Catalina Incognito

Catalina Incognito
Author: Jennifer Torres
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2022-03-22
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1534482784

Eight-year-old Catalina Castañeda uses Tía Abuela's sewing kit to turn ordinary clothing into a magical disguise, enabling her to uncover a thief at the local library.

Stef Soto, Taco Queen

Stef Soto, Taco Queen
Author: Jennifer Torres
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 141
Release: 2017-01-17
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0316306878

A deliciously charming and heartwarming novel, all wrapped up in a warm tortilla. Tacos. Burritos. Guacamole. Estefania "Stef" Soto is itching to shake off the onion-and-cilantro embrace of Tia Perla, her family's taco truck. She wants nothing more than for Papi to get a normal job and for the taco truck to be a distant memory. Then maybe everyone at school will stop calling her the Taco Queen. But when her family's livelihood is threatened, and it looks like her wish will finally come true, Stef surprises everyone (including herself) by becoming the truck's unlikely champion. In this fun and heartfelt novel, Stef will discover what matters most and ultimately embrace her identity, even if it includes old Tia Perla.

Off-Key

Off-Key
Author: Jennifer Torres
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2022-07-26
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 153448311X

One Day at a Time meets Mindy Kim in this third book in a charming new chapter book series about Catalina Castaneda, a Mexican American girl with a magical sewing kit who wants to start a band. Catalina can’t wait for the upcoming school talent show! Along with some of her classmates, they decide to rock out and form a band for the big day. But Catalina has some...specific ideas on how the band should look and sound. Can Catalina learn to be part of the band, or will she find herself working on a solo act?

The Fresh New Face of Griselda

The Fresh New Face of Griselda
Author: Jennifer Torres
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2019-09-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0316452599

A moving coming-of-age novel about one girl's struggles after her parents lose their home, and her journey to find hope in family and friendship, from Jennifer Torres, the author of Stef Soto, Taco Queen. Griselda "Geez" Zaragoza has a love for beautiful things, like her collection of vintage teacups and the flower garden she and her dad planted in the front yard. But when his business fails, Griselda loses not just her home, but also her confidence and her trust in her unflappable parents. Tagging along with big sister Maribel, who postponed college for a job selling Alma Cosmetics, Geez dreams up a way to reclaim the life she thinks she lost. If she can sell enough tubes of glistening, glittery Alma lip gloss, she'll win a cash prize that could help jump start her dad's business. With ups and downs along the way, Geez will discover that beauty isn't just lost or found, but made and re-made.

The Constant Princess

The Constant Princess
Author: Philippa Gregory
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2006-09-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0743272498

A fictional portrait of Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon, follows her through her youthful marriage to Henry's older brother, Arthur, her widowhood, her marriage to Henry, and the divorce that led to Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn.

Land of the Cranes (Scholastic Gold)

Land of the Cranes (Scholastic Gold)
Author: Aida Salazar
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2020-09-15
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1338343904

From the prolific author of The Moon Within comes the heart-wrenchingly beautiful story in verse of a young Latinx girl who learns to hold on to hope and love even in the darkest of places: a family detention center for migrants and refugees. Nine-year-old Betita knows she is a crane. Papi has told her the story, even before her family fled to Los Angeles to seek refuge from cartel wars in Mexico. The Aztecs came from a place called Aztlan, what is now the Southwest US, called the land of the cranes. They left Aztlan to establish their great city in the center of the universe-Tenochtitlan, modern-day Mexico City. It was prophesized that their people would one day return to live among the cranes in their promised land. Papi tells Betita that they are cranes that have come home.Then one day, Betita's beloved father is arrested by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported to Mexico. Betita and her pregnant mother are left behind on their own, but soon they too are detained and must learn to survive in a family detention camp outside of Los Angeles. Even in cruel and inhumane conditions, Betita finds heart in her own poetry and in the community she and her mother find in the camp. The voices of her fellow asylum seekers fly above the hatred keeping them caged, but each day threatens to tear them down lower than they ever thought they could be. Will Betita and her family ever be whole again?

The Do-Over

The Do-Over
Author: Jennifer Torres
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2022-06-07
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 133875422X

From the author of Stef Soto, Taco Queen comes this story about sisterhood, friendship, and the intricacies of blended families. Raquel and Lucinda used to be inseparable. But ever since their parents split, Raquel has been acting like editor-in-chief of their lives. To avoid her overbearing sister, Lucinda spends most of her time with her headphones on, practicing her skating routine. Then a pandemic hits, and the sisters are forced to spend the lockdown at their dad’s ranch house. When their classmates suggest they bring their mom along, Raquel sees a chance to get back everything she has lost. They could get their parents to fall in love again and give their family a second chance, a do-over. But neither of them is expecting to find their dads new family in their house. And when Lucinda finds she actually really likes them, Raquel gets even more desperate to fix things. As her schemes to get rid of her dad’s new girlfriend get more and more out of hand, Lucinda starts to wonder what they are really fighting for. Trying to bring the Mendoza family back together, seems to be tearing everyone further apart.

The Leon Lewis Band

The Leon Lewis Band
Author: L.M. Levin
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2018-09-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1532057210

The Leon Lewis Band is the story of a rock band in the sixties and seventies. It traces the lives of the fascinating characters who comprise the band—the musicians as well as family, friends, and other unique characters they meet along the way. The story is narrated by Jackie Klein, the childhood friend of Leon Lewis. It begins in the working-class Brooklyn neighborhood of the fifties and sixties, which binds the two Jewish boys together as they navigate the anti-Semitism and racist battleground of their inner-city environment. Leon Lewis’s life is deeply impacted by his family—an emotionally disturbed mother, a high-achieving younger sister, and a father who blames his wife for preventing him from achieving his dream of becoming a professional jazz musician. Lee’s family struggles drive him to leave the city as soon as he finishes high school. He takes to the road with his acoustic guitar and musical ability. While Lee is gone, Jackie hooks up with three amazing musicians at Café Flo in Greenwich Village. When Lee returns, now a seasoned troubadour and accomplished musician, he reconnects with Jackie, and the Leon Lewis Band is formed. Along the way, they find a flamboyant country boy, a hippie manager, a smooth café manager, an eccentric concert promotor and recording engineer, and the loves of their lives. Catalina Blake is a sensuous young Latina and a budding, progressive journalist. When she falls in love with Lee, the band’s surprising events ensue. On the behalf of her estranged father, a talented artist, she finds herself on a dangerous mission to Central America, where her family secrets intersect with Lee and the band and with the ghosts from Lee’s old neighborhood.

Skateboard Star

Skateboard Star
Author: Jennifer Torres
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2022-11-22
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1534483128

With the Valle Grande Skate Spectacular competition coming up, Catalina is hoping her sister Coco will win and she can have her old board, but Coco has lost her skateboarding mojo so Catalina considers entering the competition herself.