August 2019 Book of the Month
Revolution Sunday: A Novel
by Wendy Guerra Translated by Achy Obejas
Published by: Melville House Publishing
ISBN-10: 1612196616
ISBN-13: 978-1612196619
SYNOPSIS:
Including Entertainment Weekly, BBC.com, New York Magazine / Vulture, Bustle, The Millions, Crimereads / LitHub, Book Riot, Asymptote Journal, Vol. 1 Brooklyn , Bust, Pop Sugar and Words Without Borders
A novel of glamour, surveillance, and corruption in contemporary Cuba, from an internationally bestselling author–who has never before been translated into English
Cleo, scion of a once-prominent Cuban family and a promising young writer in her own right, travels to Spain to collect a prestigious award. There, Cuban expats view her with suspicion–assuming she’s an informant for the Castro regime. To Cleo’s surprise, that suspicion follows her home to Cuba, where she finds herself under constant surveillance by the government. When she meets and falls in love with a Hollywood filmmaker, she discovers her family is not who she thought they were . . . and neither is the filmmaker.
Author webpage: https://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Guerra/e/B001JX4JP4/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
BIO:
WENDY GUERRA (Havana, 1970) is a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and was selected for Bogotá 39, the prestigious group of writers from the Hay Bogotá project. In 2015 and 2016, she was a visiting professor at Princeton and UCLA.
From an early age, she found success as a poet, publishing her first volume of poetry aged 17 whilst attending the University of Havana. She later pursued studies in filmmaking and hosted a number of TV shows about culture and television on the national Cuban broadcaster. She began to circulate and publish her texts abroad, to great critical acclaim. As a result of this success, she has been considered with suspicion by Cuban intelligence services and has remained largely unpublished in her native country. Drawing inspiration from her diaries and also from the visual arts, her texts often combine filmic, personal and poetic elements.
ACHY OBEJAS is an award-winning translator and author of the critically acclaimed novels RUINS and DAYS OF AWE. She is director of the MFA in Translation program at Mills College in Oakland, CA.
August 2019 Conversations Book
Lety Out Loud
by Angela Cervantes
Published by: Scholastic Press
ISBN-10: 1338159348
ISBN-13: 978-1338159349
SYNOPSIS:
Celebrated author Angela Cervantes returns to the fan favorite animal shelter featured in Gaby, Lost and Found, with a heartfelt novel about friendship and finding your voice.
Can Lety find her voice before it’s too late?
Lety Muñoz’s first language is Spanish, and she likes to take her time putting her words together. She loves volunteering at the Furry Friends Animal Shelter because the dogs and cats there don’t care if she can’t always find the right word.
When the shelter needs a volunteer to write animal profiles, Lety jumps at the chance. But grumpy classmate Hunter also wants to write profiles — so now they have to work as a team. Hunter’s not much of a team player, though. He devises a secret competition to decide who will be the official shelter scribe. Whoever helps get their animals adopted the fastest wins. The loser scoops dog food.
Lety reluctantly agrees, but she’s worried that if the shelter finds out about the contest, they’ll kick her out of the volunteer program. Then she’ll never be able to adopt Spike, her favorite dog at the shelter!
Author webpage: http://www.angelacervantes.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngelaCervantes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaCervantesAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelacervantes_author/
BIO:
Angela Cervantes is an award-winning author whose debut book, Gaby, Lost and Found, was named Best Youth Chapter book by the International Latino Book Awards and a Bank Street College of Education’s Best Books of 2014. Angela’s second middle grade novel, Allie, First At Last (Scholastic Press; 2017) garnered a star review from Kirkus and was called a “realistic drama filled with gentle humor, big lessons, and even bigger heart” by Publisher’s Weekly.
Angela’s third novel, Me, Frida and the Secret of the Peacock Ring (Scholastic Press; 2018) is a mystery novel based in Mexico City. Angela’s next novel, Lety Out Loud, was released in February 2019.
Keep up with Angela at www.angelacervantes.com
