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Ep. 3: Lit Recs: Hispanic Heritage Month

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Join Amanda and Kelsey in their first LIt Recs episode as they celebrate some of their favorite Hispanic authors and stories for Hispanic Heritage Month. This episode features the magical realism of 'Like Water for Chocolate,'  the poetic journey of 'The Poet X,' the mysterious world of 'Lobizona,' and the delightful romance of 'You Had Me at Hola’. Grab a drink and get ready for our takes on books you should dive into this month!

Follow us on TikTok & Youtube @litvibesonlypodcast and on Instagram @litvibesonly_podcast. We'd love to hear from you!

See you on Mondays!

Ep. 3: Lit Recs: Hispanic Heritage Month
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[00:00:00] 

[00:00:03] Amanda: Hey everyone, welcome back to Lit Vibes Only where we lit the shit out of books we love and hate. Happily. My name is Amanda. 

[00:00:13] Kelsey: And I'm Kelsey. 

[00:00:14] Amanda: And we are so glad that you have tuned in to join us for another episode. But before we get to that, Kelsey, tell the folks where they can find us on socials. 

[00:00:25] Kelsey: We are all over the place with socials.

[00:00:28] Kelsey: You can find us on YouTube, Tik TOK, Instagram. So on Instagram, which is the trickiest one for me, 

you can 

[00:00:38] Kelsey: find us at. Lit vibes only underscore podcast and tick tock and YouTube. You can find us, , at lit vibes only podcast.

[00:00:47] Kelsey: So leave us messages. DM us. We are new. We don't get that many messages, so fill them up, please. Thank you. We will read all of them. We 

[00:00:56] Amanda: promise. 

[00:00:57] Kelsey: Yeah. , yeah. All two of them. One is [00:01:00] a bot and one is a real person. , next thing we want to tell you about is that we are, as you know, a very brand new baby podcast.

[00:01:09] Kelsey: And the one thing that podcasts desperately need are reviews in order to be seen on the platforms where you listen to your podcasts. com. So, we welcome you to write a review, a good one please, of our podcast, and we are offering stickers, and we will be sending those to the first 50 positive reviews on, , wherever you listen to your podcasts. So basically what you're going to need to do is write that review, send us a screenshot of your review , you can email, you can, , send it on Instagram, Tik TOK.

[00:01:53] Amanda: But, , one important thing to note is if you're going to email us, Kelsey, what's our email address? Again, 

[00:01:59] Kelsey: [00:02:00] litvibesonlypodcastatgmail. com. 

[00:02:03] Amanda: Yes. So please leave those reviews and, , follow those steps that Kelsey so wonderfully outlined for all of you.

[00:02:12] Amanda: And yeah, the first, the first 50 folks who leave us. a kind review will be the proud owners of our Lit vibes only stickers that are super cute. You're gonna love it. We're gonna start this episode 

of 

[00:02:28] Amanda: the day. Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. I'm so glad because I was ready to launch into the next. I already forgot.

[00:02:35] Amanda: I already forgot. And this is why we have outlines for these episodes. , yeah. So we're going to dab. We're going to dab. , I'm so set on making this a verb. I really am. I'm committed. So should I start? Yeah, go for it. So, , yeah, Dob, drink of the day, outfit of the day, book of the day for me today, super basic.

[00:02:56] Amanda: I am just staying hydrated. Got a lovely [00:03:00] large bottle of water. , this is not a, for those of you who can see this, this is not a Stanley. This is like the cheaper target version, simple modern in my favorite color pink. And it's chock full of water. 

[00:03:12] Kelsey: I heard Stanley's like leak a lot. Do you have any?

[00:03:17] Kelsey: Well, I have no idea 

[00:03:18] Amanda: because I, well, you know, my seventh graders, especially last year, like literally all of my seventh graders were like hauling around these massive jugs of water that were honestly larger than they were. , I cannot speak to their leakage or lack thereof. I love my simple modern though.

[00:03:36] Amanda: It's great. It has all the same features for the most part. And, , it keeps me hydrated. It's 

[00:03:42] Kelsey: demure. So cutesy of you. 

[00:03:45] Amanda: I feel like this is going to be in every single episode. Oh, 

[00:03:47] Kelsey: absolutely. How demure of you. How mindful. 

[00:03:53] Amanda: , okay, so that's my drink of the day. My, , outfit of the day. Surprise, surprise. Yet another t shirt.

