The time for the vote has come! Which book would you like to read for this first bookclub?
- Sin noticias de Gurb
- Copo de Algodón
- Marina
- Lobizona
- Alguien para ti
- Mentirosa
- La Ciudad de las Bestias
All nominations have been copy pasted below, so you can directly look up everything about them. You can also see the list of nominated books that @Micki made over on Natively.
Sin noticias de Gurb
Book: Sin noticias de Gurb L30?? by Eduardo Mendoza
Genre: sf
Length: 192 pages
Is there an ebook available?: yes
Is there an audiobook available?: yes
Variety of Spanish: Castillan (author from Barcelona, Spain)
Summary - Spanish
Perdido en la Barcelona preolímpica, el extraterrestre Gurb pone al servicio de su supervivencia la extraña cualidadde adoptar el aspecto que le plazca. Se pierde con la apariencia de Marta Sánchez, mientras su compañero alienígena inicia su búsqueda. Por su diario personal vamos conociendo las increíbles peripecias de un extraterrestre en Barcelona. En este relato de carácter paródico y satírico, la invención de Eduardo Mendoza convierte la Barcelona cotidiana en el escenario de una carnavalada tras la cual se revela el verdadero rostro del hombre urbano actual.
Summary - English
Lost in pre-Olympic Barcelona, the extraterrestrial Gurb puts at the service of his survival the strange quality of adopting any appearance he pleases. He gets lost with the appearance of Marta Sanchez, while his alien companion begins his search. Through his personal diary we learn about the incredible adventures of an extraterrestrial in Barcelona. In this parodic and satirical story, Eduardo Mendoza’s invention turns everyday Barcelona into the scene of a carnival behind which the true face of today’s urban man is revealed.
Why are you nominating this book: The author is pretty famous, he even got the Cervantes prize. This novel is pretty short, and from what the author said, it is supposed to be rather easy to read(to a native speaker at least).
Copo de Algodón
Book: Copo de Algodón (Ecos de tinta / Echoes of Ink) | L30??
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 134 pages (paperback)
Is there an ebook available?: yes (there is also an audiobook! )
Summary - Spanish
Copo de Algodón, hija de la princesa de Tacuba y del señor de Tenochtitlan, nació en la era del Quinto Sol, en una ciudad que un pueblo fiero y guerrero levantó en una laguna de reflejos color turquesa. Creía en Tláloc y Huitzilopochtli, y amaba las flores y los cantos. Un día su mundo se agitó, como las aguas al lanzar una piedra… Conoce, a través de su voz, los acontecimientos de su época: las guerras floridas, la matanza de Cholula, la llegada de Hernán Cortés, la muerte de Moctezuma, el sitio de Tenochtitlan… y sumérgete en la historia antigua de México, en la existencia de sus personajes y en la fascinante cosmovisión de este pueblo.
Summary - English
Copo de Algodón, daughter of the princess of Tacuba and the lord of Tenochtitlan, was born in the era of the Fifth Sun, in a city that a fierce and warrior people built in a lagoon of turquoise reflections. She believed in Tláloc and Huitzilopochtli, and she loved flowers and songs. One day his world shook, like the waters throwing a stone… He knows, through his voice, the events of his time: the flowery wars, the massacre of Cholula, the arrival of Hernán Cortés, the death of Moctezuma , the site of Tenochtitlan… and immerse yourself in the ancient history of Mexico, in the existence of its characters and in the fascinating worldview of this town.
Content warnings if known
None known
Why are you nominating this book: This book is on the shorter side, and I’m really interested in reading about the Spanish conquistadors. The author blub mentions that the author is a well-known children’s/youth literature author, so hopefully that all combines to be an easy read:
Semblanza de la autora: María García Esperón hizo estudios de Ciencias Humanas en el Claustro de Sor Juana y de Letras Clásicas en la UNAM. Es apasionada de las lenguas modernas y antiguas, de la Historia y de la Arqueología. María García Esperón es una de las escritoras mexicanas más prolíficas en el campo de la literatura infantil y juvenil.
Marina
Book: Marina: 5019 (Biblioteca Carlos Ruiz Zafón) | L30??
Genre: might be magical realism?
