Tag: Hispanic Americans

Brownstone written by Samuel Teer, illustrated by Mar Julia

- Stephanie Leave a comment

If you’re looking for a graphic novel about family and identity, I recommend Brownstone written by Samuel Teer, illustrated by Mar Julia, with color design by Ashanti Forston. This young adult graphic novel is a coming-of-age story about struggling to find your identity across multiple fronts. (This book also won the 2025 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.)

Set in 1995, Brownstone tells the story of Almudena, a fourteen-year-old living with her white mother. When her mother has the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong career goal, Almudena is sent to live with her estranged Guatemalan father for the summer. While Xavier seems excited to see her, Almudena is less than enthused. First off, there’s a language barrier: Xavier speaks almost only Spanish and Almudena knows little to no Spanish. Secondly, Almudena has never spent any time with her father. He also expects her to help fix up the old, broken-down brownstone where they are living for the summer. Not exactly how Almudena wants to spend her summer.

Almudena is thrown into this new environment with almost no support, but she has no option but to quickly adjust to her new reality. She spends her time helping Xavier and exploring his Latin American neighborhood. Each person she meets has their own heartbreaks and joys, which she soon finds herself invested in. The part that bothers her: everyone has an opinion about how she should act, talk, behave, and dress. They also have a problem with the fact that she doesn’t know where she’s from, a fact that Almudena is more than aware of herself. Spending this time with her father has put it more into focus that Almudena has no idea where she fits in.

As the summer rushes past, Almudena has more questions for her father, but time is quickly running out. Will she ever get the answer to her most important question: Where was Xavier when she was growing up? Spending time renovating his old brownstone gives them quality time together, but the other individuals she has met over the summer feel like they could become family too. Are they all meant to stay in each other’s lives? What will happen when Almudena’s mother comes back and she has to go home?

Brownstone was a refreshing read. It was sweet, yet layered and nuanced. Each character has a well thought out back story and none of them felt like token secondary characters. There are so many layers of identity struggle to this story, light yet heavy. I can’t wait to read more by this author and illustrator.

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

- Callen Leave a comment

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina is a family saga that travels back and forth across space and time to paint a vivid picture of the family descended from defiant, enigmatic, independent Orquídea Divina and how they all cope with her unique legacy. You first meet Orquídea when she and her second husband move into their house – which may have appeared overnight, though surely that’s not possible. The people in town are suspicious, but nothing can ever be proven and the sheriff is charmed, so Orquídea and her family are here to stay. We next see her years later as she prepares to die, and we are introduced to her heirs, variously troubled and estranged from her home. This includes accountant Rey, his cousin Marimar, and pregnant Tatinelly. They’ll all have to grapple with legacy, family, and magic if they want to make their peace with Orquídea and claim their inheritance. Meanwhile, flashbacks tell the story of how Orquídea grew up and came into her power, giving hints to the gifts, lessons, and dangers that her heirs have come to claim.

Magical realism is a major part of this book; while Marimar, Rey, and Tatinelly live in communities where magic isn’t real, their return to their grandmother’s home of Four Rivers immediately shows that magic is real and has consequences. As a reader this hooked me immediately, but magic also was an effective metaphor for cultural and community knowledge: Tatinelly’s white husband is afraid at the evidence of magic, while for Tatinelly it’s a joyful return to what’s familiar. The subtle knowledge of women is also a strong theme as first Orquídea, then Marimar, Tatinelly, and the other female descendants show intuitive connections to nature, the house at Four Rivers, and the languages spoken (and feelings expressed) by different locations.

Engaging and rich with details, this is recommended for fans of Encanto, Knives Out, and the Umbrella Academy.

Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher have co-written a young adult novel called Sanctuary . This book takes place in a near future where a family struggles to find help and hope under a xenophobic government.

In 2032, all citizens living in America are chipped. The government is able to track your every movement with mandatory checkpoints everywhere from grocery stores to buses to schools. The chips control your life. If you’re an undocumented immigrant, life is a daily struggle. Sure, counterfeit chips exist, but there is always a risk that they will malfunction giving away your location and bringing Deportation Forces running to rip you away from your family.

Sixteen-year old Vali and her family have managed to create a happy life together until the day it all explodes around them. Her mother’s chip has started malfunctioning and they know it’s only a matter of time before the Deportation Forces take her away. With increasing raids, they are forced to flee.

On the run across the county, Vali, her younger brother, and her mother are desperate to make it to her tía Luna’s in California. California has made itself a sanctuary state, much to the anger of the current administration who is in the process of walling off that state from the rest of the country. When their mother is detained, Vali and Ernie are left on their own to travel across the entire United States on the hope that someone will be waiting on the other end to save them. With Deportation Forces closing in around them again, Vali will do anything to make sure they find their mom and make it to sanctuary.