When it comes to science fiction for young children, who is represented becomes all the more significant. Children are always looking for Rudine Simms Bishop’s “mirrors” and “windows,” and young readers are likely to interpret representation in the genre as a message about who is invited to read the genre and who is invited to imagine the future. Plus, children internalize what kinds of people are visible in STEM careers as indicators of whether those careers are viable options for them.
Yet there aren’t many science fiction books for the youngest readers to begin with, and even fewer of them have Latinx characters. In my recent study of science fiction for children under 12 years old, Equipping Space Cadets: Primary Science Fiction for Young Children, I found only three books that included Latinx characters, out of 357 illustrated science fiction books from 1926-2016. The only one of these three books to include any cultural depth was Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper and Raúl the Third, which has been reviewed and featured in an interview with illustrator Raúl the Third on this site. It is a fabulous example of what happens when science fiction and Latinx culture are combined for a future that celebrates rather than erases. The story demonstrates how Mexican American culture and the Spanish language not only belong in science fiction, but how concepts like the rasquache artform of Lowriders can enrich speculation about engineering through grounding it in culturally specific contexts. There was only one other book in the study that included any Spanish words, if one can call them that, and that was Skippyjon Jones: Lost in Spice by Judy Schachner, a book that only serves as a parody of both science fiction and Latinx people. The odds of a Latinx child finding Lowriders in Space (and not Skippyjon Jones) are far too low for comfort. We need more, and better, examples of Latin@futurism in children’s fiction.
Recently, The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera won the Pura Belpré award and the Newbery award, granting major visibility to the potential of preserving Latinx culture in the futures of speculative fiction. In fact, the book itself seems to send that message. Higuera’s story explicitly denounces the idea that erasing cultural and physical difference would produce peace and equality. In the end, the main character Petra Peña’s Mexican heritage and the stories passed down from her abuelita are what empower and enable her to save her peers from attempted brainwashing and servitude. The mainstream success of this novel is hopefully already inspiring agents and authors and publishers to create more books like this, but readers and buyers must also support these efforts even for books that don’t win the awards.
Further reading...Click on the images for more information:
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Dr. Emily Midkiff is the author of the nonfiction book Equipping Space Cadets: Primary Science Fiction for Young Children. She worked for an interactive children’s theater and puppetry company for 9 years before deciding to get an MA and PhD to study children’s stories professionally. She teaches children’s literature and literacy education at the University of North Dakota.
Before we get to the questions and Julian's answers, here's some information about his young adult novel, The Memory Index, which released August 9, 2002!
In a world where memories are like currency, dreams can be a complicated business.
In an alternative 1987, a disease ravages human memories. There is no cure, only artificial recall. The lucky ones--the recollectors--need the treatment only once a day.
Freya Izquierdo isn't lucky. The high school senior is a "degen" who needs artificial recall several times a day. Plagued by blinding half-memories that take her to her knees, she's desperate to remember everything that will help her investigate her father's violent death. When her sleuthing almost lands her in jail, a shadowy school dean selects her to attend his Foxtail Academy, where five hundred students will trial a new tech said to make artificial recall obsolete.
She's the only degen on campus. Why was she chosen? Freya is nothing like the other students, not even her new friends Ollie, Chase, and the alluring Fletcher Cohen. Definitely not at all like the students who start to vanish, one by one. And nothing like the mysterious Dean Mendelsohn, who has a bunker deep in the woods behind the school.
Nothing can prepare Freya and her friends for the truth of what that bunker holds. And what kind of memories she'll have to access to survive it.
Q: Please tell us what inspired you to become a writer.
JULIAN: Ever since I was a child, storytelling has been my escape—it's helped me make sense of my messes. As a first-generation Mexican American who spent his formative years in the South, I've always felt a disconnect: my parents didn't teach me Spanish because they believed I needed to master English to excel academically. On the flip side, most of the friends I made in the rural town I lived in were white. I had a sort of crisis of identity. I couldn't fully embrace my Mexican heritage (three of my four grandparents didn't speak English!), and I always felt slightly detached from my circle of friends because I look different. Making home movies and writing stories became an exercise in processing my insecurities. I feel safest when I'm acting and writing—when I'm creating.
Q: Please tell us what inspired you to write this particular story.
