Perusing your friends’ bookshelves, there are always a handful of familiar names that stand out: Salinger, Hemingway, Woolf — authors you first discovered (or were forced to read) in high school. Whether you love them or hate them, have read their books once or until the spines have come undone, as writers they all have the unique quality of relating to both the adolescent and adult you.

Below are five Mexican authors who occupy the same hallowed space on the bookshelves of Latin America’s 20-something-year-olds. Comprised of one-hit wonders and national heroes, these are the Mexican writers you didn’t read in class.