17 New Queer Latine Books to Read for Latine Heritage Month — Or Any Time!

Sal and Charo are best friends trying to make it in New York in 1999, both struggling in dead-end jobs that don’t live up to the dreams they had about living in the U.S. Charo is also now a mother at 25, raising a kid with a controlling partner, and stuck in the kind of domestic life she was trying to escape from. Sal is haunted by memories of tragedies in his past in Santo Domingo. One night that Sal spends at a gay club changes everything: he finds love, and Charo and Sal’s social circle opens up, which has them both confronting what they want to do with their lives. —Danika Ellis

Through the epistolary form of his email drafts, we watch our unnamed protagonist grapple with the complicated realities of queer polyamorous life in the contemporary world, where open marriages aren’t as taboo as they once were, but where his messy feelings still feel unprecedented. There’s no room for grieving a relationship when you’ve got a fulfilling job, an adoring husband, and a trans kid to protect from a cold, transphobic world. His emails start with his ex-boyfriend Ben, but they soon expand to his mom, his therapists, his kids, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and himself.

His therapists (yes, plural) beg him to stop sending them the drafts of his emails to his ex-boyfriend, but I say keep them coming. Middle Spoon playfully explores the anxieties, joys, and uncertainties of modern queer love while also confronting the difficulties of trying to be a good partner, parent, and person in today’s chaotic world. It’s playful yet deep, contemplative yet hilariously entertaining. You’ll love spending a few hours in the head of this unforgettable protagonist. —Susie Dumond

When The Next Best Fling came out last year I knew I was going to have a new favorite author, but that was sealed when I saw the cover for Kiss Me, Maybe. Not just for the cover (though I mean, LOOK at it!), but also because of the indication of who the next protagonist was going to be, and I was excited AF to read her love story. Asexual librarian Angela has never been kissed. When she posts something declaring so on social media, she accidentally goes viral, leading to a scavenger hunt that would lead to the winner getting her first kiss. And who’s there to help her out? Bartender Krystal, who Angela has had a longtime crush on. But she’s off limits and uninterested in love. Right? —Jessica Pryde

Sonora Reyes has made quite the name for themself on the YA circuit, and after having received the National Book Award and Lambda Literary Award for The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, they are bursting onto the adult romance scene with The Broposal.

What do you do when your best friend loses the job that was imperative for the renewal of their visa? Obviously, you ask him to marry you, even though you’re both kind of sure that you’re straight. But when you have to pretend to be in love to make the whole thing work, real feelings might make things all the more confusing. —Jessica Pryde

In 1910s Coney Island, merman Río was stolen from the East River to become the newest sideshow exhibit. Benny was the orphaned Boricua blacksmith hired to create the ironwork tank for the man who captured him. As they spend more time together, Benny begins to relate to Río, and he becomes less mythical every passing day. When camaraderie morphs to a friendship and an undeniable soul-deep love, Benny yearns to release Río, even if it means losing him, his job, and his place in New York. —R. Nassor

Is there room for love in the life of a monster? You’ll find out in this Gothic romantasy novella! Dália works as the keeper for Anatema, a humanoid spider who enjoys laudanum and eating beautiful women. Dália must help Anatema keep her memories by caring for the locked drawers where they are stored and trying not to show any fear, even though Anatema ate Dália’s predecessor. Will they become entangled in a good way, or will Dália eventually be lunch? —Liberty Hardy

Rochelle is an ambitious teenager with very clear plans for her future. To get into her dream school, she is determined to become valedictorian—which means beating out her academic rival Amira. But she also needs to round out her application with a job, so she begins working at Horizon Cinemas, a Black-owned movie theater she loves. Unfortunately, it means Amira is her boss. As they spend more time together, though, Rochelle begins to see her in a whole new light. When Horizon Cinemas is threatened, they’ll have to work together to save it. —Danika Ellis

It’s the summer before her freshman year at art school, and Chloe Torres has a plan to get her estranged besties back together: a cross-country summer road trip to see their favorite boy band in Vegas! But first they’ll have to agree to go, and say actual words together on the trip. A lot can happen in two weeks, right? Right! Because before you know it, “Chloe wants Sienna, Ramona wants Chloe, and everything is on fireeeee.” I can’t resist a summer road trip romance, especially one with fat positivity, sapphic romance, a messy love triangle, ADHD representation, and diverse Latine identities. —Vanessa Diaz

Marisol Polly-Rodriguez is an actress, but things right now are not going well for her. She just wrapped up a big show but has nothing else booked, and Miles, who was her former costar-turned-boyfriend just dumped her because she wasn’t taking acting seriously enough.