JULIAN: With The Memory Index, I started by asking the question: Are we more than the sum of our memories? My fascination with childhood amnesia fueled this question, and that seed soon blossomed into the novel. One of the reasons I decided to set this narrative in the 1980s was that it allowed me to play with analog technology, like tape decks and VHS camcorders. This story almost doesn't work in modern times—where smart phones and micro technology are ubiquitous. In addition to the analog tech and thinking through the challenges of an 80s world confronting a terrifying phenomenon like Memory Killer, I wanted atmosphere to play a role in this duology. There's something decidedly different—decidedly special—about 1980s pop culture. There's a reason it's been in vogue for a while. And I think if, as a storyteller, I can hope to capitalize on that familiarity, it will help to ground the story. Now, obviously the risk is using that decade in a gimmicky way, but when done correctly, an 80s-set story should be amplified by its setting. (Think "Stranger Things.")
Q: Please tell us about your publishing journey.
JULIAN: I had a stint in self-publishing from 2012-2014, where I learned a lot of valuable lessons. And it wasn't until 2021, half a decade later, that I signed my first book deal with a major house. Interestingly, I was unagented at the time, so navigating the negotiations myself was unique. But now that I've found a home in HarperCollins, I can't foresee myself ever returning to self-publishing.
Q: Why did you choose to write for young adults as opposed to other ages?
JULIAN: What's great about YA is how massive the readership is! So many adults read YA, too, so the opportunities for story feel truly endless. Furthermore, I consume a lot of YA, so it's definitely the sub-genre I gravitate to the most.
Q: What are some of your favorite young adult novels?
Q: If you could give your teen self some advice, what would it be?
JULIAN: I'd tell myself to be more fearless. To create without the fear of whether or not my stories would be "liked" or "successful." Silence that inner critique and just WRITE!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Julian R. Vaca is a first generation Mexican American, and he's been a creative writer for over a decade. He's a staff writer on PBS's "Reconnecting Roots," a nationally broadcast show that drew in millions of viewers over its first two seasons. The Memory Index is his debut young adult novel. Julian lives in Nashville with his family. Connect with him at JulianRayVaca.com; Instagram: @JulianRayVaca; Twitter: @JulianRVaca; and Facebook: @JulianRVaca.
Here are the August 2022 Latinx Releases!
INVISIBLE: A Graphic Novelby Christina Diaz Gonzalez, illustrated by Gabriela Epstein. (Graphix, August 2, 2022). Graphic Novel. Can five overlooked kids make one big difference? There’s George: the brain, Sara: the loner, Dayara: the tough kid, Nico: the rich kid, and Miguel: the athlete
And they’re stuck together when they’re forced to complete their school’s community service hours. Although they’re sure they have nothing in common with one another, some people see them as all the same . . . just five Spanish-speaking kids.
Then they meet someone who truly needs their help, and they must decide whether they are each willing to expose their own secrets to help . . . or if remaining invisible is the only way to survive middle school.
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IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS by Anna Meriano (Viking Books for Young Readers, August 2, 2022). Young Adult. Yasmín Treviño didn’t have much of a freshman year thanks to Hurricane Humphrey, but she’s ready to take sophomore year by storm. That means mastering the marching side of marching band—fast!—so she can outshine her BFF Sofia as top of the flute section, earn first chair, and impress both her future college admission boards and her comfortably unattainable drum major crush Gilberto Reyes.
But Yasmín steps off on the wrong foot when she reports an anonymous gossip Instagram account harassing new band members and accidentally gets the entire low brass section suspended from extracurriculars. With no low brass section, the band is doomed, so Yasmín decides to take things into her own hands, learn to play the tuba, and lead a gaggle of rowdy freshman boys who are just as green to marching and playing as she is. She’ll happily wrestle an ancient school tuba if it means fixing the mess she might have caused.
But when the secret gossip Instagram escalates their campaign of harassment and Yasmín's friendship with Sofia deteriorates, things at school might be too hard to bear. Luckily, the support of Yasmín’s new section—especially introverted section leader Bloom, a sweet ace and aro-spectrum boy—might just turn things around.
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PAOLA SANTIAGO AND THE SANCTUARY OF SHADOWS by Tehlor Kay Mejia (Rick Riordan Presents, August 2, 2022). Middle Grade. Paola Santiago has recently returned from Oregon, where she defeated the Hitchhiker ghost and saved her father from the vengeful spirit that was possessing him. The poor girl deserves a rest! But first she has to rescue Dante from the void, where he’s been imprisoned by some unknown force. Even though Dante has turned against Pao, she can’t just leave him there--they’ve been friends for too long.