[00:03:58] Amanda: I told you guys, I'm very [00:04:00] basic when it comes to what I wear. , this one is, this is kind of a peachy, peachy color salmon, peachy salmon coral. It's not that family of colors. One of my favorites. , and then my book of the day is actually, I'm so excited. So this is, , fledgling by Octavia Butler.

[00:04:20] Amanda: I know I actually have her on my TBR. Yeah, I've, I've read a couple of her things, loved Kindred, loved Parble of the Sower. , I've heard interesting things about fledgling, I've heard some. Okay. A little bit of controversial things about it. So I'm super excited to dive into it more and let y'all know what I think.

[00:04:41] Amanda: How exciting 

[00:04:41] Kelsey: Kelsey. I just recently bought the parable of the sower and the second one in that series. I can't wait. 

[00:04:50] Amanda: I've actually only read the first one. I don't think I. 

[00:04:52] Kelsey: Oh, really? Did you not like it then? 

[00:04:54] Amanda: I liked it, but I don't remember what I, as you know, I get distracted very easily [00:05:00] and I think I just got caught up in something else.

[00:05:02] Amanda: And like, and honestly, this is a little tangent, but it's one more reason why I don't read a lot of fantasies because they're almost all series. Like there's very few, like standalone, I feel like standalone fantasy books. And I'm like, I can't commit to that. I think that's a duology, isn't it though? I don't, I think there's only two books.

[00:05:18] Amanda: It's only two. Okay. So too much to commit 

[00:05:23] Kelsey: to way too much. Just teasing you. Okay. So my job I'm Dobbin of the day. , I first have also fairly basic, like just a, , sparkling water. It's a ginger citrus twist flavor. , And I actually have, I think my first bookish t shirt on, 

[00:05:46] Kelsey: , 

[00:05:46] Kelsey: it's really hilarious because I bought this in, Oh my God, wait, where did I?

[00:05:50] Kelsey: Yeah. No. Yeah. Okay. Cause it's Shakespeare and company and there is a Shakespeare bookstore in Paris. But this [00:06:00] is not where I got that from. There is a similar, not a similar bookstore, but similarly, , named bookstore in Missoula, Montana. 

[00:06:10] Amanda: Okay. Not quite Paris, but okay. And it just has like 

[00:06:13] Kelsey: a picture of, you know, a bookstore slash reading.

[00:06:18] Kelsey: And basically the quote at the bottom says, if you go home with somebody and they don't have books. Don't fuck them.

[00:06:30] Kelsey: You had no idea that's where that was going. 

[00:06:33] Amanda: I was like, wait for it. Wait for it. I think it's a really good barometer of whether or not I would get along with someone. Yeah. Yeah. I like that actually. 

[00:06:41] Kelsey: I can live by that. I can live by that. So I had to get this shirt while we were there.

[00:06:46] Kelsey: , that was last year. And so this was my first bookish t shirt. 

[00:06:49] Kelsey: , 

[00:06:49] Kelsey: and my book of the day, I am actually listening to this on a Libby. Very mindful of me. It's the Atlas Paradox and it is the [00:07:00] second book in this series, . , which series? ? , it's called the Atlas Six. Okay. I just recently finished that and , had to move on to the next one. The Atlas six, , doesn't have. much of a plot. It dives really hard into the characters and it's quite interesting. I think you might like that because, , it's like intellectual and it keeps you guessing about the characters.



[00:07:28] Amanda: Okay. That's , a bit compelling. 

[00:07:31] Kelsey: Yeah. So, , that's my job. All 

[00:07:36] Amanda: right. We are all dubbed up. So let me explain. But I'm okay with it. I have no shame. I honestly, you know, that's the nice thing about getting older is that you just stop caring what people think. Like, I know I'm a dork and I know I'm not cool.

[00:07:54] Amanda: And I am. Okay with that. I'm embracing, I'm embracing that. , yeah. So, , this is [00:08:00] going to be our very first Lit Rex episode, right? So our literature recommendations episode. 

Lit Rex. 

[00:08:09] Amanda: Lit Rex. , and honestly, , the point of these episodes is to celebrate authors, diverse authors. And because each month of the year, , is already set up to celebrate different heritages, , we're going to be each month highlighting, celebrating, uplifting, centering diverse authors and stories from the heritage that is being celebrated that month.

