United States – Hispanic & Latino

And I thought my dad had some CRAZY recipes

Old Clothes for Dinner?! by Nathalie Alonso

September 15, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Magaly loves her grandmother (newly living with her family) from Cuba. She loves her grandmother’s Cuban dishes. She loves speaking Spanish with her grandmother. But when she asks her grandmother what is for dinner one day, she gets the answer of “ropa vieja.” Which she understands to mean (in her decent, but second language, Spanish) Old Clothes for Dinner?! And since she cannot find her favorite sweater, nor her brother his favorite striped shirt (loved and worn so much there are holes in them) well, […]

Tell the tooth and the whole tooth

Skeletina and the greedy Tooth Fairy (Skeletina and the In-Between World) by Susie Jaramillo

June 7, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The publisher’s description on Skeletina and the greedy Tooth Fairy (Skeletina and the In-Between World) says it all. It is a companion story to the first book, Skeletina and the In Between World. This time our heroine helps a little girl navigate the dreams and teaches her about the truth. Susie Jaramillo’s story is fun, but for me, it was not as good as the first. There is nothing wrong with book two. It is cute, funny and it is straightforward. Which is probably why […]

I want to do a clever/funny title but that just does not really fit the seriousness of the story

Something Happened to My Dad: A Story about Immigration and Family Separation by Ann Hazzard and Vivianne Aponte Rivera

January 18, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

CBR15Passport due to father being born in another countryI have been surprised by several of the books I have read recently. I think it will be about one thing, or will go a particular way, but it tosses all assumptions to the side and reminds me why one should never assume they know anything about something they know nothing about. Something Happened to My Dad: A Story about Immigration and Family Separation fits that bill. I thought it would be about the death of a […]

You know, it is okay to say fat

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

October 31, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

When I started reading Fat Chance, Charlie Vega I was okay. This is a thing. It is a little slow, but I can work with that. Then I started thinking I had read it before. I have concluded that I either have read the first few chapters or the two scenes that were really making me think I read before are “subject word for word” to other things read. Perhaps that is because the teen romance troupe is something we know and the author “went […]

Brain Washing. But in a nice way.

Invisible: A Graphic Novel by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

The Cool Code by Deirdre Langeland

Ride On by Faith Erin Hicks

October 18, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Junior high is tough. And so is reading several creepy/thriller/horror novels or graphic novels in a row. Needed a major brain cleaning, I found three middle reader graphic novels that worked wonders. And not only were they “light” for my adult brain, they had messages and dealt with issues that kids today (and I’m sure we more mature kids have and are having to) deal with. I highly recommending doing this kind of washing of the brain at least once every two to three “intense” […]

Relatable awesomeness

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega

July 1, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I will start with a controversial statement. I am not always a fan of the drawn natural hair look. For me, it does not “translate” well to the page. I feel something is lost from the “real look” verses the “page look.” However, in Frizzy Rose Bousamra really pulled it off. Marlene (our heroine) and her natural look is amazingly done. And Claribel A. Ortega’s story is equally wonderful. Now, I am not a Dominican middle school girl who has the same self-esteem issues s […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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