Juvenile Fiction Lists

"When her beloved country, Chile, is taken over by a militaristic, sadistic government, Celeste is sent to America for her safety and her parents must go into hiding before they 'disappear.'" (description from catalog)

When a lost dog helps Laura find a way home to her family, they discover family in each other along the way.

"Luz Véliz has been a star her entire life on the soccer field. When an injury keeps her from playing soccer, Luz needs to figure out who she is off the field. Her dad is distant, and a life-altering revelation rocks her Guatemalan family when a big secret is revealed. How much change can one sixth grader take? As Luz feels her world falling apart, she discovers robotics class, which helps her thrive in a way she's never known before. Luz learns that she can be great on the field but has always had more to offer than only her athletic ability." (description adapted from Publisher's Weekly)

"Sixth-grader Sicily Jordan learns to use her voice and to find joy in who she is--a Black Panamanian fashionista who rocks her braids with pride--while confronting prejudice both in the classroom and at home." (description from catalog)

Paloma Marquez is traveling to Mexico City, birthplace of her deceased father, for the very first time. She's hoping that spending time in Mexico will help her unlock memories of the too-brief time they spent together. While in Mexico, Paloma meets Lizzie and Gael, who present her with an irresistible challenge: The siblings want her to help them find a valuable ring that once belonged to beloved Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Finding the ring means a big reward -- and the thanks of all Mexico. What better way to honor her father than returning a priceless piece of jewelry that once belonged to his favorite artist! (description from publisher)

While his father works two jobs, seventh-grader Efrén Nava must take care of his twin siblings, kindergartners Max and Mia, after their mother is deported to Mexico. (description from catalog)

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Twelve-year-olds Barana and Abby come together to solve a sea turtle egg poaching mystery plaguing Barana's Honduran coastal village, and learn the true meaning of friendship, courage, and community along the way." (description from catalog)

Sal Vidón is attending a new school, with new bullies and new teachers who don't understand the needs of a student with Type 1 diabetes. He also causes rips in time and space by transporting objects from other universes. Sometimes he transports harmless prank items, but sometimes he goes home to find his long-dead mother cooking yucca in the kitchen. When Sal meets Gabi Reál, student body president and all-around firebrand, they begin a friendship that may break the universe—or save it. (description from School Library Journal)

"Omega Morales comes from a family of empaths that spans generations in the town of Noche Buena. When La Lechuza, a witch in Mexican folklore who could transform into an owl begins to cause trouble, Omega's powers begin amplifying. Omega, her cousin Carlitos, and Clau, their ghost friend, set out to solve the mystery of La Lechuza and her connection to Omega." (description adapted from Booklist)

Mani Semilla is determined not to go to Guatemala until she finds letters written between her mother and her journalist aunt who has disappeared, revealing both the beauty of the country and its history of violence against women, which slowly transforms her into a budding activist. Published from Catalog.

"Seventh grader Wendy Toledo knows that black holes and immigration police have one thing in common: they can both make things disappear without a trace. When her family moves to a new all-American neighborhood, Wendy knows the plan: keep her head down, build a telescope that will win the science fair, and stay on her family's safe orbit. But that's easier said than done when there's a woman hiding out from ICE agents in the church across the alley--and making Wendy's parents very nervous. As bullying atschool threatens Wendy's friendships and her hopes for the science fair, and her family's secrets start to unravel, Wendy finds herself caught in the middle of far too many gravitational pulls. When someone she loves is detained by ICE, Wendy must find the courage to set her own orbit--and maybe shift the paths of everyone around her"-- Provided by publisher.

"Uprooted from his home in Los Angeles and sent to live with his cantankerous grandparents in New Mexico, twelve-year-old Jorge struggles with loneliness until he meets a new friend who happens to be a chupacabra"-- Provided by publisher.

Jorge teams up with his friends Liza, Ernie, and Carter, the fearsome but friendly chupacabra, to solve the mystery behind an old legend about an evil piñata possessed by a ghost. Published from Catalog.

Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don't have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci's school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna's jealousy. Things aren't going well at home, either: Merci's grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately -- forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what's going on, so she's left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at school. (description from Novelist)

A spunky young girl from Colombia loves playing with her canine best friend and resists boring school activities, especially learning English, until her family tells her that a special trip is planned to an English-speaking place. (description from catalog)

hirteen-year-old Jade is starting school in a new city. She misses Chicago, where her friends and abuela are, but she is happy to have made her new friend, Chloe, in Atlanta. To get to her school, Jade takes a woodsy path filled with big trees and beautiful greenery. From the beginning she feels a connection to the woods, like something is calling her, watching her. Soon after she meets Itztli, an older man who can turn into a jaguar. Itztli is a storyteller who passes on to Jade many stories of his ancestors from Mexico. What is her connection to him, and could it have something to do with the old mirror that was given to her by her mother? (description from NoveList)

"Aniana del Mar belongs in the water like a dolphin belongs to the sea. But she and Papi keep her swim practices and meets hidden from Mami, who has never recovered from losing someone she loves to the water years ago. That is, until the day Ani's stiffness and swollen joints mean she can no longer get out of bed, and Ani is forced to reveal just how important swimming is to her. What follows is the journey of a girl who must grieve who she once was in order to rise like the tide and become the young woman she is meant to be"-- Provided by publisher.

"When hard truths come out after a tragedy, ten-year-old mermaid Sofaia must learn how to forgive herself and others." (Description from cataog)

"When her school is shut down due to an asbestos problem, all-star pitcher Gabby Garcia is sent to an upscale private school that already has a star pitcher, and to make matters worse, she has trouble making friends and finding her place." (description from catalog)

"When Esperanza and Mama are forced to flee to the bountiful region of Aguascalientes, Mexico, to a Mexican farm labor camp in California, they must adjust to a life without the fancy dresses and servants they were accustomed to on Rancho de las Rosas. Now they must confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression. When Mama falls ill and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must relinquish her hold on the past learn to embrace a future ripe with the riches of family and community." (description from catalog)

"Eleven-year-old (nearly twelve) Celi Rivera, who is a mix of Black-Puerto Rican-Mexican Indian is uncomfortable about her approaching period, and the changes that are happening to her body; she is horrified that her mother wants to hold a traditional public moon ceremony to celebrate the occasion--until she finds out that her best friend Magda is contemplating an even more profound change of life." (description from catalog)

Lula, a farm-working girl with big dreams, meets Dolores Huerta, Larry Itliong, and other labor rights activists and joins the 1965 protest for workers' rights. (description from catalog)

"A novel in verse about the joys and struggles of a Chicana girl who is a warrior for her name, her history, and her right to choose what she celebrates in life"-- Provided by publisher.

Sue just wants to spend the summer reading and making comics at sleepaway camp with her friends, but instead she gets stuck going to Honduras to visit relatives with her parents and two sisters. They live way out in the country, which means no texting, no cable, and no Internet! The trip takes a turn for the worse when Sue's mother announces that they'll be having a surprise quinceañera for Sue, which is the last thing she wants. She can't imagine wearing a big, floofy, colorful dress! What is Sue going to do? And how will she survive all this "quality" time with her rambunctious family?-- Provided by publisher.

"Pedro Martin's grown up in the U.S. hearing stories about his legendary abuelito, but during a family road trip to Mexico, he connects with his grandfather and learns more about his own Mexican identity in this moving and hilarious graphic memoir"-- Provided by publisher

"Tired of going to the salon to have her curls straightened every weekend, Marlene slowly learns to embrace her natural curly hair with the help of her best friend and favorite aunt" (description provided by publisher)

"Luis Fernando and Luisa Teresa have been known as the Lu-Lu twins for their whole lives, but as the two prepare to enter middle school, Teresa wants her own identity apart from her brother. Names are only the beginning of the changes they will experience in seventh grade: new rooms, new friends, and new schools follow. Growing up in a border town in Mexicali, Mexico, in the 1990s, the twins now attend schools on opposite sides of the border. Teresa struggles to keep up with the homework, commute, and new friendships. Meanwhile, Fernando finds himself figuring out what it means to be Mexican while becoming friends with an older student who isn't the best influence." (description from School Library Journal)

Thirteen-year-old Elio is struggling with "coming of age"--first love, first heartbreak, first real fight (which lands him in the hospital), and what it means to be a "man", a true friend, and an ally, as well as how to overcome a culture of toxic masculinity. Published from Catalog.