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lgbtqreads · 8 months

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Exclusive Cover Reveal: We Mostly Come Out at Night ed. by Rob Costello

Today on the site, I’m delighted to be revealing the cover of We Mostly Came Out at Night, a YA anthology edited by Rob Costello and releasing from Running Press Books on May 21, 2024 that’s the perfect intro to spooky season! Here’s the gist: An empowering cross-genre YA anthology that explores what it means to be a monster, exclusively highlighting trans and queer authors who offer new tales…

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the-final-sentence · 3 months

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‘Did you get your tongue pierced?’

Alexandra Villasante, from “Other Fish”

#Alexandra Villasante #other fish

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readtilyoudie · 4 months

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Making people disappear is like balancing an equation; one half is the taking of a person, the other half is pretending not to see.

Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories: El Viejo de la Bolsa by Alexandra Villasante

#book quote #el viejo de la bolsa #alexandra villasante #our shadows have claws #horror #short stories #anthology #mythology #fantasy #quote #quotes #booklr #bookblr

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publishedtoday · 2 years

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Our Shadows Have Claws - Yamile Saied Méndez (Editor), Amparo Ortiz (Editor)

Chantel Acevedo, Ricardo López Ortiz (Illustrations), Courtney Alameda, David Bowles, Ann Dávila Cardinal, Mia Garcia, Gabriela Martins, Racquel Marie, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Maika Moulite, Maritza Moulite, Claribel A. Ortega, Lilliam Rivera, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Alexandra Villasante, Ari Tison

From zombies to cannibals to death incarnate, this cross-genre anthology offers something for every monster lover. In Our Shadows Have Claws, bloodthirsty vampires are hunted by a quick-witted slayer; children are stolen from their beds by “el viejo de la bolsa” while a military dictatorship steals their parents; and anyone you love, absolutely anyone, might be a shapeshifter waiting to hunt. The worlds of these stories are dark but also magical ones, where a ghost-witch can make your cheating boyfriend pay, bullies are brought to their knees by vicious wolf-gods, a jar of fireflies can protect you from the reality-warping magic of a bruja—and maybe you’ll even live long enough to tell the tale. Set across Latin America and its diaspora, this collection offers bold, imaginative stories of oppression, grief, sisterhood, first love, and empowerment.

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yaworldchallenge · 2 years

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🇸🇻 El Salvador

Region: Central America

The Grief Keeper

Author: Alexandra Villasante

320 pages, published 2019

Original language: English

Native author? Author is Spanish heritage

Age: Teen

Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Marisol has always dreamed of being American, learning what Americans and the US are like from television and Mrs. Rosen, an elderly expat who had employed Marisol's mother as a maid. When she pictured an American life for herself, she dreamed of a life like Aimee and Amber's, the title characters of her favorite American TV show. She never pictured fleeing her home in El Salvador under threat of death and stealing across the US border as "an illegal", but after her brother is murdered and her younger sister, Gabi's, life is also placed in equal jeopardy, she has no choice, especially because she knows everything is her fault. If she had never fallen for the charms of a beautiful girl named Liliana, Pablo might still be alive, her mother wouldn't be in hiding and she and Gabi wouldn't have been caught crossing the border. But they have been caught and their asylum request will most certainly be denied. With truly no options remaining, Marisol jumps at an unusual opportunity to stay in the United States. She's asked to become a grief keeper, taking the grief of another into her own body to save a life. It's a risky, experimental study, but if it means Marisol can keep her sister safe, she will risk anything. She just never imagined one of the risks would be falling in love, a love that may even be powerful enough to finally help her face her own crushing grief.

Other reps: #lesbian

Genres: #contemporary #sci-fi #romance #family #immigrant

My thoughts:

Grief, immigration, shady goverment experiments, and girls loving each other - this sounds like a very unique book and I’ll be interested to read it.

Review to come.

Bookshop.org link | Kindle link

#el salvador #ya world challenge #ya books #ya fantasy #the grief keeper #alexandra villasante #lesbian #contemporary #sci-fi #romance #family #immigrant #south america

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night-writ3r · 1 year

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The Empty Spaces (Original Poem)

Here is a poem I wrote for an assignment. It was inspired by Alexandra Villasante’s novel: The Grief Keeper. Enjoy!

