Included as a top pick in bimonthly August New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached).

Holy wow, this book.

I knew I would love this as soon as I read the description, and then the cover came out and I fell even more in love!

This is such a wonderful timely YA fantasy, it's just so damn good!

Let's start with our sweet Manu. She's been sheltered her entire life, because her father's family is looking for her, and they're "very dangerous people." You'd think it would be easy enough to disappear in Miami. Buuuuut Manu's eyes are a dead giveaway: they're golden suns with silver star pupils.

She's such a brave character, and I love that we learn about her new world as she learns about it too. She's in a constant state of tension, as she's an undocumented immigrant in the US, as well as undocumented in the world of brujas and lobizones. She can't risk anyone finding out anything about her. She's literally dreamed of this life since she was thirteen, and still learns something new every day.

I love how much she loves one of my favorite authors, Gabriel García Márquez, too.

Romina Garber has found such a beautiful, lyrical way to challenge, well, everything! Sexism, misogyny, homophobia, immigration status...this is a perfect read for 2020, and I cannot WAIT for the sequel.

A lovely immersive read, I give Lobizona 5 out of 5 yerba mates. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing a copy in exchange for review.

There are so many things to love about Lobizona. The magic worldbuilding, the friendship dynamics, the complicated family history - it’s so good. I was struck by the challenging and raw details about the main character’s immigration status and the fact that she never felt safe and home, in the real world or in the magical academy where she finds herself. I know so many readers will see themselves in this story and fall in love with the characters in this book. I can’t wait for the next book in this series so I can jump back into this fresh and original fantasy world that Romina Garber so skillfully created.

Manuela Azul must run. Her mother has been captured by ICE, her grandmother is recovering in the hospital, and her father is dead. With nowhere to turn in Miami, Manuela flees to the Everglades, hoping to stay out of sight and retain her freedom. What she finds there in the Everglades is a secret connection to her family's past, an explanation behind her monthly dreams, and the realization that her family wasn't only hiding from ICE. Manuela's heritage is steeped in Argentinian folklore, however for her the discovery of that heritage carries danger in its wake, for she, and only she, is the product of an illicit union. Others like her are killed at birth. Despite the wonders she's found in the Everglades, Manuela must decide whether it's worth risking everything to live an honest and open life, or whether it's better to remain in the shadows and on the run forevermore.⁣
⁣
Lobizona is exactly what I needed from a book right now! Main character with an affinity for the moon? Check! Split between two worlds, unable to live safely in either? Check! Personal growth in order to find her most authentic self? Check! Manuela struggles to figure out what she wants to do with her unique life, and how best to approach the bind she finds herself in. A quote I loved is, "Why settle for being a son of the system, when you can mother a movement?" The other characters Manuela meets also deal with their own struggles, and are trying to find their place in a world that pigeonholes them into rigid roles. I really appreciated how Romina Garber wove the moon and menstrual cycles meaningfully into the story, and how she also normalized it. The writing about undocumented immigrants and their struggle to find security and peace was spot on. There were some tropey aspects, but I feel that was unavoidable while dealing with so much other complex subject matter. Manuela is a great character who has to fight against so much to find a place in the world, and I devoured her journey and was left wanting more. I can't wait for the sequel already!⁣
⁣⁣⁣
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 rounded to 5 stars!

Things and people will exist that some will invariably think should not belong in the world, but those naysayers are proved quite wrong in Lobizona by Romina Garber.

Manuela, Manu, Azul has led a sheltered life while on the run with her mother from her father's family, confined within a small apartment in Miami as an undocumented immigrant from Argentina and hiding behind sunglasses when among others to shield them from seeing her incredibly unique eyes. After Manu's latest lunaritis period, her senses have heightened, making her notice odd things taking place around her surrogate grandmother Perla's home; these odd things culminate in Perla being attacked and Manu's mom being detained by ICE. With few options left to her, Manu seizes control of her life and pursues a route she hopes will provide answers about father, leading her toward a world she only experienced in her lunaritis dreams and the stories Perla told her about brujas and lobizónes, but it might just be a place she could finally belong.

A richly imagined and presented tale that wrestles with the struggle of finding and asserting your identity while weaving in magical realism through mythical elements from Argentinian lore. The exploration of belonging and embracing your true identity is well conveyed, demonstrating that there's not one "right" way to be and that it's relative to each individual. The open discussion of menstruation was quite novel and it played a fairly significant role in the story's development, which otherwise followed quite closely with other very familiar and predictable YA tropes, particularly around romantic involvement. Fantasy stories have long been venues to discuss topical issues in a manner that's more palatable for the masses than a direct discussion, but this tale takes the issues of immigration and gender a step further by anchoring the same discussion in both the real and fantasy worlds and forcing their intersection, though a majority of the deeper realizations take place within the fantasy world.

Overall, I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Very heavy handed with references (and direct statements) to current anti-immigration/refugee sentiments and LGBT discrimination/gender equality, especially in US. First scene of the book is an ICE raid on MC's building that is home to immigrants and refugees from Latin America. Also talks about menstruation and debilitating cramps (one of the first YAs I've seen do so). Absolutely loved the fantasy elements - can't remember the last YA werewolf story I've read and loved. Contains my absolute favorite description of Magical Realism - "Sometimes reality strays so far from what's rational that we can only explain it through fantasy." My fav YA read since Erin Bowman's Contagion.