Marisol won’t take the heat from him nor online haters, and she scores a role in the same teen drama that Miles has. But as seriously as she’s trying to take the role, everything seems to be conspiring against her, from castmates to the director.

But things are still okay on set thanks to Jamila, the show’s lead. Marisol cannot stop staring at her, which leads to falling for her. Marisol never thought she’d be falling for someone who wasn’t Miles, but perhaps her world falling apart was the opportunity for it to be completely changed. —Kelly Jensen

Gabriel Piña is a college freshman and he’s got his eyes set on continuing his stardom on the football (the soccer variety) field. He’s definitely straight–at least, he is until he begins to develop feelings for Vale, who is tutoring Gabi in philosophy. Gabi kissed Vale once at a party and now it seems the “not having feelings” beliefs are anything but true.

The trouble is that being bisexual will be damning for Gabi on the football field. Queerness isn’t welcomed in the sport, especially professionally.

This is a romance, so you know how it’s going to end. The story is set over the course of Gabi’s freshman year, so readers who love college-set stories will dig this one. —Kelly Jensen

If you love dystopian reads that tell an all-too-close-to-reality story, dig into this one.

A handful of the descendants of Death survived a brutal murder, and all of them are in hiding, including Crow. Crow has to hide their magic to stay alive and they’ve been successful so far, finding solace at the home of their uncles in one of the toughest parts of the city, the Shallows.

Crow may need to hide their magic, but this has made them an exceptionally good fighter in the city’s underground ring. So when Crow’s uncles are arrested for harboring the surviving children of Death, Crow finds themself in a position of needing to save their uncles. To do so, they’ll enter a gladiator like competition and come face to face with some of the city’s wealthiest and most powerful.

If they win, though, they’ll be granted one wish. That wish, of course, will help Crow set their uncles free. It will be anything but an easy battle. —Kelly Jensen

Dan Stewart-Álvarez has always lived on the road with his mother, who is a free spirit. As much as he has craved a more stable home life, being dropped off to live with his grandparents, who he has never met, was not what he meant. Now he’s in rural, conservative Tennessee trying to make a life with strangers while being queer in a community that wouldn’t tolerate that.

But as he grows into himself and his new life, Dan might come to understand what family looks like–and it might not look like what he imagined.

This is a spin on Anne of Green Gables, featuring a queer Latino main character.—Kelly Jensen

The first book in this series, The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro, was on the bestseller list for 73 weeks. It has to be one of the most popular queer middle grade books of all time. In this follow-up, Will, Nico, and Nico’s half-sister Hazel deal with the fallout of The Sun and the Star. Monsters looking for refuge have arrived at Camp Jupiter—and then they start disappearing. —Danika Ellis

This children’s nonfiction book just came out last week, and it’s the first kids’ book to focus on queer Latine historical figures. These short, illustrated biographies celebrate “heroes of the Mexican Revolution, muxe living outside of gender norms, stars of the Ballroom scene, and era defining artists, singers and performers—the creativity and activism of queer Latine heroes has changed the world.” —Danika Ellis

You might remember Edgar Gomez as the author of High-Risk Homosexual. Now he’s back with another memoir, this time about how he survived as a poor young queer man in Florida, including working at a Flip Flop Shop for tourists, “committing a little bankruptcy fraud” to get the money for veneers, giving massages to closeted men on vacation to pay his phone bills, and sending the same emergency $20 back and forth between his friends. As the publisher description says, in these essays, Gomez is “exposing the archetype of the humble poor person for what it is: a scam that insists we remain quiet and servile while we wait for a prize that will always be out of reach.” —Danika Ellis

This memoir, adapted from the author’s popular blog of the same name, explores her life as a trans sex worker in Brazil—a country with record rates of violence against trans women. Amara Moira writes in crônicas: short, quippy essays that act as her diary during this time period. She discusses Brazil’s putafeminist movement, which centers trans sex workers. This essay collection promises to be “brazen, funny, and at times heartbreaking.” —Danika Ellis

This was my first time (shame! I know!) reading Caro De Robertis, the Uruguayan American author of Cantoras and The Palace of Eros and award-winning translator of Latin American literature. This collection of testimonies from queer elders of color about self-discovery, activism, resistance, and survival is such an essential read, a necessary record of so much lived experience and hard-won progress. It is a love letter to queer history and an inspiring, hilarious, heartbreaking, and gorgeous reminder to treasure the wisdom of those who’ve witnessed history, helped shape it, and given us the space to imagine a future where we’re all free. I had to pause to reflect several times, especially in the passages about found family and liberation. This is phenomenal on audio and brought me to tears! —Vanessa Diaz