Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Circe Moskowitz and Linda Raquel, Contributing Authors of Reclaim the Stars – On the Catharsis of Stories, Writerly Dreams, & Latine Book Recommendations

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Our Friend is Here: Latine Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond between September 15 – October 15, where we invite Latine authors to celebrate being Latine and Latine books! Find the introduction post for Latine Heritage Month here.

It’s no secret that we here at the Pond love cheerleading and supporting diverse debut authors at the very start of their writerly journeys. Reclaim the Stars, edited by Zoraida Córdova, is a Latine SFF YA anthology that has been super hype for me ever since it was announced — a whole new anthology of diverse YA speculative short stories, featuring beloved authors like Anna-Marie McLemore and Nina Moreno! — but the fact that there are two excellent debut authors among its lineup of writers makes this book absolutely unmissable for me. Today, I am overjoyed to be sitting down for a chat with rising stars Circe and Linda about their stories in the anthology, their writing inspiration, and dreams about the future!

Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Crystal Maldonado, Author of Fat Chance, Charlie Vega – On Fat Heroines, Mental Health, and Complex Relationships

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Our Friend is Here: Latine Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond between September 15 – October 15, where we invite Latine authors to celebrate being Latine and Latine books! Find the introduction post for Latine Heritage Month here.

When I saw the cover of Fat Chance, Charlie Vega, I knew I had to pick it up. On it, there is a gorgeous, fat Latine teenage girl in a beautiful lace-adorned green dress, a piece of clothing that becomes pivotal in her journey within the pages. It was one of my favorite books this spring and included relationships I won’t soon forget, from Charlie’s best friendship with Amelia, her budding relationship with Bryan, and her complicated mother-daughter dynamics. I knew immediately that I wanted to have a conversation with Crystal to talk more about all of these dynamics and I am beyond grateful that she has joined us for Latine Heritage Month.

Book Recommendations – 10 Latine Books Releasing Soon to Look Forward To!

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Our Friend is Here: Latine Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond between September 15 – October 15, where we invite Latine authors to celebrate being Latine and Latine books! Find the introduction post for Latine Heritage Month here.

Wow, I can’t believe we are nearing the end of Latine Heritage Month. This month has flown right by and it’s been a truly stellar month with so many Latine books and some wonderful friends visiting too. To end our series of book recommendations, today’s post is not a book recommendation per se – but a list of Latine books that we are looking forward to reading in the next few months! There are so many exciting Latine books releasing soon, so I thought it’d be a great opportunity to shoutout some books so we can all look forward to them together.

Book Review: Simone Breaks All the Rules by Debbie Rigaud – A Joyous Love Letter to Teens with Strict Parents, Forging Your Own Path and Happiness, and Haitian Culture

Synopsis:

Simone Thibodeaux’s life is sealed in a boy-proof container.

Her strict Haitian immigrant parents enforce no-dating rules and curfews, and send Simone to an all-girls school. As for prom? Simone is allowed to go on one condition: her parents will select her date (a boy from a nice Haitian immigrant family, obviously).

Simone is desperate to avoid the humiliation of the set up — especially since she’s crushing on a boy she knows her parents wouldn’t approve of. With senior year coming to a close, Simone makes a decision. She and her fellow late-bloomer friends will create a Senior Year Bucket List of all the things they haven’t had a chance to do. On the list: kissing a boy, sneaking out of the house, skipping class (gasp!), and, oh yeah — choosing your own prom date.

But as the list takes on a life of its own, things get more complicated than Simone expected. She’ll have to discover which rules are worth breaking, and which will save her from heartbreak.

I have remembered every time I have felt seen by a book, where it felt like the book was a mirror into my life. I picked up Simone Breaks All the Rules because it sounded delightful – a teen rebels against her strict parents’ plan to set her up with a prom date of their choosing and decides to reclaim her senior year by doing all the things that she’s always wanted to do: kiss a boy, sneak out, skip class, and yes! choose her own prom date. Turns out, I did indeed get the delightful book that I had wanted – but I also got more. I also got a book that really understands what it’s like to live with strict parents. I felt seen by this book and I’ll love this book forever more for it.

Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Kaela Rivera, Author of Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls – On Mexican Folklore and Exploring Latine Themes of Death, Familia, and Duality

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Our Friend is Here: Latine Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond between September 15 – October 15, where we invite Latine authors to celebrate being Latine and Latine books! Find the introduction post for Latine Heritage Month here.

One of my favourite kinds of middle-grade books are those that take you on an adventure; the kind where, after finishing the book, you felt that you’ve traveled to a place far away and have returned to yourself changed. That’s how I felt after reading Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera, an action-packed and exciting Latine fantasy adventure. Cece Rios takes you on an unforgettable world, a place full of magic, where the desert feels vast, and the criatura are mysterious and powerful.