There's too much cursing for me to add this to my Middle School collection, but EVERY High School should have this book on their shelves. Topical but in an accessible format (fantasy but with contemporary problems). Anticipate this being on many award lists in the coming years, as it should be. Can't wait to see this on the NYT Bestsellers list.

This review can also be found on my blog, Where the Words Take Me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC and to Wednesday Books for asking me to participate in the Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review.

Lobizona by Romina Garber covers a variety of angles and experiences, and for that reason, it’s a somewhat tricky novel for me to review. Allow me to state early on that my rating is much closer to 3.5 stars than 4—but I believe in rounding up half ratings and have always done so with other books in the past. The things that Lobizona does well, I was incredibly endeared to, but there were also many elements that I either didn’t care for or left little impression on me.

At its heart, Lobizona is about the Latinx immigrant experience in America and how the experience—while shared—is ultimately different for each generation of a Latinx family. For instance, Manu’s mother Soledad, who brings Manu to America when Manu is a child, faces a different set of struggles than Manu even though they share the same fear of being deported. Soledad had to sacrifice her dream of practicing in the medical field, so she and Manu could be safe—and presumably so Manu could have a better life. Manu grows up with greater, stronger ties to America and its culture than she does to Argentina, which Soledad and their fellow Argentine immigrant Perla can only share with her through language and stories.

And each in their own ways, Manu, Soledad, and even Perla by association find themselves caught between two worlds—well, make that three: Argentina, America, and the mystical Lunaris. It’s this pull and tug, this question of belonging, of where home truly is that Garber demonstrates with aplomb in Lobizona, which makes sense given Garber’s own personal experiences.

We also have the discourse that is at the heart of every immigration conversation: the illegal immigrant and what the repercussions are when you view a fellow human being as being illegal, as if you’re debating whether they have a right to exist the same as you. Readers are being asked to examine that as we follow Manu, who has been declared “an illegal” for different reasons by the U.S. government and the Septimus, which is both the people and ruling body of Lunaris. Yet Manu is also a teenage girl who just wants to have normal teenage experiences: a school to attend, friends to hang out with, a first crush, freedom.

The emphasis on cracking down upon illegal immigration in America has done its far share of fostering xenophobia within the nation. Politicians like to create an “Us versus Them” mentality and encourage that we view people who look or sound different than us as Others. It’s much harder to do that when you can empathize with people instead. When you can see their dreams, hopes, and desires reflected in your own. As a white, native-born American, I can’t identify with or claim any part of Manu’s experience as an Argentine immigrant, but I can understand her heart and what she wants. At the same time, I can’t ignore the privileges that my citizen status and my skin color give me that make it much easier for me to achieve my dreams over Manu achieving hers. The playing field is nowhere close to level, and Lobizona demonstrates that point in both overt and subtle ways throughout. It’s in the characters’ fear of law enforcement and how Manu especially has to hold herself back and make herself smaller to keep from being noticed.

Every scene that involved the ICE gave me chills and churned my stomach. The dread and fear roll off the page, and it’s impossible to not be affected by it. If prior to reading this book you didn’t know that the U.S.’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a despicable agency devoid of empathy, then you will probably gain a better understanding of them here. I find them antithetical to the ideals this country claims to uphold, not to mention going against everything that lovely poem says on the Statue of Liberty. You know the one.

However, it isn’t all hardship and despair. Much of Lobizona is also about rebellion, especially against the unfair and the unjust. There’s a certain rebellion that happens when you’re proud about who you are and where you come from when it’s not the dominant culture. As a result, Garber has poured so much Argentine joy into her work. It’s in the loving descriptions of food and drink. It’s in the emphasis about family and community and folklore. It’s in the full-blown Spanish that appears on the page by an actual Spanish-speaking writer, not someone who’s relying on their long-ago high school classes, Google translate, and a prayer.

Then, there’s the characters, starting with Manu. She is a malleable character to start with, and a large part of her journey is her figuring out how to take the path she wants rather than go along with everyone else for x, y, z reason. Hers is a journey of discovering independence along with what her role is within a community and how she can shape it for the better. Of discovering what she truly wants and where she belongs.

That isn’t to say her character isn’t frustrating at times. I found myself at odds with many of her choices the further the book went, but I can’t ignore that she’s young, sheltered, and suddenly on her own, and who can’t sympathize with that? I think I was so frustrated because I was rooting for her so bad that I made myself impatient for her to take the reins and create the life she wants for herself. I’m invested in Manu, but in truth, she’s not where the majority of my investment is anymore.

That would be Saysa and Catalina. Saysa has that blend of kindness that also possesses a backbone of steel. Catalina, meanwhile, has an emotional iciness that puts a barrier between her and others, but it comes from a place of wanting to protect herself and others because she feels so much yet so much is also expected of her. I’d read more about both of them, especially Saysa, who is here to get so much stuff done. I really liked them both as individuals but also together in every facet of their relationship. I loved seeing friends and loved ones support and respect each other while not being afraid to argue or voice separate opinions and still be able to talk to each other after the fact.