[00:08:36] Amanda: I think both as educators and as Women of color. This is something that's really important to us, really near and dear to our hearts. And also just as readers who are constantly looking for ways to broaden our horizons, to learn new things, to grow. , we think this is a really great thing to incorporate and we hope that , you'll join us on this journey of continuing to, , , interact, [00:09:00] right?

[00:09:00] Amanda: With authors and stories and experiences that are outside of our own. So, , Kelsey, why don't you tell us a bit about the heritage this month 

[00:09:08] Kelsey: So this month we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, and that goes from September 15th to October 15th.

[00:09:16] Kelsey: And we are just here to, like Amanda said, highlight, uplift, , authors of this heritage and the stories that they've created, , that we either love or, , want to love because I have a book that I have yet to read, but I'm very intrigued. Buy it and hope you will be too 

[00:09:38] Amanda: awesome. Yeah. So how this is going to work.

[00:09:40] Amanda: We both have chosen two books as Kelsey said that we've either read or it's on our TBR or has been highly, , recommended or well reviewed that we wanted to put on your radar. And so you can potentially add it to your own, , TBR as well. So 

[00:09:55] Kelsey: I'm going to While we are in the heritage month [00:10:00] of that choice.

[00:10:01] Kelsey: Yes, exactly. So 

[00:10:02] Amanda: we're going to be highlighting and celebrating, , Hispanic authors. We also wanted to take a moment before we dove in, we understand that there are a lot of different terms that are used to talk about folks who are, , Hispanic or from Spanish speaking countries and backgrounds. And for the purposes of our podcast, we're going to be using the term Hispanic and Latina.

[00:10:27] Amanda: We know that there. , that folks also use the term, , Latinx or Latino. And so we decided for the purposes of our podcast that we were going to be, , using those two terms. One, because Hispanic heritage month is called Hispanic heritage month. And also because, , Latina is a very gender inclusive, , word and, you know, we're all about inclusivity and acceptance, , on this podcast.

[00:10:49] Amanda: And so that was a decision that we both made. So you'll be. You'll hear us using that term, , throughout this episode today. So, we're gonna dive right in. I'm gonna [00:11:00] start off actually with a book that is quite old. So, you might not be familiar with it. I was first introduced to this book, , by a friend in the book club that I, , am a part of.

[00:11:15] Amanda: And, , was not actually completely sold on it when she described it to me. , it's called like water for chocolate by, , Laura Esquivel. And, , she is a Mexican novelist. She's a screenwriter. She's also. Surprisingly, also a politician, or was a politician. Oh, interesting. And she, yeah, I was very surprised to learn that about her when I was doing a bit of research for this episode.

[00:11:40] Amanda: And she actually didn't start off writing novels. She actually got her start writing, , for children's TV programs in Mexico. And then from there, kind of got into screenwriting. And it was when she started screenwriting, That she, , realized she wanted to write a book and that's [00:12:00] where, like, Water for Chocolate came from.

[00:12:02] Amanda: , I believe in total she has written nine books. It was a bit tricky to figure out because obviously she's writing her books in Mexico in Spanish and then they've been translated and, , published here in the United States. So I think it's roughly nine books. that she's written. But, , like Water for Chocolate, , I actually have the book here.

[00:12:23] Amanda: I think this particular version of the book was Put out in 1995. Although it was published originally in English in the United States in 1992. So it's, it's an old book. Yeah, it's an old book. So it was originally published in Mexico in 1989. So it's old, right? Wow, the year I was born. Yeah, I was born in 88.

[00:12:46] Amanda: So it's, it's definitely, , an older book. , so again, you might, you might not be familiar with it. It might not be on your radar. Hopefully now it will be. , it actually won the American booksellers. Book of [00:13:00] the Year award back in 1994. 

[00:13:02] Amanda: , 

[00:13:02] Amanda: and it's a really interesting book because it incorporates a lot of magical realism.

[00:13:08] Amanda: And you already know me, you know I don't read a lot of books that are fantastical in nature. , which again is kind of interesting because I do like things like fairy tales. , so my, as soon as my friend told me that this book incorporated magical realism, I was like, Hmm, I don't know if I'm going to like it.

[00:13:24] Amanda: That's why you weren't 

sold. 

[00:13:25] Amanda: That was honestly the main reason why I wasn't sold. But it's also because the style of the book. The way that it's set up, it's very strange in terms of its structure. So I'm actually going to read, , a quote from the San Francisco Chronicle from their review of this book.

