June 2021 Book of the Month
Remember My Face
By: John Lantigua
Published by: Arte Público Press
ISBN 13: 978-1-55885-907-4
SYNOPSIS:
Willie Cuesta, former Miami Police Department detective turned private investigator, returns in a new novel in John Lantigua’s entertaining Willie Cuesta Mystery series. Willie is relaxing at a beachfront hotel when he receives a call from an immigration attorney about a case. He’s reluctant to leave the view—of the sea and several bathing beauties—but he can’t afford to turn down work. He agrees to travel to central Florida to search for Ernesto Pérez, an undocumented farmworker who has disappeared. His family is worried sick because, though he had been calling and sending money home regularly to Mexico for years, he hasn’t been heard from in three months. In Cane County, Willie discovers a healthy agricultural industry, a large migrant population picking the crops and a heavily armed, anti-government militia. The PI quickly discovers Pérez isn’t the only undocumented worker to go missing; several have disappeared, though their illegal status means no one has bothered to investigate. When people he talked to start turning up dead, Willie knows he’s onto something big—and dangerous. But is it related to the local drug business? Or the anti-government lunatics? When his investigation leads to a piece of property near the Everglades, Willie Cuesta finds himself playing cat-and-mouse with several armed men intent on putting an end to the case—and him!BIO:
JOHN LANTIGUA is an award-winning journalist and novelist. His novels include On Hallowed Ground (Arte Público, 2011), The Lady from Buenos Aires (Arte Público Press, 2007), The Ultimate Havana (Signet, 2001), Player’s Vendetta (Signet, 1999), Twister (Simon and Schuster, 1992), and Burn Season (Putnam, 1989). His first novel, Heat Lightning (Putnam, 1987), was a finalist for the Edgar Awards Best First Novel. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his journalistic writings, including two Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards (2004, 2006) and the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting (1999). He lives and works in South Florida.
Author webpage: https://johnlantigua.com/
Twitter (author): @lantiguareport
(publisher): @artepublico
Every Day We Get More Illegal
By: Juan Felipe Herrera
Published by: City Lights
ISBN 13: 978-0872868281
SYNOPSIS:
BIO:
Juan Felipe Herrera was the 21st U.S. Poet Laureate from 2015-2017, the first Latino to receive this honor. The son of migrant farm workers, he was educated at UCLA and Stanford University, and received his MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His numerous poetry collections include Notes on the Assemblage (2015), 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross the Border: Undocuments 1971-2007 (2007), Half of the World in Light: New and Selected Poems (2008), and Border-Crosser with a Lamborghini Dream (1999). Notes on the Assemblage was named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Library Journal, NPR, and BuzzFeed. In addition to publishing more than a dozen collections of poetry, Herrera has written short stories, young adult novels, and children’s literature. In 2012, Herrera was named California’s poet laureate. He has won the Hungry Mind Award of Distinction, the Focal Award, two Latino Hall of Fame Poetry Awards, and a PEN West Poetry Award. In April 2016, Herrera received the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement from the Los Angeles Times. His other honors include the UC Berkeley Regent’s Fellowship as well as fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and the Stanford Chicano Fellows. He has also received several grants from the California Arts Council. Herrera is also a performance artist and activist on behalf of migrant and indigenous communities and at-risk youth. His creative work often crosses genres, including poetry, opera, and dance theater. His children’s book, The Upside Down Boy (2000), was adapted into a musical. His books for young people have won several awards, including Calling the Doves (2001), winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award, and CrashBoomLove (1999), a novel-in-verse for young adults, which won the Americas Award. His poetry collection Half of the World in Light was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle prize in 2009. Herrera lives in Fresno, CA.Author webpage: https://blueflowerarts.com/artist/juan-felipe-herrera/
Twitter: @cilantroman
(publishers) @CityLightsBooks