Tiago, on the other hand, I have mixed feelings about. There are facets about him that I liked—such as the fact that he’s a big reader and collects banned texts—but so much of him is devoted to being Manu’s love interest, and I did not care for their romance at all. Unlike Manu, I find his indecisiveness to be extremely unattractive, and I also got really tired of hearing how musical his voice sounds every time he speaks. Their friendship is interesting, and I wouldn’t have minded seeing their relationship progress to romance organically. What actually happened was far too fast and literal instalove as Manu herself declares she’s in love with him despite only knowing him for a month. Her mother’s romance with Fierro—which was only seen in disjointed flashbacks—was more engaging.

The entire time, the tension between Manu and Tiago only stems from Tiago already being in a relationship with Catalina. Eventually, the situation has light shed on it, but I really disliked reading a romance for most of the book that read like cheating but also “we just can’t help ourselves.” This situation turned me off from the whole thing, and with more books to come, I can’t help wondering, where is left for Manu and Tiago’s romance to go? We blazed through it at lightning speed. I know Latinx readers haven’t had their share of seeing themselves portrayed in YA romance nor the terrible tropes like instalove that can come with it. That doesn’t mean writers should be lazy with romance, either, and that’s a true statement I express across the board. Not everything has to be a slowburn and some things shouldn’t be, but at least give us something to believe in and also invest in. This just wasn’t it.

Carlos and Jazmín can choke, too, but that’s about all I have to say about them or anyone else. No other characters made much impression on me. Well, okay, one other one did, but that’s a spoiler.

The pacing was also not the best. I was engaged with the first third or so. When I wasn’t busy being intrigued with the mystery behind Manu’s existence along with her, I was being pulled into the tense atmosphere or the sudden, frantic action of the story.

Then came Manu’s entrance to El Laberinto and its academy, where I perked up even more… only for my excitement to wane as nothing much happened when there should’ve been given the circumstances behind Manu arriving there. I enjoyed learning about the world building alongside Manu, and I loved that everyone had glowing eyes that reacted to their powers. That’s my jam always! But Manu’s fear of being discovered meant she took a backseat on most things—or tried to—so things weren’t as exciting as they could’ve been if she had been in a position to participate earnestly. I understood her predicament and enjoyed seeing how she evaded detection at first, but then the incompetency of the teachers and Cazadores became too comical to believe.

The entire time, I couldn’t help but wonder, Manu, girl, what about your mom? How are you here having minimal fun at magic school when your mom’s in the situation she’s in? I felt such an urgency to what was going on in the human world that I became impatient with Manu and her insistence on staying in El Laberinto. Once she learns and reveals that she’s a lobizona instead of a bruja—not exactly a spoiler since the title sadly gives it away—I thought the pace would pick up again, but it continued to wane. In fact, I became more frustrated than ever.

I soon realized after this that I had been much more interested in the brujas and their magic over the lobizones. Manu switching to lobizón lessons was a bore for me. I have personally never been into werewolves very much. They’re easily some of my least favorite magical creatures to read about, but I was excited to have my mind changed here since these werewolves are attached to Argentine culture and form half of a unique society.

Unfortunately, they don’t stand out that much or seem too remarkably different from any other brand of werewolf out there. They still have an alpha wolf (no mention of betas or omegas) and a pack mentality that has never resonated with me in any way. They play an extremely rough sport called Septibol, which strikes me as a blend of soccer and rugby, and they’re meant to protect the brujas when they travel to the dangerous world of Lunaris every full moon.

This is where the worst thing about these werewolves—and the Septimus society at large— comes into play: everything is built on a gender binary that is loaded with sexism and misogyny. Only lobizones can play on the Septibol field, while brujas must say on the sidelines “for their safety” as they use magic to influence the game. No bruja can go unescorted outside of the Citadel while in Lunaris; a werewolf must always accompany them. While homosexual relationships aren’t strictly forbidden by law, same-sex marriages aren’t allowed in Septimus society, because everyone has to pair up and make babies. Even being infertile is a cause for disgrace and arrest. Everything is about reproduction for the survival of the species. And boy, do I hate that.

It’s a rare day that I pick up a book with a fantasy element where I also want to read about sexism and misogyny in said fantasy world. When Lobizona settled on this route, I felt like it was taking on too much at once without giving every issue proper space and nuance. Reading about Manu’s immigrant experience—first in America and then as it related to Lunaris—was poignant. Reading about how unfair it was that boys play a sport that girls can’t, and there needs to be a gender revolution because of it was kinda juvenile. To be clear, the gender issues brought up in this book are serious ones in real life; it’s just that whenever the characters bring them up, the dialogue surrounding them in the text feels incredibly heavy-handed. I had thought once Manu became a lobizona and essentially broke the gender binary as a result, we would get somewhere deeper, but, well…

Since so much of the gender and misogyny discussion centers around Septibol, I considered that it’s likely related to the message about how lauded men’s sports teams are in Argentina and the U.S. (and the rest of the world) while women’s sports teams are largely underfunded and underpaid despite being made of athletes who usually perform better and accomplish greater feats with little recognition. This view of women—of the skills they have and the results they produce—as being lesser than men doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It all stems from a deeper place. All women have felt the effects of sexism in our day-to-day lives, some worse than others depending on the culture and society.