[00:13:44] Amanda: Cause I think it will kind of summarize kind of the mashup that this book sort of feels like. So the San Francisco Chronicle basically stated that this book is a tall tale, fairy tale, soap opera romance, Mexican [00:14:00] cookbook, and home remedy handbook all rolled into one. And I was like, you know what? That's literally how I would describe this book.

[00:14:07] Amanda: It's so perfect. Interesting. So it really is kind of this, this coming together of a variety of different topics and themes and honestly a little bit of genre mixing as well. And essentially, it tells the story of Tita, who is the youngest of three daughters of the De La Garza family. And in their family, per their family tradition, the youngest daughter doesn't get to like go off and live her life and get married.

[00:14:37] Amanda: She basically has to stay at home and take care of the mother until she dies. And so that is Tita's fate. And it does have a little bit of a Cinderella vibe to the story. I think that's where I get the fairy tale aspect. 

[00:14:51] Kelsey: Okay. 

[00:14:52] Amanda: But the thing with Tita is that of course she falls in love, , with the neighbor, Pedro.

[00:14:58] Amanda: And so I'm not going to, I'm not going [00:15:00] to spoil it. There's no spoilers in this episode. I'm just going to kind of set things up for you, but she loves to cook. And the way that the 12 chapters are set up, it's one for each month of the year. Each chapter starts off actually with a Mexican recipe. And it's because Tita's like.

[00:15:18] Amanda: The place where she kind of feels most connected is the kitchen and in cooking and the elements of magical realism come in In the ways that her cooking and her emotions then have an impact on the other characters So that's all I'll say about that. , I think the one reason why I did like this book is , one of the other reasons in addition to it just being well written and so beautiful and gut wrenching and emotional and the characters just kind of leap off the page is that it does have this historical fiction element and that it's set against the backdrop.

[00:15:51] Amanda: All right, you lost 

[00:15:52] Kelsey: me. 

[00:15:53] Amanda: Stay with me, I promise it's so good. It's set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution that happened [00:16:00] from 1910 to 1917. So there, there's, it's not a huge. so much. Part of the plot, but it does factor in, , and it does have an impact on some of the characters and the choices that are made and, and kind of how the outside circumstances are impacting all of them.

[00:16:13] Amanda: But overall, it's just, it's a beautiful, poetic, delicious, intriguing. I, you're going to like it because it's also devastating. I mean, there's a lot of heartbreak. It'll make me cry. It'll make you cry. Yes. There's a lot of heartbreak because things, you know, don't, don't always go the way we want them to, , for the characters.

[00:16:34] Amanda: And it is also a short read. It's only 246 pages. So it's something you could easily get through, you know, in a weekend, , on a, on a flight, on a trip. , so highly recommend it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised. There's also, if you're someone who likes to like read the book and then watch the movie, it actually was made into a movie in, , 1992.

[00:16:53] Amanda: Have you 

[00:16:54] Kelsey: seen it? 

[00:16:55] Amanda: I have not. It's hard to, I think you can rent it on like really [00:17:00] random Oh, like streaming platform. Sure. I haven't seen it. , I think I might though, as I was like prepping for this episode, I think I might want to go back and watch them, like go watch the movie. , and then like the last little thing I'll say about this again, I just found this out today as I was like doing a little bit of pre pre episode pre recording, , research is that, , Laura Esquivel, , ended up writing a sequel to this book.

[00:17:22] Amanda: that was published quite recently in 2020 called Tita's Diary. It just further dives into Tita's story. It has more recipes and kind of reflections on life. , so if you do end up reading this book, which I hope you do, and you like it, there's also a sequel that you could check out as well. So that's, that's my first recommendation.

[00:17:42] Amanda: How 

[00:17:42] Kelsey: old was she when she wrote? Like water for chocolate. 

[00:17:46] Amanda: I don't I know that she's I know that she's in her 70s now. Oh, and this came out in the 90s. So you can do the math. I can't because I literally can't do math. But I'm so curious 

[00:17:59] Kelsey: [00:18:00] how the story changed, like the storytelling changed from the first book to the second book.

[00:18:04] Kelsey: That's really interesting because she's so much older. About Yeah, 30 years older. Wow. Very compelling. Thank you, Amanda, for your first wreck wreck. , so my first lit rack is lobby Sona by Romina Garber. And I just do not think that this book gets In the hype that it deserves, it is a YA novel, so there's not really any spice.

