National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept. 15-Oct. 15, "celebrates the contributions Americans tracing their roots to Spain, Mexico, Central America, South American and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean have made to American society and culture," according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rosaura "Chawa" Magaña, owner of Palabras Bilingual Bookstore in Phoenix, suggested 20 books by Latinx authors— a gender-neutral term for Latino people — that Arizonans can read in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Magaña's picks include Erika L. Sánchez's "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" and "The Devil's Highway" by  Luis Alberto Urrea.

Maritza Cardenas, an associate professor in the University of Arizona's English department whose academic work focuses include Central Americans in the U.S. and the formation of transnational communities, also suggested more than 20 memoirs, essays, poetry anthologies, collections and novels.

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