I just really, really, really, really didn’t want to read about it right now in a YA fantasy book with witches and werewolves. This was an extra contemporary element that took me out of the magic that Garber was trying to create. Sure, maybe she was trying to show the reader and Manu that no place is perfect, that you will probably encounter new problems by trying to run away from your old ones, which is a great message to have. But I rather felt like Manu had plenty of old and new problems to be dealing with without needing to overthrow the patriarchy, too.

This problem is just a personal reading preference of mine; there have been few fiction books with worlds built on sexism and misogyny that I have enjoyed, and no, The Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t one of them. That honor might actually go solely to We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia.

Finally, there’s the too many Harry Potter references. Listen, I am a big fan of Harry Potter (Slytherin House is best house), but I did not care for the constant comparisons Lobizona made to it. Especially given J.K. Rowling’s recent transphobic statements when Lobizona is attempting a feminist narrative, but I recognize that book has been finished well before anything could be done to remove these comparisons. I know how to separate art from the artist and in fact do so every day with many creations, but I know some people “can’t” do that or refuse to, so I hope this doesn’t hurt the book and this series in the future. I hope people still give it a chance because there’s a lot about it I think readers will love, both the same things I did and the things I didn’t.

I acknowledge that Garber was doing it as a fan of Harry Potter herself, and she was likely making these comparisons as a form of self-awareness of the tropes her book shares with Harry Potter: a seemingly ordinary girl thrown into a world of magic with no prior knowledge about it; a magical school; a separate world from the mundane human world; witches and werewolves; truth potions and a magical sport; etc. I also acknowledge that, as a Latinx immigrant who grows up in a different culture, you have to assimilate a bit to that culture if you want to get its references. The U.S. culture largely doesn’t know any Argentine stories, but they certainly know Harry Potter.

However, it’s for that very reason that I wish Garber had included more Argentine literature in her book rather than having Manu constantly compare her life to Harry Potter and also Elizabeth Bennet. I wish Cien Años de Soledad had been integrated much more strongly in their places instead, given it’s a story Manu has interesting ties about with her mother. That isn’t to say I have a right or a demand to be told that story. I just hope if Garber wishes to share more Argentine stories and folklore that she will feel confident that she can do so even more than she already has and can trust that her readers will keep reading. I’m definitely a person where I would rather read or learn something new than be told the same things over and over. That’s a large reason why I pick up diverse books; the unfamiliar in this case isn’t intimidating but warmly welcomed.

Currently, I am open to continuing this series, particularly if Garber leans further into her strengths and those of her characters while developing the story’s weaker elements more. I’d like to see Manu with a new direction, one of determination. I’d like to see what her and Tiago are like past the growing pains of whatever this book’s romance was. I’d like to see what a female werewolf is capable of in a world determined to keep her in line. I’d like to see where Saysa and Catalina will grow and where their paths will take them. I want to at last see this cursed city in Argentina the synopsis hinted at that we never got to. And if we must have a revolution over who has a right to exist that also includes eliminating sexism, then I hope it’s one treated with care toward a brighter, more inclusive future.

triggers for sexual assault, prejudice, homophobia, and violence

Freshly wrought. Inked with permanence, like documents. Rooted in colonialism and rebellion, Garber’s Lobizona shows the past impacts the future. Remember the stories of immigrants and their experiences. Through the past and into magical portals, we see magic has room for Argentinean teens.

Manuela’s life is centered by her identity as an Argentinean immigrant living in the United States. Documents surround her existence, a constant reminder of what will arrive in the mail. Her mother, taken by ICE, forces Manuela to see a new life: one of magic, transformation, and true origins.

Lobizón refers to the myth of the South American werewolf. It stems from European werewolf myths with the luison, which is from the stories of the Guaraní, an indigenous tribe in South America.

Garber forms a world of banned books, magical institutes, of law enforcement and military control, documents and identity, rage and binary systems, icy witches and sporty werewolves. Inspired by the impacts the tyrannical and violent military dictatorship, Guerra Sucia, had on her people, Garber relates the trauma that undocumented immigrants experience by using fantasy as a medium to tell a beautiful and enjoyable story.

Manu walks through the mist and enters a portal and into a magical world: El Laberinto, a territory of brujas and werewolves (or Septimus).

Lets just stop for a second. Please just appreciate that a magical Latinx led academy is right smack in the Everglades. Racist Hogwarts can’t compare.

Manuella’s references to Harry Potter remind me that this world isn’t exclusive to white magical kids. I want to point out that while Garber references Harry Potter she does so to make a point. She doesn’t praise or uplift it and instead seems to critique it negatively to make a point about the exclusivity of Rowling’s world.

This is a dream come true for all Latinx kids that felt they could never be worthy of seeing themselves in a magical story. Garber makes discussions around immigration, documents, and tyranny complex on a level that those outside of those experiences cannot. She has the range.

Welcome to the revolution, gentlepeople.

Manuella builds a tight knit group with Cata, Saysa, and Tiago. A group of gaggling puppy werewolves have their back at every turn. This book just gets better with each touch and every sentence. Guaranteed: this book will turn you into some frenzied ravenous werewolf and you’ll end up digging around in your fridge at 3 am for bookish snacks. I can’t say the last time a truly fun paranormal ever did that for me.