The Empty Spaces by NightWrit3r

Echoes of turmoil and distrust follow them everywhere; chasing them like prey.

The endless journeys haunt them in times of peace.

Prayers for a haven or sanctuary are spoken to a god with no clear answer.

Paradise is found in the eyes of the travelers, in the land of frees;

but lost in the eyes of those who call it home.

Even in darkness, there is light as the traveler dreams of honey and neon lights.

Spaces in the soul once filled with light grow dim with fear and anger.

There is no warmth in these spaces; no home.

There are only ghosts here; only husks in human forms.

Wounds and hushed cries lay buried or trapped in the air.

In a new land, the travelers are free at a heavy price.

They choose to rise instead of falling; choosing to fight

instead of hiding; they show the world who they are.

Keeping secrets; Keeping burdens of the mind from others.

There is little difference between them.

Mountains of wealth and grandeur surround the weary travelers.

While the barren desserts of home remember them.

Hands of help and trust follow them; spaces of the souls are full again.

#poetry #the grief keeper #Alexandra Villasante #original poetry #original poem

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tendersky · 2 years

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All Signs Point to Yes book review

All Signs Point to Yes, edited by Cam Montgomery, g. haron davis, and Adrianne White 336 pages published May 31st, 2022 (more…)

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#adrianne white #alexandra villasante #astrology #byron graves #cam montgomery #emery lee #eric smith #g. haron davis #karuna riazi #kiana nguyen #latitude&039;s library #lily anderson #mark oshiro #short stories #tehlor kay meija

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theartofangirling · 7 months

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part 2 of the 2023 version of this post: young adult books!

part 1: middle grade books | part 3: adult books

this is a very incomplete list, as these are only books I've read and enjoyed. not all books are going to be for all readers, so I'd recommend looking up synopses and content warnings. feel free to message me with any questions about specific representation!

list of books under the cut ⬇️

aces wild by amanda dewitt

the chandler legacies by abdi nazemian

bruised by tanya boteju

juliet takes a breath by gabby rivera

picture us in the light by kelly loy gilbert

when we were magic by sarah gailey

iron widow by xiran jay zhao

the rise of kyoshi by f.c. yee

jane unlimited by kristin cashore

summer of salt by katrina leno

the wicker king by k. ancrum

the dead and the dark by courtney gould

wilder girls by rory power

i kissed shara wheeler by casey mcquiston

her royal highness by rachel hawkins

tell me how you really feel by aminah mae safi

the weight of the stars by k. ancrum

you should see me in a crown by leah johnson

last night at the telegraph club by malinda lo

the grief keeper by alexandra villasante

crier's war by nina varela

how to excavate a heart by jake maia arlow

imogen, obviously by becky albertalli

in other lands by sarah rees brennan

carry on by rainbow rowell

cemetery boys by aiden thomas

felix ever after by kacen callendar

i wish you all the best by mason deaver

little thieves by margaret owen

technically you started it by lana wood johnson

the gentleman's guide to vice and virtue by mackenzi lee

the infinite noise by lauren shippen

bonds of brass by emily skrutskie

the darkness outside us by eliot schrefer

simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda by becky albertalli

what if it's us by becky albertalli and adam silvera

aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe by benjamin alire sáenz

like a love story by abdi nazemian

different for boys by patrick ness

history is all you left me by adam silvera

twelfth grade night by molly horton booth, stephanie kate strohm, and jamie green

across a field of starlight by blue delliquanti

heartstopper by alice oseman

check, please! by ngozi ukazu

bloom by kevin panetta and savanna ganucheau

laura dean keeps breaking up with me by mariko tamaki and rosemary valero-o'connell