[00:18:38] Kelsey: There is love interests and love stories going on, but that is not the focal point of this book. , Romina, the author, she really dives into important, , aspects of our real world that are set in a fantasy world. , so [00:19:00] the main character, her name is Manuela, Manuela Azul, but she goes by Manu and she has these eyes that are amber that have stars for pupils.

[00:19:14] Kelsey: And so as soon as somebody sees her, They're, they know that she's not, , a typical human, like it's clear that something's different about her, , just by seeing her eyes. And so the premise of it is that she has grown up and it's, , set in Florida. She has grown up not being able to really leave the house, has been homeschooled, lives with her mom and is kind of really isolated from the rest of society under the pretense of.

[00:19:47] Kelsey: That she is an, , illegal immigrant . And so she's constantly worried about, you know, ice coming and taking her away . And that's what her mother tells her is the truth of the situation. [00:20:00] But Manu doesn't really know why she has the eyes that she has. , and has always gotten questions about like what that's about.

[00:20:08] Kelsey: And she doesn't have any answers. , growing up. And so, of course, the, at the beginning of the book, her mom, Gets, , deported essentially, or gets taken by ice. And then that's when things start to unravel and she uncovers some truths about her history and her, her mom's past and her own upbringing. And if you like a book that surprises you, , this is definitely a book for you.

[00:20:38] Kelsey: I really loved the storytelling and the plot of, Oh, I did not see that coming. , and so after that happens with her mom, that's when the kind of like the, , magical, I don't know if it's called magical realism. I actually don't know what that means.

[00:20:55] Kelsey: , but the fantasy portion of the book comes into play [00:21:00] after she starts like figuring things out. And so Lobi Sona, I translates as like a she wolf, she were wolf. , so if that gives you any idea of like what this book may be about, , I absolutely loved this book. What were you going to say?

[00:21:17] Kelsey: Something? Sorry. 

[00:21:18] Amanda: No, you were asking what magical realism is. And I was like, I don't know that I've ever like officially like looked up the definition of magical realism. But I think for me, how I would define it and how it showed up in like water for chocolate is that you're still in our world and kind of most of the rules of reality apply, but there are particular moments in instances in which magical or fantastical things happen.

[00:21:50] Amanda: Unlike in a lot of fantasy books where like, It's a completely different world or the rules of that world are very different from ours. And so [00:22:00] it's, it's the majority of like water for chocolate, you know, it's, it's a story of a normal Mexican family. And then suddenly there's these, there's these instances where it's like, there's this little bit of magic that kind of.

[00:22:12] Amanda: Yeah. Explodes onto the page and you're like, oh, okay. And there's a little bit of supernatural as well. Supernatural happenings, which I think also connects to that idea of magical realism. Which honestly, I think maybe that's why after reading like Water for Chocolate, I think it was more okay with magical realism because it's not, you know, it's not an entirely Magical or fantastical world.

[00:22:35] Amanda: It's like, sure. You don't have to have a map and list of characters and how they're related. It's the worst. It's the worst. Yeah. It's just like these really kind of beautiful, unique, surprising moments where it pops up, which I like, , but honestly, after you're, go ahead, go ahead. I didn't mean to, I would say, 

[00:22:51] Kelsey: , There are when she is in the real world because she's set in Miami in Florida When she's in the real [00:23:00] world, there are elements of magical realism, but then she gets kind of propelled into another world within our world and so I don't know if that's would meet the definition of magical realism because there is a completely different world But it's set atop the stage of like the real world.

[00:23:17] Kelsey: Yeah. , yeah, so I would also say like This has, , threads of found family. , the book, her writing Romina's, I really don't think she like beats it to death either. It's, she definitely challenges like the heteronormative and binary. , And kind of the status quo of like how the society, which is the society that she's propelled into, it really mirrors, , our current society, but just in a magical way, but she definitely challenges like machismo and all of those things.

[00:23:54] Kelsey: There's, , through lines of feminism. And I just love how this [00:24:00] story was told and you really fall in love with the characters. And, , You want, you want good things for them, but they are facing a variety of challenges. And , I think I'll leave it at that, but yeah, what was your, what was your 

[00:24:14] Amanda: response 

[00:24:15] Kelsey: to the book?

[00:24:16] Amanda: I was just going to say that I am intrigued. Like I, the way that you set it up, I'm like, I think I would like this book. I like that. It kept you guessing. It's, you know, obviously one thing that draws me to like thrillers and mysteries and like what the heck is going on and why can I figure this out? , so, and I think you're, aren't I, I think you're having me read this book at some point too.

