (y su cafecito) en la escuela, Entre la escuela, el trabajo, su familia y una batalla cada vez más difícil para conseguir sus documentos de residencia permanente, Marisol anda muy ocupada para fijarse siquiera en Iggy.

Mientras Iggy se estresa por ver cómo hacer para que Marisol se interese en él, su abuelo viene a socorrerlo. Pero, no solo está muerto su abuelo, sino que además él le da pésimos consejos de amor. Los peores. Con su abuelo entrometiendose, la vida de Iggy empieza empieza a desmoronarse mientras él toma un nuevo camino de autodescubrimiento.
_________

Iggy had it so easy.

Ignacio Iggy Garcia is an Ohio-born Colombian American teen living his best life. After bumping into Marisol (and her coffee) at school, Iggy's world is spun around. But Marisol has too much going on to be bothered with the likes of Iggy. She has school, work, family, and the uphill battle of getting her legal papers.

As Iggy stresses over how to get Marisol to like him, his grandfather comes to the rescue. The thing is, not only is his abuelito dead, but he also gives terrible love advice. The worst. And so, with his ghost abuelito's meddling, Iggy's life begins to unravel as he sets off on a journey of self-discovery.

Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind.

From renowned author Julia Alvarez comes an unforgettable story about adolescence, perseverance, and one girl's struggle to be free.

A Miami Herald Best Book of the Year
Winner of the Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature
Winner of the Pura Belpre Award
An ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults
An ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book

A stirring work of art. --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

A realistic and compelling account of a girl growing up too quickly while coming to terms with the cost of freedom. --The Horn Book, Starred Review

Diary entries written by the child while in hiding will remind readers of Anne Frank's story. . . . Readers will bite their nails as the story moves to its inexorable conclusion. --SLJ

Alvarez's story will spark intense discussion about politics and family. --Booklist

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Best Book of the Year

Ignacio Iggy Garcia is an Ohio-born Colombian American teen living his best life. After bumping into Marisol (and her coffee) at school, Iggy's world is spun around. But Marisol has too much going on to be bothered with the likes of Iggy. She has school, work, family, and the uphill battle of getting her legal papers. As Iggy stresses over how to get Marisol to like him, his grandfather comes to the rescue. The thing is, not only is his abuelito dead, but he also gives terrible love advice. The worst. And so, with his ghost abuelito's meddling, Iggy's life begins to unravel as he sets off on a journey of self-discovery.

Call me Iggy tells the story of Iggy searching for his place in his family, his school, his community, and ultimately--as the political climate in America changes during the 2016 election--his country. Focusing on familial ties and budding love, Call me Iggy challenges our assumptions about Latino-American identity while reaffirming our belief in the hope that all young people represent. Perfect for lovers of multigenerational stories like Displacement and The Magic Fish.

With works by Francisco X. Stork, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, David Bowles, Rubén Degollado, e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, Diana López, Xavier Garza, Trinidad Gonzales, Alex Temblador, Aida Salazar, Guadalupe Ruiz-Flores, Sylvia Sánchez Garza, Dominic Carrillo, Angela Cervantes, Carolyn Dee Flores, René Saldaña Jr., Justine Narro, Daniel García Ordáz, and Anna Meriano.

In this mixed-media collection of short stories, personal essays, poetry, and comics, this celebrated group of authors share the borders they have crossed, the struggles they have pushed through, and the two cultures they continue to navigate as Mexican Americans. Living Beyond Borders is at once an eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and hopeful love letter from the Mexican American community to today's young readers.

A powerful exploration of what it means to be Mexican American.

You know I'm coming. You're dead already.

Hector has always minded his own business, working hard to make his way to a better life someday. He's the chess team champion, helps the family with his job at the grocery, and teaches his little sister to shoot hoops overhand.

Until Joey singles him out. Joey, whose older brother, Chavo, is head of the Discipulos gang, tells Hector that he's going to kill him: maybe not today, or tomorrow, but someday. And Hector, frozen with fear, does nothing. From that day forward, Hector's death is hanging over his head every time he leaves the house. He tries to fade into the shadows -- to drop off Joey's radar -- to become no one.

But when a fight between Chavo and Hector's brother Fili escalates, Hector is left with no choice but to take a stand.

The violent confrontation will take Hector places he never expected, including a reform school where he has to live side-by-side with his enemy, Joey. It's up to Hector to choose whether he's going to lose himself to revenge or get back to the hard work of living.

