Best Books for Hispanic Heritage Month: PEOPLE Picks Fiction and Nonfiction for All Ages

Here are our staff favorites in fiction, romance, thrillers, memoir, YA and children's books by Hispanic and Latinx authors

National Hispanic Heritage Month — celebrated from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 — is a time to celebrate "the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America," according to the official government website.

Whether you're part of the Hispanic diaspora or not, it's always a good time to read books by authors who come from a diverse range of experiences and backgrounds. Below are some of our staff favorites in romance, thriller, literary fiction, memoir and more, for readers of all ages.

'I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter' by Erika L. Sánchez

After Julia's perfect sister Olga dies in a tragic accident, she's left to pick up the pieces and try to hold her broken family together — even as they don't seem to realize how badly she's hurting too. But in doing so, she discovers that Julia had secrets of her own. This gorgeous YA is a page-turning read for adults, too.

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'There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven: Stories' by Ruben Reyes, Jr.

Mango farmers, puppets, pop stars and cyborgs: Intrigued yet? This electrifying short story collection about migration and reinvention blurs the boundaries between time and space. It's not to be missed.

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'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

When the angry Aristotle and smarty-pants Dante meet at the swimming pool, they initially seem like an odd match. But over time, Ari and Dante form a special bond — the kind that can go the distance. This multiple award-winning YA book is perfect for anyone who feels like they don't belong.

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'Catalina' by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Harvard student Catalina has a complicated senior year ahead of her. As she explores new relationships and elite circles, she must reckon with what graduation will look like for her and her undocumented family in this sharp and original coming-of-age story that's nominated for a National Book Award.

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'We Are Home' by Ray Suarez

Veteran journalist Ray Suarez traveled the country to speak to newly arrived Americans from all corners of the globe to record their stories in their own compelling voices. It's a story that's as old as our country itself that's also completely fresh.

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'Good Night, Irene' by Luis Alberto Urrea

Did you know that an elite group of women called the Donut Dollies served the sweets and coffee to troops on the front lines during World War II? This gripping, emotional historical fiction tells the story of two of them and their adventures on the front and after, inspired by the author's own grandmother.

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'First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream' by Jessica Hoppe

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, drug overdoses spiked to the highest-ever recorded levels and Hoppe's cousin was among them. She herself had been secretly in recovery for four years. In this revelatory memoir, she investigates her family history and the erasure of BIPOC people from recovery narratives through the lens of her own gripping story.

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'The Cemetery of Untold Stories' by Julia Alvarez

When Alma Cruz inherits a little land in her Dominican Republic homeland, she decides to use it to bury untold stories — turning it into a graveyard for the characters whose stories still haunt her. It's a beautiful, lyrical ode to the power of storytelling.

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'The Seventh Veil of Salome' by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A big-budget film about the legendary Salome, stepdaughter of King Herod, an unknown Mexican ingenue and a bit player who will go to any lengths to restart her career. It's a glitzy, cinematic Hollywood story with drama in spades.

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'Olga Dies Dreaming' by Xochitl Gonzalez

In-demand wedding planner Olga and her beloved Congressman brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo are making waves in their Brooklyn hometown and New York City at large, but things are far less rosy behind the scenes. Their mother abandoned them to pursue political causes and with a devastating hurricane bearing down on the Puerto Rico where she was last seen, Olga and Prieto have to juggle their own complicated lives, love and the fate of family far away.

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'Farewell Cuba, Mi Isla' by Alexandra Diaz

Victoria loves everything about her native Cuba, not least of all her bff and cousin Jackie. But as it grows more and more dangerous under the 1960 political regime, Victoria and her two younger siblings have to flee to Miami and leave everything behind — even Jackie.

Victoria does her best to settle in to the strange new world, and back in Cuba, things grow more and more dire for Jackie too. When she gets a chance to join Victoria in Miami, can the two bring the rest of their relatives to safety too? This middle grade novel is a richly painted, evocative tale of family and survival.

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'Islandborn' by Junot Diaz

This imaginative, inclusive book is all about kids whose families come from somewhere else. Lola's class is full of immigrants, and when her teacher asks them all to draw a picture of where their families came from, Lola's imagination carries her back to The Island, too. As it does, she comes to understand her abuela's words: “Just because you don't remember a place doesn't mean it's not in you.”

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'Family Lore' by Elizabeth Acevedo

Flor can predict, to the day, when someone will die. So when she gathers her sisters Matilde, Pastora and Camila to plan a living wake to celebrate her own life, naturally they assume there's something she's not telling them. But then again, her sisters are keeping their own secrets. Not to mention the next generation, cousins Ona and Yadi, who have their own issues to contend with. This faintly magical family story with resonate with anyone who has lots of cooks in their own metaphorical kitchen.

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'The House of the Spirits' by Isabelle Allende

In this sweeping, luminous romance from one of our greatest masters of the genre, we meet three generations of the Trueba family: volatile patriarch Esteban's hunger for political power is moderated only by his love for his mystical-minded wife Clara. When their daughter Blanca gets tangled in a forbidden love affair, the result is the beautiful, headstrong Alba, whose future will reverberate far past their family.

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'Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora' edited by Saraciea J. Fennell

In 15 original pieces, voices from all corners of the Latinx diaspora explore such disparate topics as ghost stories and superheroes, to kitchen memories and world travels to addiction, grief, finding love and honoring identity. It's by turns joyful, tear-jerking and an excellent addition to any well-stocked bookshelf.

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