Paola’s prophetic dreams seem to have dried up, so she has to find other ways to locate a new rift where she can enter the void. Signs point to Texas--but how is she going to get there from Arizona? It just so happens that Emma’s new group of politically active friends, the Rainbow Rogues, are planning a field trip to San Antonio. It’s the perfect ruse for Paola, if she can stand being with the judgmental girls for that many days. . . .
Relying on her wits, training from the Ninos de la Luz, and the emotional support of her best friend Emma, Pao makes it into the void. Once there she must face down not just one but two enemies: El Cucuy, the bogeyman . . . and someone even scarier who looks a lot like Pao herself.
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SONIA SOTOMAYOR: A Little Golden Book Biography by Silvia Lopez, illustrated by Nomar Perez (Golden Books, August 2, 2022). Picture Book. This Little Golden Book about Sonia Sotomayor--the first Latina Supreme Court Justice of the United States--is an inspiring read-aloud for young girls and boys.
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WHAT'S COMING TO ME by Francesca Padilla (Soho Teen, August 2, 2022). Young Adult. In the seaside town of Nautilus, Minerva Gutiérrez absolutely hates her job at the local ice cream stand, where her sexist boss makes each day worse than the last. But she needs the money: kicked out of school and stranded by her mom's most recent hospitalization, she dreams of escaping her dead-end hometown. When an armed robbery at the ice cream stand stirs up rumors about money hidden on the property, Min teams up with her neighbor CeCe, also desperate for cash, to find it. The bonus? Getting revenge on her boss in the process.
If Minerva can do things right for once—without dirty cops, suspicious co-workers, and an ill-timed work crush getting in her way—she might have a way out . . . as long as the painful truths she’s been running from don’t catch up to her first.
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ABUELITA AND I MAKE FLAN by Adriana Hernández Bergstrom (Charlesbridge, August 9, 2022). Picture Book. Anita is making flan for Abuelo’s birthday, but when she accidentally breaks Abuelita’s treasured flan serving plate from Cuba, she struggles with what to do. Anita knows it’s right to tell the truth, but what if Abuelita gets upset? Worried that she has already ruined the day, Anita tries to be the best helper. After cooking the flan, they need a serving dish! Anita comes up with a wonderful solution.
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LOLA OUT LOUD: Inspired by the Childhood of Activist Dolores Huerta by Jennifer Torres, illustrated by Sara Palacio (Little Brown Books for Younger Readers, August 9, 2022). Picture Book. Her grandpa calls her “Lolita Siete Lenguas”—Little Lola, Seven Tongues, all fighting to be heard. Lola is trying not to make so much noise, but when she witnesses injustices in her own neighborhood, she knows she can’t keep quiet. Can Lola find a way to use her voice for change? ¡Sí, se puede! Inspired by the real-life civil rights activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta.
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THE MEMORY INDEX by Julian Ray Vaca (Thomas Nelson, August 9, 2022). Young Adult. In an alternative 1987, a disease ravages human memories. There is no cure, only artificial recall. The lucky ones--the recollectors--need the treatment only once a day.
Freya Izquierdo isn't lucky. The high school senior is a "degen" who needs artificial recall several times a day. Plagued by blinding half-memories that take her to her knees, she's desperate to remember everything that will help her investigate her father's violent death. When her sleuthing almost lands her in jail, a shadowy school dean selects her to attend his Foxtail Academy, where five hundred students will trial a new tech said to make artificial recall obsolete.
She's the only degen on campus. Why was she chosen? Freya is nothing like the other students, not even her new friends Ollie, Chase, and the alluring Fletcher Cohen. Definitely not at all like the students who start to vanish, one by one. And nothing like the mysterious Dean Mendelsohn, who has a bunker deep in the woods behind the school.
Nothing can prepare Freya and her friends for the truth of what that bunker holds. And what kind of memories she'll have to access to survive it.