24 de julio
Mi madre me llamó Gabriela en honor de mi abuela materna, quien, por cierto, no quiso conocerme cuando nací porque mi mamá no estaba casada, es decir, vivía en pecado. Mi mamá me contó muchas, muchas, muchas veces cómo mi abuela la golpeó cuando le confesó que estaba embarazada de mí. Le dio una paliza! A los veinticinco años. Esa historia es la base de mi educación sexual. Cada vez que salgo con alguien, mi mamá dice, Ojos abiertos, piernas cerradas. Hasta ahí llega la conversación de las abejitas y las flores. Y por mí está bien, aun si no estoy enteramente de acuerdo con toda esa basura de esperar hasta que te cases. O sea, esto es Estados Unidos y es el siglo XXI, no México hace cien años. Pero, claro, no se lo puedo decir a mi mamá porque pensaría que soy mala. O peor: que intento ser blanca.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Named to Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014
Named to School Library Journal Best Books of 2014
Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year in high school in her diary: college applications, Cindy's pregnancy, Sebastian's coming out, the cute boys, her father's meth habit, and the food she craves. And best of all, the poetry that helps forge her identity.
July 24
My mother named me Gabriella, after my grandmother who, coincidentally, didn't want to meet me when I was born because my mother was unmarried, and therefore living in sin. My mom has told me the story many, many, MANY, times of how, when she confessed to my grandmother that she was pregnant with me, her mother beat her. BEAT HER! She was twenty-five. That story is the basis of my sexual education and has reiterated why it's important to wait until you're married to give it up. So now, every time I go out with a guy, my mom says, Ojos abiertos, piernas cerradas. Eyes open, legs closed. That's as far as the birds and the bees talk has gone. And I don't mind it. I don't necessarily agree with that whole wait until you're married crap, though. I mean, this is America and the 21st century; not Mexico one hundred years ago. But, of course, I can't tell my mom that because she will think I'm bad. Or worse: trying to be White.

When fifteen-year-old Cuban American Mariana Ruiz's father runs for president, Mari starts to see him with new eyes. A novel about waking up and standing up, and what happens when you stop seeing your dad as your hero--while the whole country is watching.

In this authentic, humorous, and gorgeously written debut novel about privacy, waking up, and speaking up, Senator Anthony Ruiz is running for president. Throughout his successful political career he has always had his daughter's vote, but a presidential campaign brings a whole new level of scrutiny to sheltered fifteen-year-old Mariana and the rest of her Cuban American family, from a 60 Minutes-style tour of their house to tabloids doctoring photos and inventing scandals.

As tensions rise within the Ruiz family, Mari begins to learn about the details of her father's political positions, and she realizes that her father is not the man she thought he was.

But how do you find your voice when everyone's watching? When it means disagreeing with your father--publicly? What do you do when your dad stops being your hero? Will Mari get a chance to confront her father? If she does, will she have the courage to seize it?

Alberto's life isn't easy: He's an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who lives with his sister's abusive boyfriend--but he'd always accepted his place in the world. Until he starts hearing the voice of a man called Captain America, a voice that wants him to achieve more, no matter the cost.

Grace has it all: She has a supportive boyfriend, she's on track to be valedictorian, and she's sure to go to the college of her dreams. Still, nothing feels right to her any more after the divorce of her parents, and feels she needs something more.

When Alberto and Grace meet, they have an immediate and electric connection. But when Alberto is present at the scene of a terrible crime, he becomes a suspect. And with his developing schizophrenia, he's not even sure he believes in his own innocence.

Can Grace find a way to prove Alberto's innocence to himself and the world?

This is a page-turning thriller and a sensitive story about mental health, love, and community that will appeal to anyone who has struggled with their place in the world, from award-winning author Francisco X. Stork.

With works by Francisco X. Stork, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, David Bowles, Rubén Degollado, e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, Diana López, Xavier Garza, Trinidad Gonzales, Alex Temblador, Aida Salazar, Guadalupe Ruiz-Flores, Sylvia Sánchez Garza, Dominic Carrillo, Angela Cervantes, Carolyn Dee Flores, René Saldaña Jr., Justine Narro, Daniel García Ordáz, and Anna Meriano.

In this mixed-media collection of short stories, personal essays, poetry, and comics, this celebrated group of authors share the borders they have crossed, the struggles they have pushed through, and the two cultures they continue to navigate as Mexican Americans. Living Beyond Borders is at once an eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and hopeful love letter from the Mexican American community to today's young readers.

A powerful exploration of what it means to be Mexican American.

In the tradition of Jason Reynolds and Matt de la Pe a, this heartbreaking, no-holds-barred debut novel told from three points of view explores how difficult it is to make it in life when you--your life, brown lives--don't matter.

Juan has plans. He's going to get out of El Paso, Texas, on a basketball scholarship and make something of himself--or at least find something better than his mom Fabi's cruddy apartment, her string of loser boyfriends, and a dead dad. Basketball is going to be his ticket out, his ticket up. He just needs to make it happen.

His best friend JD has plans, too. He's going to be a filmmaker one day, like Quentin Tarantino or Guillermo del Toro (NOT Steven Spielberg). He's got a camera and he's got passion--what else could he need?

