A review by thebookworm_queen
Lobizona by Romina Garber

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

Hello! I am now Lobizona trash and will read anything by Romina Garber! <3 Lobizona is everything that I have been unbeknowingly craving for in a YA novel. A brown girl protagonist who goes to a magic school of witches and werewolves where SHE is the chosen one; she takes on the patriarchy and nationalism that follows her even in a world of magic. 

Lobizona by Romina Garber is about Manuela Azul, who was born with eyes like the sun and into a world of solitude and secrecy. Manuela (Manu for short) is an undocumented Argetinian immigrant living in Miami, Flordia with her mother. Manu has spent her life living in secret because “Visibility=Deportation” and Manu is too distinct to hide. She can’t wait for the day that they are citizens so her life can begin. However, she finds that she can’t depend on a set of papers to start her story, she has to write it herself. On the fateful day that she has to run when her mother is deported she takes control and finds out more about herself, her eyes, and her mother. What were they really running from when they left Argentina?

Trigger Warnings: Talks of deportation, the deporting of family members, the act of ICE physically coming to one's home, menstruation, and mild harassment, mild violence and mild homophobia. 

“I am that leftover ace of diamonds.
I don’t fit into any of the groupings around me, and the things that make me different always seem to count against me”
(Garber, pg 29).

First and foremost I want to talk about Manuela Azul, who has stolen my heart and has become one of my favorite heroines. She is a new favorite as I related to her as a bilingual, as a Latine, a young womxn; her thoughts of loneliness and idea of being an outsider. I read this book and thought “oh young Marisa would’ve loved you”. Which is why old-ish Marisa adores her today! Manu grew up having to be a secret because she will be at risk of deporting herself and her mother, so she stays hidden in a small apartment complex: El Retirio. She spends her days reading or watching novelas with Perla. Perla is an old school teacher that she and her mother befriended and who allows them to stay with her rent free in exchange for taking care of her. Perla also teaches Manu while her mother goes to work. Her life of solitude has lead Manu to live her life on the outside looking in, imagining what her life could be instead of living it. This is something that I found relatable, I’ve never been a risk taker I've always been on the sidelines never taking chances because I was too afraid-- my worries weren’t deportation,  but I still found myself relating to Manu and her need to stay invisible to stay safe. 

“ I’ve always felt cramped because I’ve been crammed into an existence too small for me. That’s why the only friends I have are fictional” 
( Garber p 57).

In one aspect I felt empathy as I don't know if this is a cultural thing, but as a Latina, without any question you listen to your Mamá and do as you're told. It’s this thing that is ingrained into you that it’s soon your personality. Manu and her mother have this bond as well as trust that has made Manu the obedient daughter her mother wishes for. Despite what Manu really wants to do she stays home when asked. When Manu starts to take chances and makes up her own mind I was ecstatic as she broke that wall down. As she grew more confident through the book and discovered herself as well as her powers, it was beautiful. She started experiencing life! 

“Every morning, I’ve sipped the bare minimum, desperate to avoid looking inside and seeing what’s really at my core. Too terrified to unleash my innermost self after all these years of insisting I’m just waiting on papers for my life to begin...And if I don't take a leap, I might never figure out who I am. 

So I down the whole drink to find out”
(Garber p200).

The world that Manu gets to start living in is AMAZING. Lunaris and El Laberinto are both depicted so beautifully. I appreciated the little details of the fireflies, the concept of Flora (a living thing within the walls of the school, El Laberinto), the elements that were bendable by the witches, the importance of eye color and the folklore that inspired it all. It was just so captivating! It can be a lot to grasp, but Garber gradually eases the reader into the magic system. Manu is just as clueless as the reader, together we learn about the Argentinian legend that lives true in the world of the Septimus. There are 4 types of witches that can manipulate earth, wind, water and fire. They take care of the land and the werewolves protect them. 

“ ‘Los lobizones le cantan a la luna llena,
Las brujas bailan cuando el cielo truena.
Si te cruzas con uno, no dejes que te inquiete:
El secreto está en sus ojos y el número siete’ ” 
(Garber, p37).

Then the fact that we learn about this system and its rules, but Manu’s very existence ends up challenging everything! It creates an allusion to her life in the human world, where she is also an outsider. In this world of witches and werewolves the system is very dependent on a binary system of sex leaving no possibilites for female werewolves or male witches. I enjoyed this aspect as Manu took on fighting the patriarchy, her very existence as a Lobizona is a challenge, but then it gets sidelined (understandably so) as she has to fight a different battle. I wish that there could’ve been more opportunities to explore this fight for gender equality, I don’t believe this is the end of it and I understand the shift. The main idea is Manu figuring out who she is and where she belongs. 

“Gender equality and freedom of lifestyle are battles I can’t take on yet, because first I need to win a different war: The right to exist” 
(Garber p324).

Being an outsider and fighting for the right to live is a big part of Lobizona. Immigration and deportation is a huge problem that should be known by everyone and by having these experiences in written form is huge. I felt the fear from the first page as  ICE came into the apartment complex. Manu and her family huddling under the bed, Perla bluntly stating-- “You don't know what they can’t do”. I felt that heartache as Manu saw a baby being separated from their mother. I felt anguish when the ICE agent beat Julieta to a pulp because she dared rebel while in their hands. It’s everything you want to ignore, but it’s there on the page and it’s in the world. Reading about this and Manu challenging it provided hope! It all just starts on the page, but then it starts to motivate others to create change! It’s emotional, but I’m glad this story was published. 

“If there’s no word in any known vocabulary to encapsulate me, that just means language can’t define me. A label can’t hold me. I’m beyond classification. I’m an original. I’m---
‘Undocumented’ ”
(Garber,p 382).

Emotionally I was wrecked by this book as my heart broke at the thoughts of a child being separated from their mother and then my heart skipped a beat with the development of Manu’s crush. Yes there is a bit of romance added to the mix! It's love at first sight and Tiago is a dream! I normally don't care for this trope, but Manu was smart and she didn’t just fall into this relationship. There is a will-they-won’t they thing going on between Manu’s friend Cata and her crush Santiago (Tiago), but there’s something that keeps bringing Manu back to Tiago. I appreciated how Manu respected her friend’s feelings and she made the effort to keep her distance versus a typical love triangle of: who will he choose?, oh please choose me. NO, none of that. It was simple sweet moments that made it obvious as to who would end up with who no question, but it was fun! I loved how they related to each other over the nerdist of things, they’re geeking out about books and how can you not fall for a well read werewolf!

“He radiates so much light, it’s like he’s solar-powered. The Spanish word for smile is sonrisa, which sounds a lot like sunrise. . . I’ve watched the sun rise over the Atlantic from El Retiro’s rooftop almost every morning for the past eight years and yet i’ve never seen a sunrise as radiant as Tiago’s sonrisa”
 (Garber, p339).


At a time where I felt alone and out of my element I had Manu fighting, winning, and living. It made my day to escape into that. For that I will forever be grateful to this book and this world where there is more than one way to be a wolf! I hope you'll give this book a read!  Again it’s a 5 star read for me because of the:

  1. Latinx representation
  2. Feminism 
  3. Talks about immigration
  4. Werewolves and witches
  5. Cute romance
  6. Badass Heroine! 
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