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MY TOWN/MI PUEBLO by Nicholas Solis, illustrated by Luisa Uribe. (Nancy Paulsen Books, August 16, 2022). Picture Book. Two cousins live in two towns, separated by a river. But there is also a bigger divide—the US-Mexico border—which means they live in different countries. On the girl’s side, English is the main language, and on the boy’s it’s Spanish. The cousins love their towns, and they love visiting each other’s, where they notice some things are the same and some are wonderfully different, adding up to a vibrant world full of even more possibilities.
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TUMBLE by Celia C. Perez. (Kokila, August 16, 2022). Middle Grade. Twelve-year-old Adela “Addie” Ramirez has a big decision to make when her stepfather proposes adoption. Addie loves Alex, the only father figure she’s ever known, but with a new half brother due in a few months and a big school theater performance on her mind, everything suddenly feels like it’s moving too fast. She has a million questions, and the first is about the young man in the photo she found hidden away in her mother’s things.
Addie’s sleuthing takes her to a New Mexico ranch, and her world expands to include the legendary Bravos: Rosie and Pancho, her paternal grandparents and former professional wrestlers; Eva and Maggie, her older identical twin cousins who love to spar in and out of the ring; Uncle Mateo, whose lucha couture and advice are unmatched; and Manny, her biological father, who’s in the midst of a career comeback. As luchadores, the Bravos’s legacy is strong. But being part of a family is so much harder—it’s about showing up, taking off your mask, and working through challenges together.
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BAD AT LOVE by Gabriela Martins. (Underlined, August 23, 2022). Young Adult. Ever since Daniel moved to L.A. from Brazil to join the band Mischief & Mayhem, he’s become the tabloids’ bad boy. Paparazzi follow him and girls swoon over him . . . except for Sasha, who hates bad boys. When a chance encounter brings them together, Sasha sees an opportunity to get close to Daniel and write a story that will make a name for herself at the celebrity gossip magazine where she interns. But Daniel is surprisingly sweet and extremely cute—could she be falling for him?
The truth is: Daniel is hiding something. When Sasha discovers his secret, will she follow her heart or deliver the hottest story of the summer?
IF YOUR BABYSITTER IS A BRUJA by Ana Siqueira, illustrated by Irena Freitas. (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, August 23, 2022). Picture Book. On the night before Halloween, a new babysitter might be more than she appears. If she wears a black sombrero and cackles like a crow, she might just be a bruja! One little girl is determined not to fall victim to an evil witch or her cats. She knows bath time is really the bruja’s way of putting her in a boiling cauldron, and the only way to keep her at bay is with a magic potion—or is it?
With a boundless imagination and plenty of tricks up her sleeve, the young protagonist may just have the best night ever!
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THE COQUÍES STILL SING by Karina Nicole Gonzalez, illustrated by Krystal Quiles. (Roaring Brook Press, August 23, 2022). Picture Book. Co-quí, co-quí! The coquí frogs sing to Elena from her family’s beloved mango tree—their calls so familiar that they might as well be singing, “You are home, you are safe.” But home is suddenly not safe when a hurricane threatens to destroy everything that Elena knows.
As time passes, Elena, alongside her community, begins to rebuild their home, planting seeds of hope along the way. When the sounds of the coquíes gradually return, they reflect the resilience and strength of Elena, her family, and her fellow Puerto Ricans. The Coquies Still Sing is also available in Spanish.
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LORD OF THE FLY FEST by Goldy Moldavsky (Henry Holt and Co., August 30, 2022). Young Adult. At Fly Fest, true crime podcaster Rafi Francisco, hoping to score an interview with River Stone, a musician who rose to fame after the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend, finds herself fighting for her life along with hundreds of other influencers.
Recent Reviews
In case you missed them on the blog, here are some of our recent reviews. Click on the image to go to the blog post.
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Dr. Emily Midkiff is the author of the nonfiction book 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Julian R. Vaca is a first generation Mexican American, and he's been a creative writer for over a decade. He's a staff writer on PBS's "Reconnecting Roots," a nationally broadcast show that drew in millions of viewers over its first two seasons. The Memory Index is his debut young adult novel. Julian lives in Nashville with his family. Connect with him at 
MY TOWN/MI PUEBLO
LORD OF THE FLY FEST by Goldy Moldavsky (Henry Holt and Co., August 30, 2022). Young Adult. At Fly Fest, true crime podcaster Rafi Francisco, hoping to score an interview with River Stone, a musician who rose to fame after the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend, finds herself fighting for her life along with hundreds of other influencers.
