Fans pick 89 books like Don't Date Rosa Santos

Cemetery Boys was the first time I truly felt represented in a fantasy novel, and once I started, I couldn’t put it down. 

The navigation of family dynamics in the story is brilliant - we follow Yadriel, a gay Latinx trans teen whose family is made up of brujas (women) and brujos (men). The struggle to find his place in that system, and the way that his family members seem accepting in one moment, then dismissive in another is unbearably relatable for many queer kids growing up in Latinx households.

In an effort to prove his worth to his family (and himself) Yadriel accidentally summons the ghost of a very cute dead boy, and together they go on a journey full of both danger and self-discovery.

This review perfectly summed up this book but neglected to mention it has a spectacular cover, which I’ll admit was the first thing that drew my eye. The story also features a bi-racial main character, and since my children are multi-racial, I love seeing this representation. Because I’m an unapologetic book nerd, I adored the many literary references. And I always love a good road trip! All in all, this is one character-driven YA novel you won’t want to miss.

I was immediately intrigued by Noah’s blog about the happily ever after for trans people. My experiences have not exactly been happy ever after. The meet cute Noah has with Devin is not technically cute but really starts their relationship off on the right foot for them.

I love that Devin was also trying to figure out eir identity and decided to use e/em pronouns. Devin’s character was so sympathetic and codependently charming that e was a great vehicle to demonstrate nonbinary questioning and pronouns many people aren’t familiar with. I felt like Devin was confiding in me about pronouns and identity, and I wanted to hear more.

Coming out to the people you love is difficult enough. Julian comes out to the world in a tweet–and has to live with it the following day when he remembers. Oops.

This is a heartfelt story of a boy trying to find his place in the world despite not being understood by the people who matter most. For Julian, it’s his dad. Funny, heartfelt, and much deserving of a HEA.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if all the iconic fairy tale characters were friends and lived in the modern world, then this is the novel for you. Kill Me Softly is the ultimate fairy tale mashup, with heroes and heroines—and of course, villains—from Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and countless others, all living in one enchanted town where magic comes in two forms: blessings and curses. The reader follows a teenage orphan as she gradually comes to understand what it means to have the mark that brands her as an inevitable victim, though her stubborn determination to change her fate and go against the norm is a welcoming variation. With a plot chock-full of intrigue, love triangles, and dark twists, this YA novel is sure to charm.   

I highly recommend this book, especially if you’re in a reading slump. This is the exact one that brought me out of mine. I needed to not only feel I was in another world but escape my very own.

With Stephanie Garber’s writing ability being able to make you hear, taste, feel, see and smell every single detail of her words, I promise you’ll never want to leave her vision. Jacks starts out very mischievous and cruel, but his protective behavior of his “little fox” leaves you begging for his heart. It’s no wonder they call him the prince of hearts.

There’s so much mystery and puzzle pieces to put together, you’ll feel like a detective while lost in a story of love.

This wonderful piece of writing isn’t obviously a travel narrative or a book about natural history as it is marketed as a children’s fiction but it is based on a real event and the sense of place the author achieves is astonishing. A group of men and boys from St Kilda are put ashore on a rocky stac in the North Atlantic. Their mission is to harvest birds and collect fulmar eggs and oil which will sustain their little rural community through the harsh Scottish winter. No one comes to bring them home though and the unfortunates spend months huddled against the storms.

The narrative vividly captures the risks such adventurers took dangling from homemade ropes over cliffs above unforgiving seas with shearwaters and other seabirds screaming at them. It is a masterful portrait of the harsh life on the Scottish islands.

This year is a pivotal one for Mrs. Mai Nguyen.

According to her psychic, there will be one pregnancy, one funeral, and one marriage. But unless she repairs her relationships with her estranged sisters and daughters, there’s a chance she could lose it all.

This is a story not just of sisters, but of mothers and daughters, and the inexplicable bonds between generations of women who are ready to fight with and for each other. Humorous and heartwarming, this book was a rollercoaster of emotions that kept me laughing, crying, and cheering for these women all the way until the end. 

I debated which of Cosmere’s many books to put here but settled on this one because it was my introduction to Sanderson. The main attraction of his books for me is always the unique and scientific hard magic systems and how they relate to every aspect of his stories, from characters to worldbuilding.

My favorite part was how the characters had to study the magic system and uncover its specific functions to “solve” the problem that was plaguing them. This is a pretty common narrative force behind many of Sanderson’s books, but I also enjoyed this one because of its religious and sociopolitical commentary. I found the high priest’s arc especially compelling, as he found his views on faith challenged by another character.

This is a “big” book in that it is reminiscent of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series.

It is epic in scope, in action, and in humor—it is laugh-out-loud funny! The portals are many and, to further complicate things, have guardians. I loved the mixture of Hindu mythology with modern-day references (there are a lot!) along with a very modern kid sensibility. A thrill ride of an adventure.