This book transformed into some furry sharp toothed book of magical rage and hot spicy relationships.

I am ride or die for this group. I am Han Solo runnning, shooting, screaming at the resistance; all be damned if his friends die. I’m all about the anti-toxic masculinity narratives Garber has for us. I’m all about boy werewolves that are sweet on their friends and bloody beasts against their enemies.

The way these boys fight against their binary world lights my heart on fire.

I don’t often read teen boys who are feminists. If you want girls who drone on about magical boys: Manu’s waxings on Tiagos’ ‘sonrisa’ eyes had me fainting like a feminist damsel in distress. Grave distress. Give me the burn! I pine for it daily. Give me a girl who waxes poetry about sweet eyes anytime. Can we also talk about how beautiful it is to hear two people speak sweet nothings in Spanish to each other? Lobizona has my whole heart.

These romantic monster fights is where literature is at. I accept no other questions at this time.

I will be waiting impatiently to assassinate my way through publishing in order to read all about Garber’s revolutionary brujas and lobizón.

Thank you Wedneday Books for an advanced readers copy via Netgalley.

Social Justice Topics:
▪️Immigration
▪️Racial Discrimination
▪️Me Too Movement
▪️LGBTQ+

Grade Level: 7 and up

“When we use labels like illegal, we negate a person’s worth and humanity, and the real dangers they’re running from—dangers that are not contained by borders because they were born from ideas” -Romina Garber

Wow. Wow. Wow. Lobizona has officially been moved to my FAVORITE YA novel.
Garber created a novel similar to Divergent, but built on something far more powerful—social justice. Her novels created a world, I hadn’t realized I needed, that focuses on the unjust treatment of immigrants, the bias caused by sexism and mysogyny, and the inequalities for people in the LGBTQ+ community.
I’ve already preordered this book for myself...I know for a fact I’ll talk about it with my students, but we’ll see if I’m willing to share my sacred copy.
August 4th. GET THIS BOOK.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for the digital ARC of this book!

Lobizona was completely different from what I was expecting.

Sixteen year old Manu has stayed hidden her entire life, confined to her tiny apartment in Miami, FL. Whether she's hiding from ICE or her mysterious father's people who would love to get their hands on her and her mother, Manu has had to stay under the radar. Even her appearance, with her eyes like the sun and pupils like stars, make her a target. When she's introduced to a world, a world where she finds she belongs, she learns about the brujas and lobizones and her life takes a very different path from staying hidden.

Infused with magical realism and Argentine folklore, this book was a journey. We see in the beginning how undocumented people in the US live their lives in fear of ICE, and when Manu gets to the Academy where the brujas and lobizones are taught, she realizes she's still illegal. Her existence is still considered less than those around her. We even see how living in a society where people are placed into boxes based on their biological sex, where women are expected to produce children or face legal ramifications, weighs on those that can't quite find it in themselves to fit into those boxes. Couldn't, even if they wanted to.

The story is interesting and the mystery of Manu's father is weaved throughout to keep you wondering. I actually really appreciated the up front period talk in this book. Manu's power is directly related to the full moon, to when she has her period. I really love the thought of a woman's cycle being tied to her magic. The school she's at is not your average wizard academy, but it did have enough HP references to almost force you to draw comparisons. From an over zealous teacher to a made up magical sport, there are definite similarities, but enough differences that it still felt new.

The romance was a sure case of instalove, and I have to admit I wasn't totally feeling it throughout the book. Tiago was an okay character I guess, but I kept thinking there was something off about it. By the end it's hinted that there's a deeper reason for the instalove, and it's pretty obvious what it'll be, but we don't get the straight answer I wish we had just yet!

Manu's friends, Cata and Saysa, were good friends, and it was nice to see. Even Cata who was supposed to be a bit of a frenemy was still loyal and wanted to do the right thing. The girls working together and sharing a bond was an important part of the story and the support was empowering.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was entertaining magical realism without being overly complicated and although we do see some of the normal YA tropes, it's different enough to feel new.

I really loved how this book tackled harder topics like immigration and being illegal in american. I really enjoy that part of the book. I struggled a tad with the pacing and feeling connected to the characters. It was read that did capture my attention. I really did like the like the magic system, its reminded almost of the avatar system, but i struggled with the pacing of the year. I think if you like gritty reads or reads set in the modern world with a fun magic system, this might be the read for you

4.5 stars

I’ll be completely honest. I knocked this book’s rating down a half-star just because it took about 20% before the real magic and action started to happen. It was still an interesting opening. We get a peek into Manu’s illegal life, pretty much isolated, always feeling like she’s in hiding, terrified of being discovered and locked up. In many ways this does feel like a quite timely novel. I live in the US, and between the coronavirus and racial inequality and immigration status and riots and protests, this story sadly rings fairly true to me.

But Lobizona adds that little bit of magic to the story as well. The way that the Argentinian culture and lore was woven into the story was fantastic. I felt myself swept away by the descriptions and the shape-changing and the magic. It’s honestly a bit of a disservice that this book references Harry Potter several times, and even some of the sales pitches and blurbs for Lobizona compare it to HP, but frankly this stands on its own. It doesn’t need compared to that story at all.

