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hagwife's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I picked Lobizona up on a whim at a local used bookstore and am so, so glad I did – it's a powerhouse YA fantasy steeped in Latine culture and folklore. Manu's quests to belong and to protect her family (both blood and found) are beautiful and heartbreaking. I didn't expect how deeply the parallels would run between her status in Miami and her status in El Laberinto. Rivera explores what it means to be Other in not one, but two cultures, showing the light and dark sides of each; trust me, you're going to be just as mad at the Cazadores as you are at ICE .
What holds everything together is Manu's found family and their support of each other in crafting and stepping into their own identities. The love she and her friends have for each other doesn't preclude or erase any disagreements but instead makes it safe to have those disagreements, authentic security rather than inauthentic perfection.
One of the most powerful aspects for me is the conversation around tradition and heritage versus individuality. Manu is struggling against two worlds that she loves deeply but whose values and rules don't seem to love her back. In this, Lobizona joins a pantheon of great YA novels who demonstrate that the right to be yourself doesn't have to be at odds with your personal, familial, or cultural history, something that is important for all of us to remember and extremely important for teens and young adults to believe in.
If you liked Cemetery Boys, you'll love this, and vice versa!
What holds everything together is Manu's found family and their support of each other in crafting and stepping into their own identities. The love she and her friends have for each other doesn't preclude or erase any disagreements but instead makes it safe to have those disagreements, authentic security rather than inauthentic perfection.
One of the most powerful aspects for me is the conversation around tradition and heritage versus individuality. Manu is struggling against two worlds that she loves deeply but whose values and rules don't seem to love her back. In this, Lobizona joins a pantheon of great YA novels who demonstrate that the right to be yourself doesn't have to be at odds with your personal, familial, or cultural history, something that is important for all of us to remember and extremely important for teens and young adults to believe in.
If you liked Cemetery Boys, you'll love this, and vice versa!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation and Confinement
Moderate: Sexism
ghostlyprince's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Classism, Deportation, and Police brutality
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Hate crime, and Bullying
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Biphobia
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Abandonment, Confinement, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Cursing
carolined314's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
While featuring a lot of (justified) fear around being undocumented and deported, this book also has a ton of complex fantasy world and some fascinating character development. Great fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Sexism, Deportation, and Sexual assault
Minor: Violence
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Enchanting and well developed, I loved every page. Manu is such an interesting character, and I love the idea of a space-loving werewolf going to the moon. I would also like to make out with a boy in his secret illegal library. Javier was a red herring, I thought the queer rep would just be him as a closeted side character, but NOPE. I love how many layers of metaphors you can fit in a werewolf. This could have been just an incredible fantasy story that happened to feature a magical school, but it had to go and reference Harry Potter over and over again. Girlie, you're better than that in every way. Big sad my library doesn't have the sequel because I'm trying not to buy more books rn.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Body horror, Confinement, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
thejuliebookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
LOBIZONA can be summed up in one word: lush. The writing is beautiful, the worldbuilding is detailed, the plot is engaging, and the Argentine folklore is rich.
Garber has written excellent YA fantasy. This story discusses issues of sexism, binaries, gender roles and expectations, culture, and being undocumented with nuance, empathy, and anger. You’re definitely going to want to check the content warnings for this book.
I enjoy reading books with untranslated Spanish dialogue, phrases, or sentences. LOBIZONA was particularly fun for me, because it made me realize that I was unfamiliar with Argentine Spanish, and I went down a huge internet rabbit hole after reading the first chapter.
The most important stuff for plot or character development is translated, and non-Spanish speakers can easily use Google Translate for the rest. If this makes you frustrated, remember that language is an essential part of identity and culture – the Spanish is intrinsic to the novel and LOBIZONA would feel incomplete without it!
I’m not going to say too much else for fear of spoiling, as the synopsis for this book is quite vague. But know that I really loved this book and immediately purchased the duology.
Garber has written excellent YA fantasy. This story discusses issues of sexism, binaries, gender roles and expectations, culture, and being undocumented with nuance, empathy, and anger. You’re definitely going to want to check the content warnings for this book.
I enjoy reading books with untranslated Spanish dialogue, phrases, or sentences. LOBIZONA was particularly fun for me, because it made me realize that I was unfamiliar with Argentine Spanish, and I went down a huge internet rabbit hole after reading the first chapter.
The most important stuff for plot or character development is translated, and non-Spanish speakers can easily use Google Translate for the rest. If this makes you frustrated, remember that language is an essential part of identity and culture – the Spanish is intrinsic to the novel and LOBIZONA would feel incomplete without it!
I’m not going to say too much else for fear of spoiling, as the synopsis for this book is quite vague. But know that I really loved this book and immediately purchased the duology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Deportation, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Police brutality, and Xenophobia
ellythequeen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book understood the assignment!!! Could not have been better, lovable characters, enticing plot, amazing setting, writing style is like nothing I've ever read!!! Has great messages around feminism and equality! Why are you still reading this review? Go read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Confinement, and Bullying
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Drug use, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
melinabarbuto's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Xenophobia, and Stalking
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Police brutality, Homophobia, and Drug use
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Loved this so much!!
Rep: Undocumented Argentinian female MC, Latine male love interest, Latine WLW couple, Latine cast.
CWs: Abandonment, blood, body shaming (for unusual eye color), confinement, drug use (sedatives), homophobia/homomisia, injury/injury detail, lesbophobia/lesbomisia, misogyny, outing, racism, sexism, transphobia/transmisia, violence, xenophobia.
Rep: Undocumented Argentinian female MC, Latine male love interest, Latine WLW couple, Latine cast.
CWs: Abandonment, blood, body shaming (for unusual eye color), confinement, drug use (sedatives), homophobia/homomisia, injury/injury detail, lesbophobia/lesbomisia, misogyny, outing, racism, sexism, transphobia/transmisia, violence, xenophobia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Drug use, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
meaghanelizabook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
Minor: Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Grief