[00:24:35] Amanda: I don't have this on our list yet, but 

[00:24:40] Kelsey: I think I read it. Yeah. This was the first book I read in this year and,

[00:24:45] Amanda: I remember because you were raving about it while you were reading it and then after. 

[00:24:50] Kelsey: Yeah, it was the first book I read this year and , it would be, it would be cool to do it in January.

[00:24:55] Amanda: Yeah. On the other side. I love that. 

[00:24:56] Kelsey: Yeah, absolutely. So maybe it is on our list. 

[00:24:59] Amanda: [00:25:00] We shall see. All right. Well then I will, , I'll do my second book. All right. So, , Bye. The second book that I have for you guys today is called The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo and this is another book that I have in fact read.

[00:25:16] Amanda: , I was actually gifted this at a DEI, a diversity equity and inclusion conference I attended Several years ago and, , I want to be gifted a book. It's a, it's a really, because I'm actually getting gifted books at places and like, they're gifting them because they're not that good. This is like a quality book.

[00:25:34] Amanda: A good book. , And I, , What I feel like it would not have been on my radar otherwise. So a little bit about the author first. So Elizabeth Acevedo, she is, , the daughter of Dominican immigrants. She grew up in Harlem and this actually ties into the story because the protagonist in the Poet X, also a Dominican, also grew up in Harlem.

[00:25:55] Amanda: , she is, Elizabeth Acevedo is a national book award winning author. [00:26:00] She won the national book award for this book. So, , you can tell it's going to be good. And she actually got her start in poetry. So she is a slam poet and she is also, , a national poetry slam champion. So she is quite good at what she does.

[00:26:17] Amanda: And, , I watched an interview with her and she was talking about, , one of the reasons why she was kind of led to write The Poet X was because As a slam poet, you put your words out there, but they're not often written down and then, sent out into the world. And so they're kind of there and gone.

[00:26:35] Amanda: And she was like, I want my words to be able to be taken. People can take them with them, , on the train, put it in their backpacks, you know? And so that was one of the reasons why she decided to write the Poet X, which is her, which was her debut novel. At this point she's written, I believe, Poet X.

[00:26:49] Amanda: seven books, and , her most recent book , came out in 2023. It's called Family Lore. , this is the only book of hers that I've read, although I have had, , Clap When You Land, which [00:27:00] is another one of her books, on my TBR for a while, so hopefully I will get to that soon. Because I did really enjoy, , , The Poet X, , it was published in 2018, so it's a pretty, it's a pretty recent book, and in addition to winning the National Book Award, it also won, I don't know if I'm going to pronounce this correctly, but the Pura Belpré Award, the Michael L.

[00:27:19] Amanda: Prince Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, and so I actually have, , again, the book here, and if you look at the front of it, it's just like covered in like all of these beautiful gold stamps because it is a, , Highly awarded book. , so the very, the cool thing about the Poet X, and I didn't know what to expect because again, I didn't pick this book.

[00:27:40] Amanda: It was given to me. It's actually not written, , as a novel. It is a story that is told through a series of poems. So even though it's, , a longer book, it's 357 pages, it's actually a fairly quick read because, , each page is, you know, a poem and, , [00:28:00] it actually moves pretty quickly and it's written as slam poetry.

[00:28:05] Amanda: So it was such a cool. unique reading experience. Because again, I've, I've been reading for a very long time and I always am excited to encounter a text, encounter a book that does things a little bit differently. And even though I enjoy writing poetry, I don't read a lot of it. And so that was really something that set this book apart for me.

[00:28:23] Amanda: It is YA fiction. So Kelsey will probably like that. I don't read a lot of YA fiction, although I do love it. , so that was great. And essentially the book tells the story of a Ciamarra Batista. She's, I got a 15 year old. Dominican teenager. She's living in Harlem. And, , she has this secret, which is that she really loves to write poetry.

[00:28:46] Amanda: And she comes from a pretty traditional, , Catholic Dominican family. And, you know, being a poet is not really, you know, something that her parents [00:29:00] are pushing her to do. And so she hides that from them. And, , it's very much a coming of age story, , because in addition to her exploring her creativity through her poetry and kind of rebelling against her parents in that way, she's also growing into her body, and so there's issues of, , you know, her dealing with it.

