Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone.
Hispanic Heritage Month, which occurs annually in the United States from September 15th to October 15th, is a month to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of Latine and Hispanic Americans. First established as National Hispanic Heritage Week by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, it was expanded to a monthlong event by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. During the months of September and October communities around the United States host musical events, parades, museum exhibits, and educational opportunities to explore the impact Hispanic and Latine Americans have had in history and culture.
While it’s important to read books from a wide variety of authors all year long, events like Hispanic Heritage Month are an opportunity to highlight the authors from the cultures being celebrated and connect readers to books themed to the month. Below, you’ll find books specifically written for middle grade readers, though they can certainly be enjoyed by young adults and adults as well!
There’s something about election season here in the US that makes me want to escape to different worlds and different times. Sometimes, I feel hopeful, but oftentimes, I just need to check out and get lost in a science fiction book about time travel. What if we could go back in time and correct our mistakes? What if we could correct the larger horrors of humanity? What if we could leap forward and behold what’s to come? The theme is a classic one in science fiction that never fails to capture our imaginations.
At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios made the surprise announcement that the Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom would be played by Robert Downey, Jr. This was an unexpected choice, to say the least, given that Downey is, uh, already pretty well known for playing a different MCU character. It was also controversial, not least because he’s got some pretty big boots (and a cloak and an iron mask) to fill.
Because Doctor Doom is, quite simply, the greatest comic book supervillain of all time.
As part of the program, BPL asked applicants to share why it is they wished to get a card. In the first year of the program, April 2022-2023, teens who wanted a card would email and receive an autoresponse which allowed them to respond with their stories and experiences. In the second year of the program, April 2023-2024, continued requests for cards, as well as renewals of the cards issued in that first year, prompted BPL to create a form that collected information from teens to get the card, as well as a free form text box where they could share their stories. In both scenarios, teens indicated whether or not those stories could be shared publicly, with identifying information removed.
BPL had a lot of data.
‘Tis the season for slashers. The official first day of fall is two days away, but I’m already deep into my horror reading for the season. I’ve also been going back to some of the classic slasher films we all watched when we were (too?) young. Friday the 13th. Halloween. Nightmare on Elm Street. If, like me, you have a soft spot for these horror classics and the movies influenced by them, you might think you’ve seen everything the slasher genre has to offer at this point. I mean, we’ve had time-traveling slashers. We’ve had Freaky Friday, but with slashers. We’ve had Groundhog Day, but make it stabby.
Today on Read or Dead, Katie and Kendra discuss mystery and thrillers for Latine Heritage Month.