the princess and the grilled cheese sandwich by deya muniz

if you'll have me by eunnie

on a sunbeam by tillie walden

the girl from the sea by molly knox ostertag

always human by ari north

rust in the root by justina ireland

dread nation by justina ireland

pet by awkwaeke emezi

the darkest part of the forest by holly black

elatsoe by darcie little badger

i was born for this by alice oseman

loveless by alice oseman

i hate everyone but you by gaby dunn and allison raskin

you know me well by nina lacour and david levithan

the black flamingo by dean atta

spinning by tillie walden

dreadnought by april daniels

a lesson in vengeance by victoria lee

all the bad apples by moira fowley-doyle

clap when you land by elizabeth acevedo

summer bird blue by akemi dawn bowman

the miseducation of cameron post by emily m. danforth

we are okay by nina lacour

radio silence by alice oseman

we used to be friends by amy spalding

a neon darkness by lauren shippen

i hope you get this message by farah naz rishi

are you listening? by tillie walden

alone in space by tillie walden

all out edited by saundra mitchell

out now edited by saundra mitchell

out there edited by saundra mitchell

#lgbtq+ books #queer books #book recommendations #gay books #ya books #lgbtq+ ya books #book flow chart #part 2 of 3!#dear god this almost twice as many books as the previous flow chart. and it's JUST YA.#mp

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ya-world-challenge · 2 years

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15 YA Books for Hispanic Heritage Month

Just a tiny selection of some of the great Hispanic & Latinx books out there. I just finished Woven in Moonlight the other day and it has such a gorgeous world and magic, I’m tempted to get right to the sequel.

Lobizona by Romina Garber Furia, Yamile Saied Mendez Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez Meet Me Halfway, Anika Fajardo The Lightning Dreamer by Margarita Engle With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante Solito: A Memoir, Javier Zamora Where I Belong, Marcia Argueta Mickelson The One Who Loves You Most, Medina Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything, Raquel Vasquez Gilliland Breathe and Count Back from Ten, Natalia Sylvester Together We Burn, Isabel Ibañez Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya The Lightning Queen by Laura Resau

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richincolor · 2 years

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Title: Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories Editors: Yamile Saied Méndez & Amparo Ortiz Contributors: Chantel Acevedo, Courtney Alameda, Julia Alvarez, Ann Dávila Cardinal, M. García Peña, Racquel Marie, Gabriela Martins, Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, Claribel A. Ortega, Lilliam Rivera, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Ari Tison, and Alexandra Villasante Illustrator: Ricardo López Ortiz Genres: Horror Pages: 368 Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers Review Copy: Electronic provided by publisher via NetGalley Availability: 6 September 2022

Summary: Fifteen original short stories from YA superstars, featuring Latine mythology’s most memorable monsters

From zombies to cannibals to death incarnate, this cross-genre anthology offers something for every monster lover. In Our Shadows Have Claws, bloodthirsty vampires are hunted by a quick-witted slayer; children are stolen from their beds by “el viejo de la bolsa” while a military dictatorship steals their parents; and anyone you love, absolutely anyone, might be a shapeshifter waiting to hunt.

The worlds of these stories are dark but also magical ones, where a ghost-witch can make your cheating boyfriend pay, bullies are brought to their knees by vicious wolf-gods, a jar of fireflies can protect you from the reality-warping magic of a bruja—and maybe you’ll even live long enough to tell the tale. Set across Latin America and its diaspora, this collection offers bold, imaginative stories of oppression, grief, sisterhood, first love, and empowerment.

Review: [Content warnings: Body horror, death, murder, racism, and homophobia.]

OUR SHADOWS HAVE CLAWS is a thoughtfully compiled anthology, featuring a great mix of horror stories, and the illustrations that were present in my eARC did a fantastic job of evoking the atmospheres of the different stories. (Shoutout to the illustration for “¿Dónde Está El Duende?”, which is going to haunt me for a while.) There are monster hunters falling for monster rehabilitators, characters discovering their supernatural heritages, and several variations on being haunted or stalked by the otherworldly. There are triumphant stories, ambiguously ended stories, and downer ending stories, and the anthology felt very cohesive even with its broad theme of anything monster-adjacent in Latin America and its diaspora.

While not present in all of the stories, this anthology has a recurring theme of turning to supernatural elements to exact justice, whether that’s to protect land rights or end a predator’s hold on a neighborhood. (And, you know, sometimes it’s just satisfying for a cheating boyfriend to run into a monster who really doesn’t like men who disparage their girlfriends.) There are also multiple stories that touch on rediscovering or reuniting with your (supernatural) family or heritage, which will likely resonate with diaspora readers.