Oh, and I guess I should also point out that this is a YA novel that actually talks about teen girls menstruating. It’s a thing, and I think it’s important to talk about it more because it is a normal part of life for so many people. While I’m mentioning that this book talks about periods, I should also mention that it also deals with immigration and deportation and illegal immigrants. So, if you need/want trigger warnings, there you go.

After I reached the 20% mark, I started to read this book faster and faster. By 50% I was hooked, and all I wanted to do was to get off work so I could go home and read more. I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the magic, I enjoyed the magical worldbuilding and the mythos used in this story. Basically I was enraptured by Lobizona.

I can’t wait to have a finished copy on my bookshelves, and I have definitely already added the sequel to my TBR.

Representation: #ownvoices Argentinian author, Argentinian main and side characters, lesbian side characters, sapphic relationship
Trigger warnings can be found at the end of this review.

This is a book in which I loved it so darn much, for SO MANY reasons that this will probably be a mediocre review because I am just too overwhelmed with love and feelings.

Lobizona is about Manu - an undocumented teen living with her single mother and hidden from the world. Her entire world is restricted, from who she can talk with to hiding her unique eyes from the outside world. And then things start to fall apart and secrets about her family start to come to light.

This is a fantasy book that feels wildly authentic. Not in the sense that it is set in the modern day, which it is. But because real world issues - from immigration, fear of deportation, broken families and xenophobia - play a core role in the both the characters and the plot line.


“[W]hy settle for being a son of the system, when you can mother a movement?”


The world-building in the story is incredible. The way Garber blends reality with fiction is spot on, both really engaging and fluid. This story involves multiple "worlds", but they are put together and jumped between in a way that feels seamless.

The characters have an incredible amount of depth, which truly kept me invested throughout. This stands true both for the main character, Manu, as well as smaller, side characters. Backstories, interactions and relationships were all thoroughly fleshed out, adding purpose, character and feeling to each person included in this creation.

Oh and I peeked a sample of the audiobook and the narrator has done an incredible job!


“Now go forth and shatter every convention.”


I highly recommend all fantasy lovers check out this brand new gem. I absolutely adored it and am super excited to pick up the sequel and see what else Romina Garber has in store.

Trigger warnings: traumatic menstrual cycles, self-injury, sedative-use, organised crime (off-the-page), undocumented immigrants, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), xenophobia, fear of arrest and deportation, misogyny, homophobia

*I WAS PROVIDED A DIGITAL GALLEY FOR THE PURPOSES OF A TOUR. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION*

This book was magical. I wasn't expecting what we readers were given, but Romina Garber has shocked me to my core.

I'll admit, I had a little trouble getting into this book at first. The first few chapters were slow-moving, and the sudden three-day time skip kind of threw me off.

But after that point, this book was addicting.

Manu's character was one I had no trouble loving. She is portrayed as being both strong and vulnerable. The circumstances she started out with really gave us some background later on in the book on why she acts or reacts the way she does. She was constantly trying to prove herself to be a different person than she was in the beginning of the book, and the character development showcased that perfectly.

I was also really impressed by the fact that Garber didn't allow for Manu's character to betray the friends she makes a good chunk of the way into the story. Manu is determined to keep her friends, and she'll do anything she can to prevent any falling-outs, and that includes not allowing her crush on Triago to become anything more. That's a detail you don't see too often in teen stories nowadays, and I was really happy it was included.

One thing I couldn't get over was how this story doesn't allow for any messing around when it comes to the female menstrual cycle. For the first fourth of the book, Manu is on her period, and the author continuously reminds us readers of this throughout it. I loved that addition, and I honestly found it both funny and endearing.

Something that really tugged on my heartstrings was the importance Manu felt at fitting in. In the beginning of the novel, she was constantly worried over being an undocumented immigrant. And when push came to shove regarding her mother's secrets, it soon became imperative for her to fit in with people like herself as well. Garber constantly reminded us that, no matter where Manu went, she never felt like she belonged. And as the reader, I really felt for her.

Lastly, Garber did a fantastic job centering the story around a Spanish-speaking main character. Unfortunately, in a lot of books nowadays, Spanish is almost always italicized. With this book, Garber said "I don't think so," and wrote us a beautifully plotted, written and developed fantasy with non-italicized Spanish. I also really liked that she didn't always include translations for some of the dialogue. As someone who can speak Spanish, I understood the majority of it. But for others who don't, they can understand now what it might be like for someone who doesn't speak English. It added in that element of "now, it's your time to learn," and I really did appreciate and love that.

All in all, Garber really stunned me with this novel. For that, I rate it 4.75 stars. I can't wait to read the sequel, and I'll definitely be picking up the author's previous novels as well. I highly suggest y'all pick this book up before/when it releases.

It's clear from the previous ratings and reviews that I am the odd one out, so please take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

To begin with, I was really looking forward to this book. There are so few Argentinian-inspired fantasies, I'd have been a fool to not pick it up. And even though these kinds of #ownvoices stories were not written for me, I enjoy reading them because it's an opportunity to learn about a different culture from someone who regularly experiences it. So imagine my disappointment when this just did not hit.

