What books have shaken our favorite Latina authors to the core?

There are books that have the power to change people's lives forever. These books helped us see life from a fresh perspective, expanded a horizon of possibilities or helped us reflect on our experiences in life.

There are life-changing books highly-recommended by our favorite Latina authors. They may have transformed them at some point of their lives or inspired their careers in literature. Here are some of them, according to an article by Remezcla:

1. Yesika Salgado, author of "Hermosa," "Corazon" and "Tesoro," recommends My Wicked Wicked Ways by Sandra Cisneros.

While wallowing in her first heartbreak at 17 years old, Salvadoran-American poet Yesika Salgado's U.S. history teacher, a young Chicano named Mr. Celis, handed her My Wicked Wicked Ways, a poetry book by Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros.  

"I opened the page and found a mirror, a Latina who suddenly gave words to everything I thought couldn't be named," said Salgado. "I ended up keeping his signed copy all school year. When I returned it, I knew I wanted to write poetry that did to the world what Sandra did for me. I was no longer alone."

2. Danyeli Rodriguez Del Orbe, author of "Periódicos de Ayer," recommends The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History and Culture in the United States by Miriam Jiménez Román.

Like Salgado, Afro-Dominican poet Danyeli Rodriguez Del Orbe found her life-changing book in the academe. While doing her undergraduate thesis, a professor told her to read The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History and Culture in the United States, after which completely revolutionized the way she saw herself and the world. 

"I did not have the words or context for the marginalization and exclusion I often felt within non-Black Latinx spaces and non-Latinx Black spaces," said Rodriguez Del Obre. "With [this collection], I began to understand how my experiences were not anomalous but rather part of a collective and history passionately documented and explored." 

3. Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of "Sabrina & Corina," recommends Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros.

Denver, Colorado-based Mexican-American author Kali Fajardo-Anstine was inspired by a book of short stories which influenced her to write Sabrina & Corina, a story collection about Indigenous Latinas in the American West.

"I took an introduction to a creative writing class and was floored when I read Woman Hollering Creek. Cisneros' stories felt familiar yet challenging and this space allowed me to imagine my own short stories," said Fajardo-Anstine. "I ended up writing a term paper on her use of the myth of La Llorona, contributing to my foundational interest in folklore in literature. Without [these stories], I don't believe I ever would have written Sabrina & Corina. I am eternally grateful for this classic collection by a Chicana master."

4. Elizabeth Acevedo, author of "The Poet-X," "The Fire on High" & "Clap When You Land," recommends The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

Cisneros' works also deeply impacted Harlem, New York-raised and Washington, DC-based Afro-Dominican author Elizabeth Acevedo like many other Latina writers. For her, it was The House on Mango Street that allowed her for the first time to identify with a character as intimately as she did.

"In middle school, my classmates and I read The House on Mango Street, and it was the first (and only) text we'd ever read centering a Latina," said Acevedo. "I was so moved by the fact that the main character sounded like me, and her community seemed like mine; it was life-altering. Through lyrical prose, unflinching honesty and dry wit, Cisneros created a classic that has inspired generations of Latinx writers."

5. Gabby Rivera, author of "Juliet Takes a Breath," "America Chavez" & "b.b. free," recommends Palante by Michael Abramson.

Bronx-born Puerto Rican queer writer Gabby Rivera said the Palante changed her life and affirmed her identities. It also inspired her career in literature and comics and started her journey of unlearning the myths about Puerto Ricans, Latinos, queer people and New Yorkers that society has taught her.

"Palante, a book full of essays and photos from the Young Lords, taught me that Puerto Ricans have always been ready to fight: for justice, safe housing, clean streets, food access, health care and for each other," said Rivera. "Palante taught me that Sylvia Rivera, a Puerto Rican drag queen, trans activist and mother of the Stonewall Riots (alongside Marsha P. Johnson), was also a Young Lord. She led conversations on queerness, sexuality, gender, women's rights, anti-machismo, everything. So when they tell us that all this 'gender LGBTQ shit is new, isn't of us,' I know for a fact that's a lie. This book is the proof."