34 Best Books About Puerto Rico

As a child, Isla spent her summers with her grandmother and great-aunt in Puerto Rico. Then, after her grandmother dies, she realizes she has her grandmother’s gift of being a cuentista (a storyteller), and she can really see the events in the stories she tells.

Then she sees a murder mystery, and, well…I’m guessing you know where this goes next. For fans of mysterious and suspense.

Elena’s relationship with her father is complicated. She has wanted so badly to know more about his past life, but before she can, he returns to Puerto Rico and they lose touch. Then, when Hurricane Maria strikes, he disappears and Elena travels to the island to search for him and maybe learn more about her family.

For fans of contemporary fiction and family stories and novels with a bit of suspense.

As both the Spanish-American war and a hurricane approach the colony of Puerto Rico, a couple is trying to keep their coffee farm in the mountains afloat.

In their desperation, they eventually move to Hawaii with the promise of sugar planation prosperity.

For fans of historical and literary fiction.

In the mid-1800s, Ana marries Ramón and they move from Spain to the sugar plantation he has inherited in Puerto Rico. There, she finds a new home.

But when the Civil War breaks out the US, everything she loves may be at stake. For fans of historical fiction.

In this novel about the slave trade in Puerto Rico, Pola is traumatized over and over again as she is purchased as a breeder to grow slavery.

By all accounts, this is a brutal read, but it is still a story about hope and survival, as Pola finds support, love, and community.

For fans of historical fiction who can deal with some trauma.

In Puerto Rico, América works as a hotel maid. She has an alcoholic mother, an abusive boyfriend, and a difficult teenage daughter. So when she get an offer to move to New York and become a live-in maid, it seems like her chance to escape. But can you ever truly escape?

For fans of contemporary fiction.

In this novel set in Puerto Rico, a husband and wife recall the history of their nation through their family stories as the wife writes about them.

This book was a finalist for the National Book Award and is for fans of literary fiction.

A writer in San Juan, Puerto Rico discovers he has a stalker. The stalker turns out to be a Chinese immigrant, and they discover they may have more in common than they thought as they struggle to find belonging.

For fans of literary fiction and books about writers.

This short story collection is set in a gay community in Puerto Rico and explores what it means to survive in a world that seems against you.

For fans of gay and queer literature and short story collections.

When Bimbo’s mother is murdered, he and his group of friends swear they will get revenge. But then they learn that she was killed by a powerful drug lord in Puerto Rico, and their desire for vengeance gets more complicated. Plus theirs a hurricane coming.

For fans of horror and thrillers.

If you want a read that truly encapsulates a wild time in Puerto Rico, here it is. Set in 1950s San Juan, this book is mostly about a journalist drinking, cavorting, and falling into schemes in Puerto Rico.

I’ll be honest, this one isn’t on my list personally. But my husband read it at the beach one year and really enjoyed it.

For fans of books that just take you along for the wild ride.

I haven’t seen very many books set specifically on the island of Vieques, here here is one! It’s about Libby, who has overcome a cancer diagnosis and should be happy with her life.

But her whole family seems to be down in the dumps, so they take a vacation to Vieques, where she and her husband first fell in love. And when they face a tropical storm, it may help them come together in new ways. For fans of women’s fiction.

In the Puerto Rican mountains, Verdita is on the brink of becoming a young woman. But really she longs to be an American and also to not have her life change so drastically as she grows or give up the American things she loves.

This is for fans of women’s fiction and coming of age stories.

If you want a complete history of Puerto Rico, this is the book to turn to. Meléndez-Badillo begins before the arrival of colonists and takes readers all the way up to more modern-day history. And despite all the history it’s still just over 300.

For fans of history.

In 1950, the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico tried to mount an insurrection against the United States. It failed, and it resulted in violence across the island (including the first time the US government bombed its own citizens).

It’s a shocking history but an important one, and this one is definitely on my TBR.

This is for fans of history and books about lesser known historical events.

I think the subtitle of this book says it all. Puerto Rico has been used as a US colony but not supported, which was especially evident in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

Here, Morales explores the history of Puerto Rico and US relations, the harm it has done to Puerto Rico, and what a decolonized future could look like.