There is a lot to love about the stories in OUR SHADOWS HAVE CLAWS, and even the ones that didn’t speak to me had interesting elements that I enjoyed. A few of the standout stories for me were “¿Dónde Está El Duende?” by Jenny Torres Sanchez, for its chilling descriptions of what happens when el duende has you in its thrall; “La Madrina” by Yamile Saied Méndez for its lovely depiction of death and a second chance; and “Blood Kin” by Ari Tison for its portrayal of resisting global, corporate evils.

Recommendation: Get it soon if you’re a fan of monsters or horror in general. OUR SHADOWS HAVE CLAWS is an imaginative anthology that draws upon Latin America and its diaspora. The anthology is out just in time for Halloween, too, so it would be a great addition to a personal, classroom, or public library.

#our shadows have claws #latinx #weneeddiversebooks #horror #young adult books #get it soon

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lgbtqreads · 1 year

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Fave Five: Queer YAs About Grieving the Death of a Sibling

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle The Honeys by Ryan La Sala The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante

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#Akemi Dawn Bowman #Alexandra Villasante #Brothers #Grief #Mason Deaver #Mourning #Ryan La Sala #Siblings #Sisters #Summer Bird Blue #The Ghosts We Keep #The Great American Whatever #The Grief Keeper #The Honeys #Tim Federle

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autistickhunsam · 1 year

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@panampalmersgf 's end of year sapphic book list

This is every sapphic book I read (and reread) this year

1. Homesick Stories by Nino Cipri

2. Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

3. After the Eclipse by Fran Dorricott

4. Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler

5. Girls of Fate and Fury by Natasha Ngan

6. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

7. Every Little Piece of My Heart by Non Pratt

8. The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus

9. She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

10. The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante

11. Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

12. No Tomorrow by Luke Jennings

13. Die for Me by Luke Jennings

14. This Poison Heart by Kalynn Byron

15. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

16. Huntress by Malinda Lo

17. The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake

18. Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

19. Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler

20. Out on Good Behavior by Dahlia Adler

21. Wild Things by Karin Kallmaker

22. Ash by Malinda Lo

23. The Other Side of Forestlands Lake by Carolyn Elizabeth

24. Alma Mater by Rita Mae Brown

25. Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake

26. Love by the Numbers by Karin Kallmaker

27. Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

28. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

#presenting these without thoughts/opinions tho i have them #both good and bad #and some of these books i would not rec #all linked to goodreads to save googling them #but yk read reviews with a grain of salt or whatever #wlw books #lgbt books #wlw fiction #lgbt fiction #books #reading list #sapphic books

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readtilyoudie · 4 months

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El viejo was once again dressed in rags, but his face was the young man’s face, and his spine was straight and strong. Each of el viejo’s faces were faces that Esther knew she could love, human faces, full of curiosity and flaws and fierce wanting. What could be more attractive in a person than them wanting you above all other things?

Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories: El Viejo de la Bolsa by Alexandra Villasante

#book quote #el viejo de la bolsa #alexandra villasante #our shadows have claws #horror #short stories #mythology #quote #quotes #booklr #bookblr

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publishedtoday · 2 years

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All Signs Point to Yes - Cam Montgomery, Adrianne White, g. haron davis, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Mark Oshiro, Eric Smith, Emery Lee, Byron Graves, Karuna Riazi, Roselle Lim, Alexandra Villasante, Lily Anderson, Kiana Nguyen

A YA anthology of love stories for each of the star signs that will showcase multicultural characters and celebrate the myriad facets of love, from meet-cutes to the lesser-explored love expressed by aromantic people, featuring 13 bestselling and award-winning multicultural authors.

tw: bullying, death, homophobia and biphobia, violence

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kingsbridgelibraryteens · 1 year

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Reluctant Reader Wednesday: Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories ed. by Yamile Saled Mendez and Amparo Ortiz with illustrations by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz

This collection of 15 original horror / fantasy stories features characters of Latin American heritage, and the stories are set in locations like Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Florida, and even the Bronx. It also features a variety of monsters that are creepy, haunting, and terrifying. Some of these monsters may already be familiar to readers, but with such a wide geographical and cultural range, this book is also bound to expand our definition of what we expect a monster to be. I mean, yes, you’re probably familiar with vampires and shapeshifters … but have you also heard of the bruja, the chupacabra, the madre de aguas, the duende, and the patasola?

Authors like Courtney Alameda, Julia Alvarez, Claribel A. Ortega, Lilliam Rivera, and Alexandra Villasante contributed scary stories to this collection, and the illustrations by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz will help to hook readers deeper into each story.

