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This week, the month-long celebration of Hispanic and Latine heritage wrapped up. Over the last several years, one of the most exciting posts for readers related to this particular celebration has been a preview of books by Latine authors that will hit shelves in the coming year. It’s a way to both honor a month of history and encourage the continuation of this celebration beyond mid-September through mid-October.
There’s an even greater urgency to highlight the voices of Latine writers this year. As America continues to be ruled by authoritarian extremism, we have seen a nonstop parade of people with Brown skin and Latine heritage being targeted by police. ICE raids have not slowed down, and in some places–including my own backyard in Chicago–innocent people are being targeted and seeing their lives utterly ruined due to nothing more or less than sheer racism. Age has played no role here, either. Young people, adults, and seniors have borne the brunt of this firsthand, as well as more broadly.
This moment in America’s history is not only representative of American history more broadly. It’s also a legacy that will imprint on young people of color, especially those with Latine backgrounds, and that they will bear for the rest of their lives.
It’s worth noting that, in researching this list, it was challenging to find upcoming books by Latine writers hitting YA shelves. This may be for several reasons. Among them are a decrease in YA book publishing–something that has been happening over the last couple of years–as well as availability to publisher catalogs that only go through late spring/early summer of 2025. It must also be mentioned, though, that there has been a long-standing worry that the ongoing attacks on books may impact the slow but steady progress being made to publish more diverse books for YA readers. Keeping an eye on this, as more catalogs of upcoming books for 2026 will be crucial for determining whether this fear is founded.
Open up your TBRs. It’s time to add some excellent new Latine YA hitting shelves in 2026 to your reading list.
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Carnival Fantastico by Angela Montoya (February 3)
Carnival Fantástico is about magic and mischief. That makes it the perfect place for Esmeralda, a runaway who takes on the role of the carnival’s fortune teller. She has big aspirations to utilize her skills and wit to secure a lead role in the Big Show. If she succeeds, she’ll escape the tyranny of her former employer, the King’s army commander.
Enter Ignacio. He’s defected from the army, and he’s turned his eye to finding proof that his father is corrupt. Ignacio had no idea that in his search, though, he’d meet a woman spinning fortunes at a carnival and fall head over heels in love.
The two of them strike a deal. He’ll help her score the lead role, while she’ll help expose his father. However, there are bigger secrets from both of their pasts that threaten their (promising?) futures.
Cursed Ever After by Andy C. Naranjo (June 30)
If you’re looking for a subversive fairy tale of the romantasy kind, look no further. Naranjo’s upcoming debut follows Risa, a girl cursed with nothing but bad luck. Everything that goes wrong in her town is blamed on her. She’s been hoping to escape, and now, when she’s about to turn 17, she’s been granted that wish.
It’s not an ordinary wish-granting, though. Risa owes a local witch a favor, and she’s been tasked with escorting Prince Javi to a wedding. Javi is the king’s youngest son, and the trip is filled with peril.
Risa cannot help but fall for Prince Javi, despite knowing that they need to focus on getting him to the wedding. On their quest, they encounter a mysterious figure who wants to help them but harbors secrets of their own. What emerges is a web of lies that could take down the entire kingdom–if Risa can hold back on her ever-growing feelings for Javi.
Estela, Undrowning by René Peña-Govea (March 3)
Estela Morales was accepted into one of San Francisco’s top high schools, and she’s among the only Latinas in the building. Her only goal for the year is to get through things and keep her head down. She doesn’t want a fight, even if her Spanish teacher is low-key racist.
But then Estela places second in the Latiné Heritage Poetry Contest. The person who beat her? Not Latine. Now Estela has been thrown into a debate that is taking over the entire city about identity and diversity.
That’s not the whole of her life this year, though. She and her family are also facing eviction.
With comps to Elizabeth Acevedo, this debut verse novel looks outstanding.
Few Blue Skies by Carolina Ixta (February 3)
Paloma and Julio broke up after Julio’s father died. Paloma’s been heartbroken since. However, things have only grown more difficult for her as her community of farm and factory workers is being threatened. An e-commerce giant called Silva threatens to open a warehouse near her school, and it’s not the first time this company has been responsible for the town losing its green spaces.
The air pollution is so harmful, though, that people are leaving town in droves. Paloma’s mom wants them to go, too, but Paloma has hope that she and others in town can work together to stop Silva and reverse the harm done by the corporation. But to do this, Paloma will have to turn to the one person she’s most worried about reaching out to: Julio.
I Didn’t Do It by Elle Gonzalez Rose (July 21)
Dina Soto’s father confessed to killing two of his students. One of the many consequences is that Dina’s mom has made them keep as low a profile as possible. The family doesn’t need any more attention.
But when Dina’s invited to spend the weekend at a weekend with Kai Thompson–a cute and kind classmate–and his friends, she decides it’s worthwhile. Except people begin to turn up dead at the cabin pretty quickly, and secrets start to spill out from all of those in attendance. And no matter how much Dina insists she has nothing to do with the murders, her father’s reputation isn’t helping her. She has to prove to her classmates that she’s not only innocent but also worthy of fitting in with them, despite her father’s legacy.
If We Never End by Laura Taylor Namey (March 3)
Every summer, Sylvie Castellano is dumped at her aunt’s house while her parents work on a luxury yacht. Sylvie loves her aunt, but she yearns for an adventure of her own.
So when she’s out thrifting and finds a vintage gold watch worth a lot of money, she thinks her luck is changing. When she turns the dial of the watch, out pops Penn, a ghost boy who is attached to the watch. With no idea who he is or what his story is, Sylvie decides this is the adventure she craves–she’s going to travel with Penn to figure out what happened to him.
As they experience an unforgettable summer together, Sylvie begins to yearn for more than just the present. But she can’t have a future with a ghost boy, can she? Things take an even more unsettling turn when the watch reveals a secret even bigger than Penn.
We Could Be Anyone by Anna-Marie McLemore (May 26)
Lola and Lisandro are siblings who are actors. Except they’re the kind of actors who are out to swindle the rich of their money. It’s an act that goes like this: Lola pretends to be a ghost haunting the home of a wealthy person, while Lisandro pretends to be a spiritualist who can help her. It’ll cost the rich folks being haunted a little fee, but isn’t it worth it for peace of mind?
Bixby Fairfax is a newspaper tycoon and owner of The Coterie, a vast estate. That’s the siblings’ next target. They could make a pretty penny here, and that would help them go and do whatever they want.
But things start to go very wrong from the moment that Lola and Lisandro decide they need to switch roles. Weird things keep actually happening at The Coterie, and no matter how hard the siblings try to solve the mystery, they’re being dragged further into it. Can they pull off their biggest scam yet, or is their entire act about to be unraveled?
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