[00:29:22] Amanda: this increasing kind of sexualization that's happening, , from the men in her life, in her community, and how she responds to that. She has a lot of anger issues that, , she's coping with and dealing with, , that flare up throughout the book. And just in general, her identity as a brown woman living in the United States and all of the struggles and challenges and experiences that, , go along with that.

[00:29:49] Amanda: So, , I really enjoyed it because, again, I enjoy poetry. I specifically enjoyed, , Acevedo's style of slam poetry. And I felt that [00:30:00] it was just a really beautiful, unique way to talk about the experiences, specifically of Latina, Hispanic, , young women and teenagers in this country and explore that through.

[00:30:13] Amanda: through poetry as she's, yeah, battling between, you know, her traditional religious upbringing, but also wanting to spread her wings and have self actualization and, , grow into her, herself, her identity and who she is, both within her family and outside of it. So, Again, loved this book. It is highly awarded for a reason.

[00:30:36] Amanda: , even if you don't normally read YA fiction, I think this is something that will really resonate or poetry. , I think it's something that will resonate with, , like a really wide audience. So don't let the poetry or the YA label like throw you, I guarantee you it's such an engaging and thought provoking, , work.

[00:30:57] Amanda: And, , as I'm talking about this, I'm like, yeah, I [00:31:00] really do need to go and read her other stories. I don't know why I've been putting it off. So, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Do yourself a huge favor and 

[00:31:07] Kelsey: check it out. Check it out. Not nice. Thank you. That also, is it like a heavier read? 

[00:31:15] Amanda: , no. I mean, there are some, you know, she's, Battling with different challenges.

[00:31:21] Amanda: But, , I'm, and again, I haven't read this in a couple of years. I don't believe there were any like hugely, , I don't think there's any content or trigger warnings I would give. Okay. , and it does have. I don't think this is going to spoil it. I think it does have a happy ending. , so it's definitely, yeah, you're not going to be, you're sorry, Kelsey.

[00:31:40] Amanda: You're not going to be distraught and devastated at the end of this book. You might be at different points but not at the 

[00:31:47] Kelsey: end. , good to know. Good to know. I always need to know if I'm going to cry or not. , so moving on to my last rec, which is, Has to end in the world of [00:32:00] romance

[00:32:03] Kelsey: This book is by Alexis Daria Alexis Daria, I'm not sure how she pronounces her Name, but she has written A variety of other romance books. That is her genre. And she actually has another one coming out in February next year named Along Came Amor.

[00:32:31] Kelsey: And so this book, I was just immediately like drawn to it. Like the cover. Wait, hold on. You haven't actually told folks what the title is. Oh, , the cover of you had me at Ola, 

[00:32:49] Amanda: there we go. 

[00:32:50] Kelsey: It just looks so freaking cute. And the whole premise is that they are two stars of telenovelas. [00:33:00] And I just, I was like, I have to get that. I have to know what this is all about. , and the further I was reading into it, , it actually does sound like a pretty compelling like, or more in depth, , romance story because of course with romance, you expect two people to fall in love. And, , I do believe that's what happens here.

[00:33:22] Kelsey: And I think the spice is going to be spicing , , but both of the characters have, An in depth backstory. And it's not just like random two people like coming together. , so my understanding is that the book, , Jasmine is the. MFC, , the main female character.

[00:33:43] Kelsey: Oh, I've never heard of that acronym 

[00:33:45] Amanda: before. Get 

[00:33:46] Kelsey: on board, Amanda. And then the male is MMC.

[00:33:55] Amanda: I was just about to say book talk. Yeah. I'm not on 

[00:33:58] Kelsey: tech doc. Yeah. In case you couldn't tell. [00:34:00] I mean, technically you are. You just need to get. Yes. 

[00:34:04] Amanda: Via our lit vibes only podcast. 

[00:34:06] Kelsey: Okay. , so Jasmine is the M. FC. I'm like tripping up over my words. Because it's ridiculous. And, , you know, one of the things that she's, my understanding is one of the things that she struggles with is she's a telenovela star, but does not speak Spanish fluently.

[00:34:24] Kelsey: And this is a huge, thing in the Latina community, , where those of us who are, , descendants of people straight from either Mexico or a different country, , a Latina country. , oftentimes we don't get the opportunity to learn Spanish because our parents don't teach us and like what happens when they come over the border.

