2025 Glimmers
come tell me your joys
Anybody else struggle with that end-of-year seesaw feeling?
I always find myself simultaneously making lists for all the goals I want to accomplish in the coming year while also aching over everything I didn’t get to in this one. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t get to a lot.) We’re not here to count the losses, though!
It’s time for a joy-filled…..
….END OF YEAR WRAP-UP!
Because yes, this year had a lot of heartache - but wonderful things have happened too. And it’s good to make ourselves remember.
So come celebrate the wins with me. And while we’re at it, tell me something you’re celebrating in the comments below! We can be happy for each other together 💙.
xoxo, Andrea
I PUBLISHED MY THIRD BOOK. It’s All or Nothing, Vale / Todo o nada, Valentina came out in February, and I feel incredibly honored to have had it featured on the Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2025 list, on the Chicago Public Library’s 2025 Best Books for Older Readers list, and on the 2025 Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth list. It was also an International Latino Book Awards honor book in the poetry category and an Open Books middle school selection. I even got a spread in El Nuevo Día! MOST IMPORTANTLY, it’s a book that’s resonated with a lot of kids (and kids at heart!), and I’ve treasured every hand-written letter, email, and school visit.
I GOT TO ANNOUNCE MY NEW BOOK (& share the cover!). NO PLACE ON EARTH will be coming out on August 25, 2026 and it’s now available for pre-order ❤️. I love Gustavo with all my heart and I cannot wait for readers to meet him.
AND FINALLY: I VISITED FESTIVALS, CONFERENCES & SCHOOLS! I know things are a little trickier now that I’m back in Puerto Rico and have to cross an ocean every time I travel, but the Texas Library Association Conference and the National Book Festival were absolutely wonderful, and my favorite part was getting to meet the teachers and librarians that make my career possible. And as for school visits - y’all know how much I love them!!! I didn’t get to do very many this year, but 2026 is shaping up to be a lot busier - I’ll actually be in Nebraska, Massachusetts, and New York in the first quarter of the year 🤩. That being said, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’ve been considering a virtual or in person visit. We can work something out 😊.
I read a lot of good books this year. These were my 10 favorite adult books, in no particular order:
We Will Be Jaguars by Nemonte Nenquimo
The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
Behooved by M. Stevenson
Village Weavers by Myriam J.A. Chancy
Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi
House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson
Medea me cantó un corrido by Dahlia de la Cerda
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
And my 10 favorite kid/teen books, in no particular order:
The Corruption of Hollis Brown (YA) by K. Ancrum
The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang (MG) by Stan Yan
Silenced Voices (YA) by Pablo Leon
The Darkness Outside Us / The Brightness Between Us (YA Duology) by Eliot Schrefer
Needy Little Things (YA) by Channelle Desamours
Bea Mullins Takes a Shot (MG) by Emily Deibert
The Story of My Anger (YA) by Jasminne Mendez
Fireblooms (YA) by Alexandra Villasante
Hell Followed With Us (YA) by Andrew Joseph White
Blood in the Water (MG) by Tiffany D. Jackson
I also did a gaming wrap-up on my Instagram which you can check out here! Good stories are good stories and my brain loves gaming almost as much as it does reading.
Finally, I’ve tried this ins & outs thing twice now and each time it has gone marginally better, so I’m trying again in the hope that 2026 is the year. So this is what I’m hoping to lean into and out of during 2026:
INS
More in-person hangouts. I want to aim for one group hang + one 1-on-1 per month. (FYI this goal is only possible because of the AMAZING friends I’ve gotten adopted by this year! Les amo.)
More outside movement! I’ve been very consistent with the gym since I started going in April, but I want to start hiking and walking regularly too.
More analog hobbies 🙌. Santa brought me a journal and I’m really looking forward to documenting life off the internet.
OUTS
Skimping on therapy. (This is a repeat from last year.) I said I was gonna get a therapist in PR and I still have not. And you know what? I felt it 🫣. I’ve mourned the loss of my previous therapist for too long and I need to just bite the bullet and get a new one.
Comparing myself to people on the internet. It’s not real!!
Holding onto past hurts and things/people/attitudes that don’t serve me. 2026 will be the year of letting go.
Anyways, that’s all folks! Thanks for reading my extra long December musings and I’ll see you in the new year. Until next time,
Yes to all the in person hang out and analog hobbies. We need to do a journaling date.
thank you for the glimmers<3