Length: 304
Is there an ebook available?: yes
Is there an audiobook available?: no
Variety of Spanish: Castillan Spanish (probably)
Summary - Spanish
En la Barcelona de 1980 Óscar Drai sueña despierto, deslumbrado por los palacetes modernistas cercanos al internado en el que estudia. En una de sus escapadas conoce a Marina, que comparte con Óscar la aventura de adentrarse en un enigma doloroso del pasado de la ciudad. Un misterioso personaje de la posguerra se propuso el mayor desafío imaginable, pero su ambición lo arrastró por sendas siniestras cuyas consecuencias debe pagar alguien todavía hoy.
«Quince años más tarde, la memoria de aquel día ha vuelto a mí. He visto a aquel muchacho vagando entre las brumas de la estación de Francia y el nombre de Marina se ha encendido de nuevo como una herida fresca. Todos tenemos un secreto encerrado bajo llave en el ático del alma. Éste es el mío.»
Summary - English
Fifteen-year-old Oscar Drai meets the strange Marina while he’s exploring an old quarter of Barcelona. She leads Oscar to a cemetery, where they watch a macabre ritual that occurs on the last Sunday of each month. At exactly ten o’clock in the morning, a woman shrouded in a black velvet cloak descends from her carriage to place a single rose on an unmarked grave.
When Oscar and Marina decide to follow her, they begin a journey that transports them to a forgotten postwar Barcelona–a world of aristocrats and actresses, inventors and tycoons–an reveals a dark secret that lies waiting in the mysterious labyrinth beneath the city streets.
Content warnings if known
None known
Why are you nominating this book: Carlos Ruiz Zafón is an extremely well-known, award-winning author, and I’d like to try one of his books. Marina is cited as one of his YA novels, so I thought it might be a good starting place.
Lobizona
Book: Lobizona | L30??
Genre: young adult, urban fantasy, possible spoilers: LGBTQ themes?
Length: 384
Is there an ebook available?: yes
Is there an audiobook available?: no?
Variety of Spanish: I think mostly Latin American Spanish, with some Argentine Spanish specifically. The book was originally published in English, but the note at the beginning talks about the decision to keep some of the voseo in, though it sounds like that’s mainly in the beginning portion of the book. It might be a good introduction to voseo, actually, if you’ve never encountered it before!
Summary - Spanish
Algunas personas son ilegales. Las lobizonas no existen. Estas dos afirmaciones son falsas. Manuela Azul se encuentra atrapada en una existencia que resulta demasiado pequeña para ella. Como inmigrante indocumentada que debe huir de la familia criminal de su padre en la Argentina, Manu se ve confinada a un pequeño apartamento y a una vida discreta en Miami, Florida. Hasta que la burbuja que la protegía estalla. Atacan a su abuela adoptiva. Muchas mentiras salen a la luz. El Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas arresta a su madre. Manu se queda sin hogar, sin respuestas y, ahora, sin cadenas que la aten.Investigará la única pista que tiene sobre su pasado: un misterioso emblema con forma de Z, que la guiará a un mundo secreto oculto en el nuestro. Un mundo conectado con su padre muerto y su pasado criminal. Un mundo sacado del folclore argentino, en el que la séptima hija consecutiva es una bruja y el séptimo hijo, un lobizón.
Summary - English
Some people ARE illegal.
Lobizonas do NOT exist.
Both of these statements are false.
Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who’s on the run from her father’s Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida.
Until Manu’s protective bubble is shattered.
Her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, and finally without shackles, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past―a mysterious “Z” emblem―which leads her to a secret world buried within our own. A world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong.
As Manu uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it’s not just her U.S. residency that’s illegal. . . .it’s her entire existence.
Why are you nominating this book: I discovered this series when trying to look up the word “lobizona” when reading a different book, and it seemed interesting to me, so I thought I’d give it a try! I’d hoped the YA label would make for a relatively breezy read, but I’d say it’s the hardest of the YA novels I’ve read so far, so keep that in mind ! It’s not a bad introduction to some aspects of Argentinian culture, folklore, and dialect, though!
Alguien para ti
Book: Alguien para ti (Sin miedo 1) (Random Cómics) | L30??
Genre: young adult, LGBTQ
Length: 336
Is there an ebook available?: yes
Is there an audiobook available?: yes
Variety of Spanish: Castillan Spanish
Summary - Spanish
Esta no es la típica historia de chico conoce a chico y, a veces, una simple semana puede cambiarte la vida. Descubre uno de los últimos fenómenos de Wattpad en forma de novela ilustrada.