[00:34:46] Kelsey: It's not like our parents fault. It's just that oftentimes we are discriminated against because, , it's English only in America. And, , there's. A lot of like [00:35:00] families that just want it to be easier for their children and don't want them to have an accent or to, , be targeted the way that they were targeted 

[00:35:08] Kelsey: and it's clear that if you speak English in this country, it is easier for you. Right. And so we haven't, you know, I, if you can't tell, like I am actually, , Of Mexican American heritage. And so my grandfather was from Mexico. And I didn't grow up with him, but I learned Spanish in starting in high school and have like continued, , along the way.

[00:35:36] Kelsey: But I still wouldn't say that I'm like perfectly fluent in Spanish. And so to me, I feel like I'm probably going to relate with Jasmine in this understanding of like, Oh, she doesn't speak perfect Spanish. And, , That's okay because that's a lot of our stories. , so I'm curious about that. And it sounds like the MMC main male character.

[00:35:58] Kelsey: It [00:36:00] just 

[00:36:00] Amanda: reminds me of like MMA, you know, martial arts or like, I just like that acronym sounds over the top to me. Anyhow, 

[00:36:12] Kelsey: somehow he's struggling with some traumas that he's experienced in the past and those come through. , His own insecurities, I suppose, in this book. And so I'm, I'm excited to get into a book about, , to Latinas.

[00:36:26] Kelsey: I'm just excited for it. Yeah, 

[00:36:30] Amanda: yeah. 

[00:36:30] Kelsey: Keep on the lookout. 

[00:36:31] Amanda: It definitely sounds like a very you book. For multiple reasons. , I just think it's funny how you're like, Oh my gosh, I love how cute this cover looks. I'm like, I just think romance.

[00:36:42] Amanda: Novel covers are so ridiculous. 

[00:36:44] Kelsey: Oh, stinking cute. Look at this. I love the coloring of it. Oh my gosh. There's no sprayed edges or anything, but it is I, the color of it even. Like it's nice. It is. I will give 

[00:36:55] Amanda: you the 

[00:36:56] Kelsey: color. 

[00:36:56] Amanda: The colors are nice. I like that. It's very bright. But I think that's one of the reasons that [00:37:00] And it's like sunset 

[00:37:01] Kelsey: y vibes.

[00:37:02] Kelsey: No, 

[00:37:02] Amanda: it like That's another reason that puts me off romance books. Like they just look so cheesy. Like the covers. Like I do judge a book by its cover. But the 

[00:37:11] Kelsey: books are cheesy. Like that's the whole point. So they're telenovela stars. It's going to be hella cheesy. 

[00:37:20] Amanda: That's the hope. This is true. They're like clearly telling you exactly what you're getting on the cover.

[00:37:25] Amanda: So that's. Yeah, they're true to who they are. , awesome. So yeah, those are our four books. So just like quick, quick summary. It's The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, and then your two books, Lovizona 

[00:37:42] Kelsey: by Romina Garber, and You Had Me a Ola by Alexis Daria. 

[00:37:47] Amanda: Yeah. So if you're curious, if any of those sounded like, , something that you'd be interested in checking out.

[00:37:53] Amanda: We highly encourage you to do so. As always we'd love to hear from you. So if there are books from the [00:38:00] authors that you have read that you think other folks in our community would enjoy that we would enjoy Please be sure to, , send us a message on our socials, TikTok, , Instagram. We'd love to know what those recommendations are and perhaps we can share those on upcoming podcast episodes.

[00:38:17] Amanda: Yes, please. Absolutely. All right. I think that's it for us. But before we do that, because we're trying to, we're trying to make us a habit, we need to do our socials. I'll do them this time,

[00:38:29] Amanda: so just as a reminder, if you made it to the end of this episode, just a reminder, you can find us on Instagram at LitVibesOnly underscore podcast and on TikTok and YouTube at LitVibesOnly podcast.

[00:38:41] Amanda: And don't forget, if you're enjoying this podcast, , please feel free to leave us a review on wherever you listen to your podcast, be kind. , and the first 50 folks who do so. Be receiving. Gonna get a sticker. A limited. A limited edition. Limited edition. We're gonna jazz this up. The OG edition, the OG [00:39:00] Lip Vibes only sticker.

[00:39:01] Amanda: You know you want one a hundred percent. So be sure to leave us a review, screenshot it, and then, , send it to us via our socials. Or you can email it to us at Lit vibes only podcast@gmail.com.com. 

[00:39:15] Amanda: That's all for us today. Thanks for hanging out and we will see you next Monday. 

[00:39:21] Kelsey: Next Monday.