What I Liked
This handled the illegal immigrant life well. It was very thought-provoking in that someone in desperate need of safety and security would be considered illegal and unwanted because they don't check a few boxes right off the bat. It's sad the life Manu is forced to live because of it. Homeschooled, no friends, confined to a building filled with senior citizens and watching the world go by from the rooftop because that is where she's safest. And how that life parallels with Manu's life as a lobizona was interesting. Even though she finds a place where she might finally belong, she is still hiding because her hybrid status is illegal in this magical world too.

There was an interesting discussion throughout of sex, gender, LGBT and how restrictive it is in the Septimus world. Girls are only brujas and boys are only lobizones. Therefore this world is highly binary on who can do what. For instance, in the sport septibol, wolves are on the field, witches on the sideline. Marriages can only be hetero because the population must be grown. If you lean towards a certain team, well, you can have a side relationship if your husbands are okay with it.

This book does not shy away from discussing menstruation as it is a central theme for the story. Much of it revolves around the full moon, which is when Manu gets a debilitating period that one might compare with endometriosis.

What I Didn't Like
This was hard to get into. The beginning was kind of hard to be interested in. While I enjoyed the author using spanish, I skipped over quite a few exchanges because there was very little to hint what was being discussed. The book tended to forget things introduced. For instance, NASA is brought up a lot in the beginning because Manu is interested in space and dreams of working for them when she becomes a citizen, but then it's entirely thrown away when Manu meets the Septimus. Same with "the other Manu." A big deal is made over a girl who lives across the street from Manu who looks just like her and she's watched this girl's relationship grow, but nothing comes of it. Where things really started going downhill was Manu completely forgetting about her mother, who was taken away by ICE, because she discovers a random magical school in the middle of the Everglades. It made me really dislike Manu, because she literally throws her mother out of her head. Like, what the heck?

Also hard to follow was the world building. The fantasy elements are Argentinian-based, but they didn't come off well. I struggled to picture this magical setting or understand how certain things worked. There's a whole new world that everyone travels to at the full moon, and I'm still not sure if it was a new planet, a moon, a parallel universe.

This was also very tropey. I measure how tropey a story is by how often I roll my eyes ... and I think I strained a muscle in the last quarter. Manu being special is a lobizona, the first female werewolf, was the worst kept secret for me as the reader. Not only do we know this already from the title, but the hints throughout are pretty obvious. Still, we have to wait until over halfway through the book before we find out what Manu is. It's very hard not to draw Harry Potter parallels (especially when the author makes many herself to understandably help Manu cope with her new situation), but this witches and werewolf school is so underdeveloped. The system itself is clunky, and the classes are laughable. Wolves, today we go out into the woods and howl.

I'm really disappointed that this book fell so short of my expectations. The end of this book did not leave enough to keep me interested and I don't think I'll be looking for the second book.

A brilliant novel that is seamlessly fantastical and grounded in reality, Manu is brilliant and loveable character who I will remember for years to come. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series

Too many things were happening, especially in the one time a month magical world, for me to be able to slip happily into this world. I was absorbed in the beginning with Manu's life with her mom and Perla and the mystery of who or what she was. And then there was the transition to, basically, Hogwarts, where she learned she was one of the magical folk but had to keep her real identity on the down low especially from <s>Umbridge</s> Jazmin. All that was starting to ramp up the problems I had with the book - confusing insta-crush, sexist dystopia policies, mean but heart of gold roommate, father she never knew is mythic folk hero, some people are there because they never caught her dad...?, she's an illegal outsider in both worlds.... There were a lot of issues! And then the trip to Lunaris (I think that's the right name but might be wrong about that) on the full moon where everything became way too trippy which is something with which I always struggle. I need some basis in reality to fully appreciate the splendor of the trippy world. Instead, they have to swim an ocean to get there (and she's exhausted but then can go run around with the other wolves), the roads go places based on what you're thinking and they're not always the same length, there are demons and you have to come back at the right time or you're left outside the gates to die, you can see the past in a lake... Again - too much! If Lunaris had just one of those magical elements but otherwise was a beautiful paradise with a market full of fun things to buy and eat, I would've been much more on board. I feel like the folklore would've come across much stronger as well if I hadn't been struggling just to keep up.

When I read the premise for this book, I was immediately interested. The struggles of undocumented people living in America, is an important topic in these times. But When I saw there were witches, and werewolves in the story, I just had to read this book.

This may seem, at first, to be rip off of Harry Potter. However, where J.K. Rowling uses that book series to explore the dangers of authoritarian governments, author Romina Garber uses the premise to inspect themes of gender norms in Hispanic culture, immigration, and human value. These are important themes for our time wrapped in a highly entertaining YA fantasy novel.

What I Liked:

Settings:

The story begins in Miami in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. People band together and help each other out. Fear of ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) raids is a constant threat. Manu, the main character can only see part of the neighborhood because she is in hiding, both from ICE, and from her father's Argentinian family. She is stuck in an illegal status, and waits for a time where she can have legal status. She also has some physical traits that mark her as different...

Later, as Manu finds a hidden world of magic, she discovers a place where she might actually belong. It's a place filled with natural wonders, brujas (witches), Lobizones (werewolves), and rigid gender roles. Even with these constraints, it feels like she could make a life for herself in this new world. But as she is half-human, she realizes she is also considered illegal here as well! The girl can't win!

