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Somewhere Between Bitter & Sweet: Chapter One Reveal!

2/23/2021

Today, we're sharing the first chapter from Laekan Zea Kemp's debut novel, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN BITTER & SWEET! Scroll on to get a sneak peak of this YA novel, out April 6, 2021.

Title card that reads: Somewhere Between Bitter & Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp

Chapter title card that reads: 1, Pen

GREASE HISSES AND POPS beneath the staccato drums ticking from the speaker above my brother Angel’s head. The song fades beneath the clank of metal and the sound of his voice calling orders across the kitchen.
“Adobada. Mole verde. Guiso de flor.”
I hear him through the crack in the back door of the restaurant, my forehead pressed to the cold metal as I count my breaths, the beats in between. Go inside. The restaurant is descending into chaos. You don’t have time to fall apart.
But the voice in my head isn’t alone. There’s another voice, biting and cold and cruel.
You’re a mess, Pen. You’re just going to make a mess.

Reader's Letter from Tami Charles

2/16/2021

We're so thrilled to be sharing this reader's letter from Tami Charles, to celebrate her new novel, MUTED. You can catch Tami at iReadYA's "Muted No More: Speaking Out in Fiction" panel on March 8, at 7PM.

Image of MUTED cover, with the following words: Dear Reader, I present to you my most personal project to date. On some levels, Muted represents the roller coaster that was my teenage/young adult years. I put my parents and a few really special friends through a ride and a half. Is it too late to say I’m sorry? I hope not. Singing was always my thing. Luckily, I didn’t share the dream of making it big alone: As a young woman, I was part of an R&B group that had a single on the radio and performed for events with Boyz II Men, Showtime at the Apollo, and others. In the early stages, there were four of us. And then we dwindled down to three. Three girls lost in the fire of fame, fortune, and friendship. It was hands down the best and worst time of my life. The search for fame does that, ya know. It sucks you in, gets you hooked, spits you out at will. When you seek out fame, it’s all too easy to get hurt. I didn’t suffer the way Denver, Shak, and Dali do in this story, but the industry isn’t designed to protect the innocent. Muted is a story about how monsters can use the power of fame and art to prey on the vulnerable, leaving girls like Denver with a choice: give in or fight back. I believe there’s a little bit of Denver in all of us, equal parts fearful and fierce. This is why we all need an ally along the way. And I ask you, dear reader, to be that ally for all of the Denvers everywhere. I trust you to help by calling out the Mercs: the singers, the CEOs, the producers, the actors, the athletes, the politicians, and all the monsters navigating the world. They’re lurking everywhere, with their tiny hands tucked in deep pockets, ya know? Let us make a pact to find them. . . end them . . . MUTE them all. You got me, right? Stronger together, Tami Charles On-Sale: February 2, 2021 HC: 978-1-338-67352-4 | $18.99 EBK: 978-1-338-67353-1 | $11.99 Also available as an audiobook.

Buy Muted today!

Happy Book Birthday: FAT CHANCE, CHARLIE VEGA by Crystal Maldonado

1/30/2021

We've been celebrating Crystal Maldonado's debut YA novel, FAT CHANCE CHARLIE VEGA all week long. Today, we're extra thrilled to share Crystal's letter to her readers. Scroll on to read!

Dear reader,

When I was a little girl, I dreamt of books. Very specifically, I dreamt of writing the kind of book I needed when I was a teenager: a book that might take a reader’s hand and tell them that they’re not alone; a book for those who often felt overlooked; a book that explicitly featured a fat, Puerto Rican girl at its heart. There are few greater feelings than finding a book that feels like it was made just for you, and now, I am excited and humbled to give you FAT CHANCE, CHARLIE VEGA.

The story is full of so many things that are meaningful to me. It celebrates books, best friends, found family, fat fashion, writing, Beyoncé, self acceptance, cute boys, first kisses, first loves, and happily-ever-afters. It is an ultimate celebration of fat girls — fat brown girls especially.

Beyond that, this book is for anyone who has ever grappled with feeling insecure, for fat readers who never feel like they get have joyful and full stories, for brown kids who deserve to have their stories told, for all who have ever embarked on a journey of self-love, for those who would do anything for their best friend, for people with imperfect families, for anyone who yearns for love, for all who are still learning to be kind to themselves, for those who dream.

I hope readers everywhere can see a part of themselves in Charlie. I hope this story finds all who may need it. And I hope that you pick up this book and it feels like I wrote it just for you — because I did.

With love,
Crystal

Crystal Maldonado is a young adult author with a lot of feelings. Her debut novel, FAT CHANCE, CHARLIE VEGA (Holiday House), was released on Feb. 2, 2021. By day, she is a social media manager working in higher ed, and by night, a writer who loves Beyoncé, shopping, spending too much time on her phone, and being extra. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog. Follow her everywhere @crystalwrote or visit her website at crystalwrote.com.

Las Musas 2020 Holiday Gift Guide, Part 4

12/14/2020

Are you starting your Holiday shopping early? Las Musas has got you covered! Get the book-lovers in your life gifts curated by the authors themselves.

