Latinx Spiritualities in Young Adult Speculative Fiction analyzes how ancestral philosophical practices are preserved and wielded by Latina protagonist characters. I argue that late 20th to 21st century Latinx literature reclaims ancestral philosophies and disrupts colonial frameworks of knowledge production. I employ theoretical frameworks of archival methodologies from Aurora Levins Morales (2019), Solimar Otero (2020), and Marisa Fuentes (2018) to challenge histories and narratives of marginalization, invalidation, and dispossession. As case studies, I juxtapose three young adult speculative fiction series, Wolves of No World (2020), Brooklyn Brujas (2016), and Shadowshaper Cypher (2015) to acknowledge Afro-diasporic and Indigenous ancestral philosophies in Latinx speculative fiction, specifically though analysis of the Latina protagonists. I draw on Latina spiritualties to demonstrate how Latina protagonist subvert colonial ideologies, such as gender and ontology. Archival documents from the 17th and 18th century inquisition provide material evidence to show how practices such as shapeshifting are replicated in 21st century Latinx Literature. This scholarly work challenges discourses that invalidate spiritual practices as "superstition," while simultaneously examining the reclamation of Latinx ancestral knowledge within 21st century young adult literature.
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