Me llamo Óscar. Tengo 15 años y tengo un secreto: me gusta Pablo Bernabé, el chico guay de la clase, el deportista, el buenorro, el guapísimo, el… bueno, pilláis la idea, ¿verdad? Sí, vamos juntos a clase, pero yo creo que ni se sabe mi nombre. Y llevo tiempo pensándolo. ¿Y si me acerco y le saludo? ¿Qué es lo peor que podría pasar?
Why are you nominating this book: I’ve personally found YA books about everyday life to be very readable if you’ve had a couple years of Spanish in school and/or have gotten decently far in a typical beginner course (like Duolingo), so I thought one might be a good starter book for the club. I’ve never read this one, but my personal preference is for LGBTQ books, and this one seemed interesting enough and also has nice illustrations, which might help comprehension even more!
Mentirosa
Book: Mentirosa | L30??
Genre: young adult, LGBTQ
Length: 271
Is there an ebook available?: yes
Is there an audiobook available?: no?
Variety of Spanish: Castillan Spanish
Summary - Spanish
Nina Álvarez lo tiene todo. Es la capitana del equipo de baloncesto del instituto y una de las chicas más populares de la escuela. Eso sin contar con su prometedora carrera como influencer en las redes sociales.
Un desafortunado comentario en una fiesta. Un vídeo que no debería haber subido a las redes y un cúmulo de circunstancias adversas logran que su perfecta imagen se tambalee.
Tachada de homófoba, no solo está perdiendo seguidores en las redes, sino que varias universidades han decidido retirar sus becas para jugar al baloncesto.
En pánico, Nina toma una rápida decisión, saldrá con una de las chicas de su instituto. Alguien a quien sus populares amigas no soportan… Alexia Taylor.
Alexia es todo lo contrario a Nina. Inteligente y callada, no esconde sus preferencias sexuales. Su máxima aspiración es trabajar un día en la NASA y para eso debe mantener unas notas perfectas.
Por supuesto, la oferta de Nina no le interesa en absoluto, pero cuando su amiga Cris se mete por el medio, no será tan fácil negarse.
Why are you nominating this book: I picked it for the same reason as the last, which is that it seemed pretty approachable for people who might be new to reading native books in Spanish, and the summary sounded interesting enough.
La Ciudad de las Bestias
Book: La Ciudad de las Bestias | L30??
Genre: young adult, adventure, fantasy
Length: 304
Is there an ebook available?: yes
Is there an audiobook available?: yes
Variety of Spanish: Presumably Latin American
Summary - Spanish
En este primer volumen de las «Memorias del Águila y el Jaguar» Alexander Cold va a vivir una aventura que jamás olvidará.
Alexander Cold es un muchacho americano de quince años que parte al Amazonas con su abuela Kate, periodista especializada en viajes. La expedición se interna en la selva en busca de una extraña bestia gigantesca. Junto a su compañera de viaje, Nadia Santos, y un centenario chamán indígena, Alex conocerá un mundo sorprendente.
El universo ya conocido de Isabel Allende se amplía en La Ciudad de las bestias con nuevos elementos de realismo mágico, aventura y naturaleza. Los jóvenes protagonistas, Nadia y Alexander, se internan en la inexplorada selva amazónica llevando de la mano al lector en un viaje sin pausa por un territorio misterioso donde se borran los límites entre la realidad y el sueño, donde hombres y dioses se confunden, donde los espíritus andan de la mano con los vivos.
«Aquí está todo lo que soy yo: toda mi manera de ser y de ver el mundo.»
Summary - English
In this first volume of the “Memoirs of the Eagle and the Jaguar” Alexander Cold is going to live an adventure he will never forget.
Alexander Cold is a fifteen-year-old American boy who sets out for the Amazon with his grandmother Kate, a travel journalist. The expedition goes into the jungle in search of a strange giant beast. Together with his travel companion, Nadia Santos, and a centenarian indigenous shaman, Alex will discover a surprising world.
Isabel Allende’s already known universe is expanded in The City of Beasts with new elements of magical realism, adventure and nature. The young protagonists, Nadia and Alexander, enter the unexplored Amazon jungle, taking the reader by the hand on a non-stop journey through a mysterious territory where the boundaries between reality and dream are blurred, where men and gods are confused, where spirits walk hand in hand with the living.
“Here is everything that is me: my whole way of being and seeing the world.”
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Content warnings if known
Nothing I could see
Why are you nominating this book: This book came up a lot when I was searching for recommendations for Spanish learners. It’s young adult so hopefully a good level. Isabelle Allende is a very famous and popular author in Spanish, I’ve enjoyed all the English translations I’ve read of her works in the past.