For fans of geopolitical non-fiction and history.

In this coming of age memoir, Díaz tells about her life growing up in Puerto Rico and then later in Miami. Her mother was plagued with mental illness and her life saw plenty of trauma and violence. But she also found support in friendships and pride in her culture.

For fans of memoirs (and definitely look up the content warnings here if you are a sensitive reader).

Esmeralda Santiago grew up in Puerto Rico, but when her mother moves the family to New York she must learn a new way to be.

She really lives the classic American dream, eventually ending up at Harvard. But her road to get there isn’t easy, and it is filled questions about her true identity as a Puerto Rican in America.

This is actually sitting on my TBR shelf, so I hope to read it soon! For fans of memoirs.

This colorful board book will introduce kids to the food, signs, and people of Puerto Rico! And in the back of the book there are more details that adults and older kids will appreciate about each item or place introduced in the text. Recommended ages: 0-5 years.

When Miguel’s family moves from Puerto Rico to New York City, he has to leave the life he loves behind, including Coquí, his pet frog. Soon though, he discovers that NYC can feel familiar too. This is a super adorable book that I really love (especially because I love hearing coquís in Puerto Rico too). Recommended ages: 3-7 years.

Carlitos loves his home with his mother, grandmother, and cat. But he also feels like part of his identity is missing, and he goes across the bay to search for his father in Old San Juan. This book has imaginative illustrations that really take you through San Juan. Recommended ages: 3-7 years.

Pura Belpré grew up in Puerto Rico surrounded by her grandmother’s stories. When she moved to Harlem, she became the first Latina librarian in New York City. Missing her grandmother’s stories, she started offering story time in both English and Spanish, a new concept that welcomed a new community to the library. Recommended ages: 4-8 years.

Another story about famous Puerto Rican Pura Belpré, who became New York’s first Latina librarian and revolutionized storytime by promoting bilingual children’s stories. I think kids who love storytime at the library will especially love this book about other kids going to story time and a famous librarian who read to children and planted seeds of those stories throughout a community. Recommended ages: 4-8 years.

Ren loves his home near El Yunque in Puerto Rico, where he spends his days and nights surrounded by the wilds of the forest. But when he moves to New York, he feels lonely and lost…the perfect opportunity for a new friend to help. Recommended ages: 4-8 years.

This picture book tells the story of famous Puerto Rican Robert Clemente, who became the first Latin American player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Perfect if your kids are looking for books on famous Latin Americans, plus it includes a timeline of Clemente’s life. Recommended ages: 6-10 years.

In María’s new school, her teacher wants to call her Mary because they already have two Marías. But her name is an important part of who she is and of her Puerto Rican heritage, and she wants to find a way to help her teacher understand. Recommended ages: 7-10 years.

Carolina is 11 years old when her family moves from Puerto Rico to upstate New York. There, she attends summer camp with her cousin (who she doesn’t really like), but finds solace in her art and her new friend Jennifer as she remembers her life in Puerto Rico. Recommended ages: 8-12 years.

After a fight at school, Marcus’s mother decides they need a change and takes him and his brother to spend a week in Puerto Rico with family. But Marcus, who hasn’t seen his father in ten years, knows that his father is somewhere in Puerto Rico and goes in search for him. Recommended ages: 10-13 years.

Being Puerto Rican doesn’t just mean one thing. In this graphic novel anthology, multiple Puerto Rican comic artists explore their Puerto Rican identity. Profits from this book go toward disaster relief programs that support Puerto Rico. Recommended ages: 13 and up.

Lucas spends the summers in Puerto Rico with his father, a hotel developer. There, he hears stories about a cursed girl, and when his own girlfriend disappears, he turns to this cursed girl to solve the mystery. Recommended ages: 13 and up.

When protests from the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican activist group, erupt on the streets of Harlem, Evelyn Serrano is dumped into the drama. And it just may change her outlook on both her Puerto Rican heritage and her Puerto Rican grandmother who has come to live with them.

Bonus, you probably know Sonia Manzano because she played Maria on Sesame Street!

Recommended ages: 14 and up.