With the 1981 publication of the groundbreaking anthology This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa ushered in an era of Chicana lesbian writing. But while these two writers have achieved iconic status, observers of the Chicana/o experience have been slow to perceive the existence of a whole community—lesbian and straight, male as well as female—who write about the Chicana lesbian experience. To create a first full map of that community, this book explores a wide range of plays, novels, and short stories by Chicana/o authors that depict lesbian characters or lesbian desire. Catrióna Rueda Esquibel starts from the premise that Chicana/o communities, theories, and feminisms cannot be fully understood without taking account of the perspectives and experiences of Chicana lesbians. To open up these perspectives, she engages in close readings of works centered around the following themes: La Llorona, the Aztec Princess, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, girlhood friendships, rural communities and history, and Chicana activism. Her investigation broadens the community of Chicana lesbian writers well beyond Moraga and Anzaldúa, while it also demonstrates that the histories of Chicana lesbians have had to be written in works of fiction because these women have been marginalized and excluded in canonical writings on Chicano life and experience.

"Facing the demons is the least of Jake Helman's worries"--Cover.

Nambin: The Call By: James L. Mayle Nambin: The Call is the first of author James L. Mayle’s thrilling fantasy series, Nambin. In this Shonnen Manga novel, Mayle is able to depict friendship, hard work, and victory through his characters and the world of Nambin, but more than that, there’s also much multi layered nuance. It’s about moving forward, finding home, finding love, becoming comfortable in your own skin, good and evil, and badass battles. Mayle originally began Nambin as a form of self-medication. He was going through some tough times, and writing helped take him away to another world. Soon, it became a literal and figurative escape. Mayle hopes his readers find happiness through the story and are able to escape to the world of Nambin just as he had when writing it. The world can be a very dark place, and Mayle wants Nambin to be a light. He wants his readers to know things do get better, you just have to believe and push forward.

This book is an innovative work that takes a fresh approach to the concept of race as a social factor made concrete in popular forms, such as film, television, and music. The essays push past the reaffirmation of static conceptions of identity, authenticity, or conventional interpretations of stereotypes and bridge the intertextual gap between theories of community enactment and cultural representation.

From stories that take you to the stars, to stories that span into other times and realms, to stories set in the magical now, Reclaim the Stars takes the Latin American diaspora to places fantastical and out of this world. Follow princesses warring in space, haunting ghost stories in Argentina, mermaids off the coast of the Caribbean, swamps that whisper secrets, and many more realms explored and unexplored; this stunning collection of seventeen short stories breaks borders and realms to prove that stories are truly universal. Reclaim the Stars features both bestselling and acclaimed authors as well as two new voices in the genres: Vita Ayala, David Bowles, J.C. Cervantes, Zoraida Córdova, Sara Faring, Romina Garber, Isabel Ibañez, Anna-Marie McLemore, Yamile Saied Méndez, Nina Moreno, Circe Moskowitz, Maya Motayne, Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez, Daniel José Older, Claribel A. Ortega, Mark Oshiro and Lilliam Rivera.

NALI By Esther Henry In an era of darkness, mystery, tropical jungles and cannibalism, Nali tries to buck the ancient traditions, only to find herself deeply entrenched in them. As a young girl full of dreams, she is given to a tribal elder in marriage and quickly learns that her girlhood dreams could be shattered overnight. The rain forest held a secret refuge that only Nali knew, where she took her dreams and her delusions. Will she be forced to succumb to a subservient role the rest of her life, or can she overcome the hopelessness that comes with isolation, ignorance and tradition? Deep in the heart of New Guinea lies the village of Mendoka, beautifully camouflaged from the rest of the world. Although the village has yet to be discovered, the outside world would soon have an influence on their lives. An interruption to their peaceful simplicity would both terrify them and cause them to search for answers. Readers will be able to follow the lives of those who lived in a much simpler time and become immersed in the culture that controlled their everyday existence.

Faithless clergyman Simeon Cole is spirited into the psyche of a comatose, dying criminal. His task is to awaken the criminal and combat the legions of demonic forces holding sway in the Inner World. Simeon must pass through many challenges and tribulations with all the Powers of the Inner World bent on his destruction. Accompanied by several companions -- fragments of the criminal’s own mind, Simeon journeys through the bizarre science-fiction and fantasy world made and controlled by the demonic Powers. If he succeeds, he can escape the Inner World; failure means his own life. But success also means losing the only real and meaningful friendships he has ever known. It is a fearsome task for a clergyman with no faith and no stomach for adventures. In any case, Simeon must conquer his own flaws and come to terms with his God to emerge as something more.

In the epic conclusion to the Conjurian series, siblings Alex and Emma must fight to save the enchanted world, where magic is real and skilled illusionists can perform actual tricks—for better or worse. This fantasy series is perfect for fans of The Land of Stories series. “A magical adventure inspired by us? We have to read it! And so do you!” —Penn Jillette, half of the Emmy-winning magic-comedy duo Penn & Teller Years ago, Alex and Emma's parents disappeared trying to protect magic. Now Alex thinks he knows how to find them—if only his sister, their talking rabbit Pimawa, and their friend Savachia would trust fate to guide the way. The problem: Alex's “fate” keeps leading the group straight into danger. Specifically, into an enchanted jungle where a tree-like creature named Awen seems intent on doing them harm. But Alex is certain Awen knows more than she is letting on. And when she is captured, the kids follow the trail to the city of magic: Las Vegas. In the desert, sleight-of-hand runs the show, and at the center of it all is Angel Xavier, an evil conjurian who will stop at nothing to seize power. The kids need a trick up their sleeve—and a few new allies to help—if they have any hope of saving their parents, and magic, once and for all!

After serving fifteen years in prison, Maribel escapes, survives starvation, and does all she can to resist attempts at suicide, her heart and mind haunted by troubled thoughts of her beloved long-lost son. When her former business partners attempt to drag her back to prison, she is put to the ultimate test to redeem herself in the eyes of her son and win her son’s love and forgiveness. The Legend of Maribel Sara is the haunting story of loss of innocence and family and is the grand sequel to The Black Angel. The reader is sure to fall under the powerful spell of Ernst, an adept twister of tales.