Give this anthology to teens and even grownups who enjoy horror, fantasy, a diverse cast of characters, and PLENTY of monsters!

#Reluctant Reader Wednesday #Our Shadows Have Claws #Yamile Saled Mendez #Amparo Ortiz #Ricardo Lopez Ortiz #Latin America #horror #anthologies #weneeddiversebooks #Kingsbridge Library #NYPL #monsters

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nanowrimo · 3 years

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Pro Tips from a NaNo Coach: How to Meet Your NaNoWriMo Goal

NaNoWriMo can seem like a daunting task sometimes, for NaNo newbies and veterans alike. Fortunately, our NaNo Coaches are here to help guide you through November! Today, author Alexandra Villasante is here to share some specific tips for meeting your goal this month: National Novel Writing Month is here again and I’m excited and scared and slightly nauseous. PERFECT conditions for starting to write a novel!

Because writing is a freaking adventure. The kind with unknown obstacles, pitfalls (possibly of quicksand, more likely research rabbit holes) where you’d better bring the write weapon (both pen and sword), pack the Takis, don’t forget to hydrate and wear comfortable shoes. This endeavor should be taken on with equal parts trepidation and glee.

But how do we start?

1. Math Your Goal.

Figure out how much time this will take. Divide that by how much time you have. Put some x’s & y’s in there to make your equation look cool, and you have your writing goal (if you are looking for real math, see below, but I warn you, I went to art school so I didn’t have to math.)

1666 words a day breaks down into:

6.5 pages per day 250 words per page (12pt font, double spaced approximately) so you can:

Write 2 pages before your breakfast; 2 pages during your lunch break; 2 pages while you eat; half a page while you brush your teeth.

OR-if your work week is hell and you cry into your ramen every night –ONCE A WEEK you can crank out a marathon 50 pages.

2. Prepare your space.

When you sit down to write, write. Don’t get up and put the clothes in the dryer, or go change your cardigan or search for your perfect playlist on Spotify. Those are the things you do BEFORE you sit and write. Time is words, so preparing your space before you sit to write is key. And also, all kidding aside, take this seriously. Your words don’t have to be perfect; YOU don’t have to be perfect, but words change people’s lives every day. So let’s prepare:

Clean off a part of a desk or table – move distractions (bills, notes from your Mom, YOUR PHONE) off your space.

Pick your music, if that works for you, or use noise cancelling headphones if you need silence.

Water, tea, coffee, snacks should be nearby (but you don’t need to replenish your wasabi peas every 15 minutes.)

Light a candle, ring a bell, utter a spell. Whatever you need to do to let your unconscious mind know that you are creating now, shut up with the raking leaves thing, do that now.

3. Write.

It’s only word after word after word; as hard and as simple as that. Whatever your reason for starting this chaotic journey (with SO MANY of the world’s writing fools) it means a lot to you. For me, it’s been a terrible year and I have given my writing mind zero attention. I’ve been scared to start something new because the world is so dark and it sometimes feels like there’s no point. National Novel Writing Month reminds me that the point is the community and the words on the page. That’s it. It’s a chance to make something (and you WILL make something, whether you get to the finish line or not) that didn’t exist before. That’s beautiful.

Buena suerte. I’ll be shoving Takis in my mouth and crying into my ramen right along with you. And when November ends, we’ll have made new words and new worlds. I can’t wait.

Alexandra Villasante has always loved telling stories—though not always with words. She has a BFA in Painting and an MA in Combined Media (that’s art school speak for making work out of anything). Born in New Jersey to immigrant parents, Alex has the privilegio of dreaming in both English and Spanish.

When she’s not writing or painting, Alexandra plans conferences and fundraisers for non-profits. She lives with her family in the semi-wilds of Pennsylvania. Her debut Young Adult novel, The Grief Keeper, was an Indies Next, Indies Introduce and Fall 2019 Junior Library Guild Selection. The Grief Keeper is on ALA’s Rainbow Book List 2020 and is the winner of the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Children’s Literature/Young Adult Fiction.

#nanowrimo #nanowrimo 2021 #writing #writing advice #writing inspiration #amwriting #by nano coach #alexandra villasante

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