The Library will be closed on Thursday, November 28 & Friday, November 29, 2024, in observance of Thanksgiving.

Books From the Border

Lupita Leyva, Senior Librarian, Robert Louis Stevenson Branch Library,
Collage of books

In recent days, the literary world has been rocked by controversy. At its heart, the controversy involves a book that is, on the one hand, a commercially successful book, currently, 400+ on the waiting list and counting in our library system alone, but one that has also been heavily criticized by writers, librarians, readers, and others as being culturally inauthentic and insensitive, propagating harmful stereotypes, and lifting scenes and images from other works by writers from the community that this book is ostensibly about. However, over the course of the last couple of weeks, the conversation has grown beyond simply one title and one author (and one media superstar) and now encompasses the entire publishing industry, including its marketing practices—which some critics condemn as practically preordaining what books end up being commercial bestsellers—and its acknowledged lack of diversity. It also speaks to bigger questions about personal identity, authorship, and cultural appropriation.

This is not the first time these issues come up when talking books. The We Need Diverse Books movement and #OwnVoices movement may have started with children’s and young adult books, but the current controversy shows that these issues are alive and well in the world of books for adults.

As a reaction to this state of affairs, librarians across the country are assembling lists of titles to read in place of or in addition to (or while you wait for your name to move up the holds list). Here, then, is a list of some fabulous titles that deal with border communities and experiences that many readers may not be aware of. All these titles are available via the Los Angeles Public Library, whether in print or digital format.


Recommended Reading for Adults and Young Adults


Book cover for The distance between us
The distance between us
Grande, Reyna

Book cover for The Devil's Highway: A True Story
The Devil's Highway: A True Story
Urrea, Luis Alberto

Book cover for Lost Children Archive
Lost Children Archive
Luiselli, Valeria

Book cover for Into the Beautiful North: A Novel
Into the Beautiful North: A Novel
Urrea, Luis Alberto

Book cover for Borderlands: The New Mestiza = la frontera
Borderlands: The New Mestiza = la frontera
Anzaldua, Gloria

Book cover for Enrique's Journey
Enrique's Journey
Nazario, Sonia

Book cover for Across a Hundred Mountains: A Novel
Across a Hundred Mountains: A Novel
Grande, Reyna

Book cover for The Tijuana Book of the Dead: Poems
The Tijuana Book of the Dead: Poems
Urrea, Luis Alberto

Book cover for Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions
Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions
Luiselli, Valeria

Book cover for Signs Preceding the End of the World
Signs Preceding the End of the World
Herrera, Yuri

Book cover for Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries, and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration
Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries, and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration
Corchado, Alfredo

Book cover for The Boy Kings of Texas: A Memoir
The Boy Kings of Texas: A Memoir
Martinez, Domingo

Book cover for The Gringo Champion
The Gringo Champion
Xilonen, Aura


Recommended Reading for Children


Book cover for My Shoes and I
My Shoes and I
Colato Lainez, Rene

Book cover for Manuelito
Manuelito
Amado, Elisa

Book cover for From North to South/Del norte al sur
From North to South/Del norte al sur
Colato Laínez, René

Bilingual Spanish/English


Book cover for Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story From the Border
Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story From the Border
Perkins, Mitali

Book cover for Two White Rabbits
Two White Rabbits
Buitrago, Jairo

Book cover for Caravan to the North: Misael's Long Walk
Caravan to the North: Misael's Long Walk
Argueta, Jorge

Book cover for Somos como las nubes = We Are Like the Clouds
Somos como las nubes = We Are Like the Clouds
Argueta, Jorge

Book cover for Breaking Through
Breaking Through
Jimenez, Francisco

Book cover for The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child
The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child
Jimenez, Francisco

Book cover for My Diary From Here to There/Mi diario de aqúi a allá
My Diary From Here to There/Mi diario de aqúi a allá
Pérez, Amada Irma


 

 

 

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