Characters:

I really liked Manu, the main character. All her life, her mom has told her to keep a low profile in order to avoid deportation. She's been held back, but dreams of the day she'll get legal status so she can finally start living. When she realizes she's been lied to her whole life, she has to decide what she, herself, really wants, and what she's willing to do to get it.

Manu is strong, but also practical. She carefully weighs her options and looks to the big picture in deciding what she will do. Does she draw attention to herself? Her special abilities would make her famous and start real change for girls in her new culture. But this could also motivate people to investigate who she really is. This could get her killed.

Cata and Saysa are girls Manu becomes friends with in her new, magical world. They represent this friction between keeping things the same (and safe), and trying for change (and risking one's life). I loved their spirited arguments over the best way to make a difference. These were wonderful characters who show how challenging it is to enact change.

Story:

As Manu discovers her true heritage, she learns all the positive, and negative aspects of this new, magical culture. On the plus side, there are strong supports among one's group, large loving families, and mouth-watering food. But there are very strict gender roles. Boys are werewolves who play sports and protect brujas (witches). Brujas are always girls, and have jobs as nurtures, and healers. Everything from clothing to who you can love is tightly regulated. What century are we in, people?

But, that is the point. While it probably is comforting to cling to traditions, this society isn't thriving. Every culture evolves over time, or dies out.

Steeped in South American mythology, a challenge of misogyny and the gender binary, exploring the struggles faced by undocumented immigrants... Lobizona is unlike ANY story I've ever read before.

Manuela Azul is an undocumented immigrant. All her life she's had to be invisible—she never attended school, never made friends. But when ICE arrests her mother and someone attacks her found-grandmother, Manu's forced to go on the run; what she never expected was stumbling into a magical academy built on ancient ruins, deep in the Everglades.

At El Laberinto, Manu's thrown into a wholly fantastical world. The Septimus are a society of brujas/witches and lobizón/werewolves who travel to another dimension—Lunaris—every full moon. Here there exists gorgeous magic (think edible fizzy flowers, a sentient mother-tree filled with books, and a sport combining soccer and elemental pro-bending from Legend of Korra), but also extreme danger. Just as Manu's found someplace she might belong, with people she's beginning to love, she realizes that her existence in Lunaris is just as "illegal" as it was in Miami.

◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️

There's just something so compulsively readable about Romina Garber's writing. The world-building in this novel is unique and utterly enthralling, and I adored the Argentine lore and history woven into the magical realism. (Not to mention I got SO HUNGRY reading this book—someone take me to Buenos Aires ASAP so I can get my hands on some enchanted mate and milanesas!!)

Lobizona tackles themes of alienation and belonging with nuance. It resonated a lot with me, and will with anyone who's ever found themselves straddling two worlds—be it culture, country, race, or anything else. Manu grapples with the freedom and life-or-death risk of living honestly: if she comes out as the world's only lobizona, she won't have to lie anymore. She'll show others that it's possible to defy convention. But—and this hit me really hard—Manu also realizes that she shouldn't have to martyr herself to achieve the life she's always dreamed of.

HOWEVER, there were a couple things about the book that I found really off-putting. I didn't care for the waxing poetic about their magical eyes (rose quartz and sapphire and Mars-red just sounded SO CHEESY. At one point Manu's are literally described as "orbiting golden galaxies" and I cringed so hard).

The insta-attraction between Manu and Tiago was bleh, and I was mostly unsympathetic to their love triangle with Cata because all the angst could've been so easily avoided if Manu just talked to her friends about her thoughts/feelings instead of being rude and running away. For a character who showed SO much complexity when coming to terms with her identity, Manu was frustratingly juvenile at times, too.

There was also the fact that this book is heavy heavy heavy on the Chosen One tropeyness. Manu's the only one of her kind, and she masters literally everything possible WITHOUT HAVING EVEN DONE IT BEFORE. She's a star Septibol player and finds an elusive rare flower and is Tiago's one true love and also has eNviABLE CuRVES bc ofc. She perfectly controls her emotional magic and ultra-enhanced senses without even trying.

That being said, the good about this book way overshadowed the bad. I loved that the women in Lobizona challenge the rigidly patriarchal and heterosexual structure of Septimus society (Saysa in particular is such an inspiring budding activist). The characters speak openly about menstruation and the laws that enforce rigid gender roles for brujas and lobizón. They struggle to figure out what's right in a world that quashes any sort of difference—to be free, or safe?

Ultimately, with lush magic and adventure, this book carves out a space for the marginal and the complex. People of two worlds, or none at all.

Lobizona by Romina Garber is YA fantasy’s answer to illegal immigration meets Argentinian werewolves, out on the 4th of August. Telling the story of Manuela Azul, a young girl hidden away in Miami with her mother due to their undocumented state and her strange eyes, Lobizona deals with what it is like to be different in a world not set up for people who don’t fit society’s narrow mold, be that our human world or a more supernatural one. In a world where women are witches and men are werewolves, Manu is a unique hybrid, discovering her powers after running away from ICE and joining a sort of ‘magic school’. It is an interesting concept, and I loved the way it was set up, but the execution was predictable at times and failed to keep me immersed in the story. Manu herself was a bit of a Mary Sue character, and I was more invested in the side characters, who were more complex. But definitely a summer read to recommend!