Fall is here, and it brings us moving stories of self-discovery. From overcoming the devastation of loss to cutting critiques on American culture in fiction and nonfiction to a work of historical fiction based on the life of the first Latina movie star in Hollywood, October’s new book releases are sure to satisfy!

Jade is a Twisted Green by Tanya Turton 

Following the mysterious death of her twin sister, Jade Brown struggles with grief as she picks up the pieces. She seeks solace in a series of whirlwind love affairs, parties, and trips abroad with lovers and friends. But, before she can fully blossom as a young Black woman and writer, she must relinquish the weight of her trauma.

 

 

 

 

We Are All We Have by Marina Budhos 

At seventeen years old, Rania finds herself shaken awake in her Brooklyn apartment by ICE. When her mother disappears, she turns all her hopes and dreams into survival. Now, along with her younger brother, Kamal, and a new friend, Carlos, she embarks on a road trip searching for answers she didn’t even think to ask.

 

 

 

 

Token Black Girl: a memoir by Danielle Prescod 

Danielle Prescod started painful and damaging chemical hair treatments in elementary school, began depriving herself of food when puberty hit and tried to control her image through the most impeccable fashion choices. Growing up Black in an elite and overwhelmingly white community, she aspired to shrink her identity to match that of the whitewashed movies, television, magazines, and books she and her classmates consumed. Finally, after decades of burying her emotions, resentment, and authentic self, Danielle turns a critical eye inward and confronts factors that motivated her self-destructive behaviors.

 

 

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng 

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner knows not to ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. The laws written to protect “American culture” after years of economic instability and violence have controlled his and his father’s lives for a decade. Children of dissidents are allowed to be relocated, especially those of Asian origin, and unpatriotic books are removed from libraries. These books include the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine. He doesn’t know her work or what happened to her. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is pulled into a quest to find her.

 

Miss Del Río: a novel of Dolores del Rio, the First Major Latina Star in Hollywood by Bárbara Mujica 

Dolores and her family arrive in Mexico City in 1910 as the country’s revolution spreads. At sixteen, she marries the worldly Jaime del Río. But when she meets an influential American director who recognizes her talent, he invites her to Hollywood, and overnight, she becomes the famous Miss del Río. Spanning half a century and narrated by Dolores’s fictional hairdresser and longtime friend, Miss del Río traces the life of a trailblazing woman whose legacy in Hollywood and Mexico still shines bright today.