Check out the rest of the series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

RAGGEDY TIFF - PORTO'S BAKERY - CADENA COLLECTIVE - MARTHA OF MIAMI
BUY TOTAL ECLIPSE OF NESTOR LOPEZ

Las Musas 2020 Holiday Gift Guide, Part 3

12/7/2020

Are you starting your Holiday shopping early? Las Musas has got you covered! Get the book-lovers in your life gifts curated by the authors themselves.

Check out the rest of the series: Part 1, Part 2.

JEAN ZEANO DESIGNS - LOQUITA BATH & BODY - VIVA LA BONITA - CADENA COLLECTIVE
BUY THIS IS HOW WE FLY

Las Musas 2020 Holiday Gift Guide, Part 2

11/30/2020

Are you starting your Holiday shopping early? Las Musas has got you covered! Get the book-lovers in your life gifts curated by the authors themselves.

Check out the rest of the series: Part 1

JEN ZEANO DESIGNS - AMANO ARTISANS - TEJIENDO ILUSIONES - PORTO'S BAKERY
BUY FELIZ NEW YEAR, AVA GABRIELA!

Las Musas 2020 Holiday Gift Guide, Part 1

11/24/2020

Are you starting your Holiday shopping early? Las Musas has got you covered!
Get the book-lovers in your life gifts curated by the authors themselves.
Check out our first in a Holiday Gift Guide series!

SPANGLISH THREADZ - EL MERCADO CENTRAL - LENORE LENORE STUDIO
- CADENA COLLECTIVE
BUY WHAT IF A FISH

COVER REVEAL! The Cot in the Living Room by Hilda Eunice Burgos

10/29/2020

Las Musas is ecstatic to reveal the cover of The Cot in the Living Room by Hilda Eunice Burgos, illustrated by Gaby D’Alessandro!

But first, here is a little bit about the book…

A young Dominican American girl in New York City moves from jealousy to empathy as her parents babysit children whose families work the overnight shift in this honest and warm picture book debut.

Night after night, a young girl watches her mami set up a cot in the living room for guests in their Washington Heights apartment, like Raquel (who’s boring) and Edgardo (who gets crumbs everywhere). She resents that they get the entire living room with a view of the George Washington Bridge, while all she gets is a tiny bedroom with a view of her sister (who snores). Until one night, no one comes, and it’s finally her chance! But as it turns out, sleeping in the cot in the living room isn’t all she thought it would be.

With charming text by Hilda Eunice Burgos and whimsical illustrations by Gaby D’Alessandro, The Cot in the Living Room is a celebration of the ways a Dominican American community takes care of one another while showing young readers that sometimes the best way to be a better neighbor is by imagining how it feels to spend a night sleeping on someone else’s pillow.

And now, the moment you have been waiting for… the absolutely gorgeous cover of The Cot in the Living Room:

The Cot in the Living Room is available to preorder from here!

Hilda Eunice Burgos is the author of the middle grade novel Ana Maria Reyes Does Not Live in a Castle (Lee&Low). Her parents emigrated from the Dominican Republic before she was born, and she grew up in Washington Heights as one of four sisters. She now lives with her family near Philadelphia, where she works as a lawyer.

Gaby D’Alessandro is a Dominican illustrator based in Brooklyn. She attended Altos de Chavón in the Dominican Republic and moved to New York to complete her degree in Illustration at Parsons School of Design. Her work has appeared in many publications and projects for clients such as The New York Times, The Library of Congress, The Botanical Garden of Padua, and New York City’s MTA.

Book Birthday: QUIET NO MORE by Nikki Barthelmess

10/15/2020

We are thrilled to celebrate the book birthday of QUIET NO MORE by Nikki Barthelmess!

But first, here is a little bit about the book:

QUIET NO MORE...

College freshman Victoria Parker is trying to move on with her life after surviving sexual assault by her father and six months in foster care. She's focusing on the positives--attending college, living on her own, repairing old relationships and making new ones, and getting involved with an abuse survivors activist group on campus. But everything's thrown into disarray when a strange woman shows up, claiming to be Victoria's aunt and asking Victoria to lie about what happened to her.

With her father's sentencing in a few months, she's nervous about having to share the truth of what happened with a judge. She's not even sure if she has the strength to go through with it. But when her fellow club members begin pressuring her to speak out, Victoria has to decide how to share her story while remaining true to herself.

Feliz Book Birthday, Alexandra Alessandri!

10/14/2020

Las Musas wishes Alexandra Alessandri, author of Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela! the happiest of Book Birthdays! Read on for Zara González Hoang’s interview and learn all about the book, New Year’s traditions, and Alexandra’s writing process!

First, a bit about the book:
Ava Gabriela is visiting her extended family in Colombia for the holidays. She’s excited to take part in family traditions such as making bunuelos, but being around all her loud relatives in an unfamiliar place makes Ava shy and quiet. How will Ava find her voice before she misses out on all the New Year’s fun?

Kirkus awarded the book a starred review, saying “This gentle family story lets readers know that shyness is nothing to worry about.”

Now on to the interview!

I loved Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela! It’s such a sweet story about tradition and family, and I could totally relate to Ava Gabriela’s feelings of shyness when meeting extended family she doesn’t often see!

Aw, thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked it!!

I have some questions from Las Musas and myself, so should we dive in?

Let’s do this! ☺