Fabi doesn't have a plan anymore. When you get pregnant at sixteen and have been stuck bartending to make ends meet for the past seventeen years, you realize plans don't always pan out, and that there are some things you just can't plan for...

Like Juan's run-in with the police, like a sprained ankle, and a tanking math grade that will likely ruin his chance at a scholarship. Like JD causing the implosion of his family. Like letters from a man named Mando on death row. Like finding out this man could be the father your mother said was dead.

Soon Juan and JD are embarking on a Thelma and Louise---like road trip to visit Mando. Juan will finally meet his dad, JD has a perfect subject for his documentary, and Fabi is desperate to stop them. But, as we already know, there are some things you just can't plan for...

Después de tomar prestada la tarjeta de crédito de su padre para renovar su vestuario con más estilo, Margot Sánchez se encuentra de repente castigada. Y eso significa pasar el verano trabajando en el supermercado de su familia para pagar sus deudas.

Y cada vez que rebana una orden de fiambres Margot siente cómo la reputación que ha ido cultivando cuidadosamente en su escuela privada se le escapa entre las manos, y está dispuesta a hacer cualquier cosa para escapar de esa tortura. Mentir, engañar, y hasta robar...

Pero Margot está invitada a la mega fiesta en la playa de uno de los chicos de la escuela, y no tiene intenciones de permitir que el drama de su familia, ni Moisés, el apuesto y sincero chico del vecindario, le impidan alcanzar su objetivo.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

John Hughes's Pretty in Pink comes to the South Bronx in this bold and emotional story about class, race, hard work, and finding one's place (Publishers Weekly)--from debut author Lilliam Rivera.

Things/People Margot Hates:
Mami, for destroying her social lifeP
api, for allowing Junior to become a Neanderthal
Junior, for becoming a Neanderthal
The supermarket
Everyone else

After borrowing her father's credit card to finance a more stylish wardrobe, Margot Sanchez suddenly finds herself grounded. And by grounded, she means working as an indentured servant in her family's struggling grocery store to pay off her debts.

With each order of deli meat she slices, Margot can feel her carefully cultivated prep school reputation slipping through her fingers, and she's willing to do anything to get out of this punishment. Lie, cheat, and maybe even steal...

Margot's invitation to the ultimate beach party is within reach and she has no intention of letting her family's drama or Moises--the admittedly good looking but outspoken boy from the neighborhood--keep her from her goal.

In a city called New York ...
In a neighborhood called El Bronx ...

• The Fernandex children own a very special pet: A white hen named after their favorite Hollywood movie star.
• A new girl comes to school - a gypsy child who can read palms and foretell the future.
• A young boy must face the humiliation of wearing his uncle's orange roach-killer shoes to his high school graduation.

In the South Bronx - or El Bronx, as it's known to the people who live there - anything can happen. A migrant fresh off the boat from Puerto Rico can be somebody on the mainland, pursue the American Dream ... and maybe even make it come true.

Here are stories that capture the flavor and beat of El Bronx in its heyday, from 1946-1956.

Güero tiene doce años y es mexicano y americano al mismo tiempo. Sabe sentirse en casa en ambos lados del rio, y en su vida hay tanto español como inglés. Güero ha comenzado el séptimo año en la escuela, y su profe de inglés hace que hasta los poemas suenen cool.

Güero es como llaman a los chicos como el: pálidos. Pero no te equivoques, nuestro héroe pelirrojo y con pecas es puro mexicano, como el Canelo Álvarez. Además, Güero es un nerd --lector, gamer, músico-- que se junta con una banda de inadaptados como el: Los Bobbys. Como todos los chicos de su edad, Los Bobbys se meten en problemas y, hasta les gustan las chicas! Pero bueno, cuidado con Joanna! Es dura como ninguna.

De la mano de las tradiciones familiares, su acordeón y su escuadrón de nerds, Güero le hace frente al séptimo año escolar con inteligencia y un gran corazon.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Life is tough for a border kid, but Güero has figured out how to cope. He writes poetry.

Twelve-year-old Güero is Mexican American, at home with Spanish or English and on both sides of the river. He's starting 7th grade with a woke English teacher who knows how to make poetry cool.

In Spanish, Güero is a nickname for guys with pale skin, Latino or Anglo. But make no mistake: our red-headed, freckled hero is puro mexicano, like Canelo Álvarez, the Mexican boxer. Güero is also a nerd --reader, gamer, musician-- who runs with a squad of misfits like him, Los Bobbys. Sure, they get in trouble like anybody else, and like other middle-school boys, they discover girls. Watch out for Joanna! She's tough as nails.

But trusting in his family's traditions, his accordion and his bookworm squad, he faces seventh grade with book smarts and a big heart.