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A review by dreareads_
Lobizona by Romina Garber, Romina Russell
4.0
Just a beautiful story of finding your identity in a world that is committed to taking it from you because of where you were born.
Lobizona is the type of YA fantasy that should be read by everyone. It depicts the horror of immigration in the United States, and the dehumanization that takes place. The relationship between Manu and her mom bring home how difficult it is to exist and navigate this world, especially if you are a little bit too different.
One of my least favorite approaches to spanish in english novels is the need to translate the text for non bilingual audiences. This is because it often times breaks the flow of the text and adds a level of repetition that could be avoided with clear context clues. Lobizona partakes on this tendency of translation but it does it in a fairly brilliant way. It explains to us why it is necessary to translate the Spanish to english, making it part of HER identity and serving as an indicator of what feels natural and unnatural to her. It was a detail that while small made me fall in love with the story even more.
While I Enjoyed Lobizona for the most part, the turn it takes about halfway through did not fully work for me. It is clear it was trying to recall books like Harry Potter (which is mentioned waaaaay too often for my taste) but at times lacks some of the magic. I could see the analogy the author was creating with the school, but at times it felt a bit too disconnected. I am excited to see more about the world in the sequel!
I highly recommend this story to everyone!
TW: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Abandonment, Bullying, Deportation, and Racism
Lobizona is the type of YA fantasy that should be read by everyone. It depicts the horror of immigration in the United States, and the dehumanization that takes place. The relationship between Manu and her mom bring home how difficult it is to exist and navigate this world, especially if you are a little bit too different.
One of my least favorite approaches to spanish in english novels is the need to translate the text for non bilingual audiences. This is because it often times breaks the flow of the text and adds a level of repetition that could be avoided with clear context clues. Lobizona partakes on this tendency of translation but it does it in a fairly brilliant way. It explains to us why it is necessary to translate the Spanish to english, making it part of HER identity and serving as an indicator of what feels natural and unnatural to her. It was a detail that while small made me fall in love with the story even more.
While I Enjoyed Lobizona for the most part, the turn it takes about halfway through did not fully work for me. It is clear it was trying to recall books like Harry Potter (which is mentioned waaaaay too often for my taste) but at times lacks some of the magic. I could see the analogy the author was creating with the school, but at times it felt a bit too disconnected. I am excited to see more about the world in the sequel!
I highly recommend this story to everyone!
TW: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Abandonment, Bullying, Deportation, and Racism