June 29, 2021
Good morning to each of you!
For a few days, my adopted state of West Virginia has experienced temperatures in the high 90s. Very uncomfortable. Not as high or dangerous as the temps my friends on the west coast are currently experiencing, but hot enough to remain inside. Global warming. It’s real.
I do all my yard work in the morning when it’s cool, but the high humidity this morning tells me it’s going to be a hot one today. I’ll remain inside working on my work-in-progress, my second historical novel, called The Laments, and dream of floating in the turquoise Caribbean Sea this summer.
If you’re traveling this summer or planning a staycation at home, here is a super summer reading list provided by Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club. Many genres are represented in the list, so I’m sure you’ll find one or more great books to enjoy this summer!
I’m grateful to Las Comadres Para Las Americas for their continued support of Latinx authors and for including my first poetry collection, Tight Knots. Loose Threads. in the list. Muchisimas gracias!
Enjoy your summer, readers, and stay safe.
Happy reading!
Eleanor x
2021 Summer Reading List
New York, NY—Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club is pleased to announce the release of
its seventh annual Summer Reading List on this the first day of the summer. Our List includes books by a
Literary Icon, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Pura Belpré Award Winners, a past Young People’s Poet
Laureate, debut authors and perennial favorites.
“I am thrilled to see our Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club growing by leaps and bounds,”
says Dr. Nora de Hoyos Comstock, the Book Club’s Founding Director. “The pandemic gave many space to fill
their time with books, and we have definitely seen expanded exposure for our Latinx authors. Our annual list of
Latinx authored titles, which will appear in December, will show the growing numbers we can celebrate for 2021!
This Summer Reading List gives you a head start.”
We encourage Readers of all ages to purchase our Summer Reading List selections and add them to their TBR
piles, give copies to family and friends, order copies at your neighborhood library, and enjoy Reading Latino Lit.
Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club 2021 Summer Reading List
1. AMERICA’S DREAM by Esmeralda Santiago (HarperCollins) – fiction, classic, (25th Anniversary Release)
2. A CUBAN’S GIRL GUIDE TO TEA AND TOMORROW by Laura Taylor Namey
(Atheneum Books) – fiction, young adult
3. A GIRL NAMED ROSITA: The Story of Rita Moreno by Anika Aldamuy Denise (HarperCollins) –
children’s picture book
4. THE CHILEAN KITCHEN by Pilar Hernandez and Eileen Smith (Skyhorse) – cookbook
5. CHOLA SALVATION by Estella González (Arte Público Press) – fiction, short stories
6. FAT CHANCE, CHARLIE VEGA by Crystal Maldonado (Holiday House) – fiction, young adult
7. FEATHERED SERPENTS AND THE FIVE SUNS by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams Books) – children’s
picture book
8. FURIA by Yamile Saied Mèndez (Algonquin) – fiction, young adult
9. JUBILEE by Jennifer Givhan (Blackstone Publishing) – fiction, thriller
10. KING ROBIN by R.A. Moss (Beck and Branch Publishers) – historical fiction
11. THE KISSING BUG: A True Story of a Family, an Insect and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease by
Daisy Hernández (Tin House Books) – non-fiction12. LATINITAS: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers by Juliet Menèndez (Henry Holt & Co.) –
children’s book, biographies
13. THE LIBRARIAN OF SAINT-MALO by Mario Escobar (Thomas Nelson) – historical fiction
14. LIES WITH MAN: Henry Rios Mystery by Michael Nava (Amble Press) – fiction,
mystery, LGBTQ
15. MERCI SUÁREZ CAN’T DANCE by Meg Medina (Candlewick) – children’s middle grade
16. MY BROKEN LANGUAGE by Quiara Alegría Hudes (One World) – non-fiction, memoir
17. SOMEWHERE BETWEEN BITTER AND SWEET by Laekan Zea Kemp (Little, Brown Books) –
fiction, young adult
18. SOUTH BEACH LOVE by Caridad Pineiro (Hallmark) – fiction, romance
19. THRIVEOLOGY, Volume 1 by Jay Maymi (indie published) – motivational
20. TIGHT KNOTS. LOOSE THREADS. by Eleanor Parker Sapia (Winter Goose Publishing) – poetry
21. YOUR HEART, MY SKY: Love in a Time of Hunger by Margarita Engle (Atheneum Books) – fiction,
young adult
Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club started in 2007 and is currently in 15 cities, with more
cities to follow. All books are in English, written by Latino authors. Membership is free and open to all readers.
Each month, Las Comadres & Friends Book Club features a Book of the Month selection and one or two
additional “Conversations with” books. At the end of the month, there is a teleconference and Live Interviews
with the author(s), plus a simultaneous TwitterChat on @ReadLatinoLit. Registration is free and open to all
readers.For more information on Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club, to register for the monthly
teleconference or to submit your book for consideration, visit http://www.latinolit.com.
For more information on the 2021 Summer Reading List, email Maria Ferrer, Project Manager, at
mferrer.lcbookclub@gmail.com.
ABOUT ELEANOR PARKER SAPIA:
Puerto Rican-born Eleanor Parker Sapia is the author of the multi-award-winning historical novel, A DECENT WOMAN, and her first collection of poetry titled, TIGHT KNOTS. LOOSE THREADS. both published by Winter Goose Publishing.
Eleanor is currently working on her second historical novel set in Puerto Rico called THE LAMENTS. She is the mother of two amazing young adults and tells herself that one day, she will walk El Camino de Santiago de Compostela again.
Eleanor Parker Sapia, AWA 