may the judges and policemen be afraid.
Today, peace is taken away from us women.
They sowed fear in us, we grew wings
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Lobizona is such a special and underrated YA book, and you NEED to read it right now for the following reasons.
10. A Real-Life Tale with a Twist of Fantasy
Think Harry Potter meets Twilight meets The House on Mango Street. Author Romina Garber references Harry Potter quite often when it comes to magical fantasy world building in Lobizona.
With HP in mind, that’s only one of the crucial layers to this story. Lobizona is a literal Spanish translation of wolf (lobo) with a kitschy feminine twist.
In this coming-of-age story, Manu navigates her true identity with little known of her ancestry.
9. Part of a Series
When I first read this book, I didn’t realize it was the first in Garber’s Wolves of No World series. The 400 page, fast read novel is followed by book 2, Cazadora, which has been added to my TBR list.
8. Nice Sized Helping of Spanish with Translation
Whether you are new to Spanish or fluent, Lobizona stays authentic to Garber’s Argentine roots by seamlessly intertwining Spanish into the character’s conversations. Don’t worry! Spanish conversations are followed by English translations.
Although I love when books do this, especially since I’m not completely fluent in Spanish, this mostly takes place when Manu and her family are talking, which is like 1/4th ish of the story.
7. Ojasos (Big Eyes)
There is a lot of reference and focus in reviews to Manu’s unique eyes, calling out their “bright yellow, silver stared pupil” aesthetic. In addition, the book’s stunning cover paints an intricate picture of what to me resembles spider webs with golden irises. Which makes sense that her mom fondly calls her ojasos, or big eyes in English.
Keep this in mind as you begin this story’s adventure. Manu’s eyes are quite literally a peek into her soul. They are one of her first defining features of what’s to come…
6. Based on Argentine Folklore
In a news interview, Garber tells the fascinating story of Argentinian history.
So apparently, longstanding and current Argentinian law, Padrinazgo Presidencial states that the 7th child born into a family will be Godparented by the current President, actually covering their education expenses. Like, how cool is that?!
With that in mind, Garber includes this key detail into the plot of Lobizona. That is to say, in Manu’s culture, the 7the child born in this magical world will become either a bruja (witch) or a lobo (wolf) depending on their gender.
Going back to the Padrinazgo Presidencial or what Garber herself refers to as, Ley De Padrina Coprecidencial, I did a little research and could only find the linked article which is in Spanish. And, remember, nopal in frente over here, struggled a bit with translation especially with the dialect being Argentinian. Soooooo, if anyone finds an article about this in English, please comment below with the link and help this coconut out!
5. Highlights Women in Leadership
As the story progresses, Manu takes on quite the leadership role in her personal journey and in the story overall.
My favorite quote in this book is “but why settle for being a son of the system when you can mother a movement”. Periodt.
4. Gatekeeping by Way of Banning Books
Word on the street is this book is/was one of the “banned pending investigation/review” books in schools in some parts of North America due to concerning content. What is this “concerning” content you ask? The focus seems to lie on books that merely hint at topics on puberty and LGBTQ+ topics, attempting to classify them as, “pornographic”, “obscene”, and “sexual”.
The adverse concern then is limited access to the underprivileged population who already have minimal access to literature outside of school. In addition, Garber passionately wrote this book for the marginalized groups who already lack representation in books.
Let us ask ourselves this question, are these concerned parents and educators’ gatekeeping Lobizona or protecting their children from “dangerous” topics? You decide.
So, did Lobizona officially get categorized under any of the devious above topics, banning it from availability in schools? I’m not sure. I didn’t find any follow up information on that. What wouldn’t surprise me is if 2 years later it’s still sitting on that list “pending investigation/review” to keep Lobizona and many other books “temporarily pulled” for as long as possible. We see you conservative America.
3. Talking Openly About Periods
Speaking of banned topics, let’s talk about menstruation everyone! I don’t know about you but, this is a book I needed when I was a young adult. Especially since I started my period at a very young age which then led to future infertility complications.
It kind of reminds me of the book, Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret by Judy Bloom. Niña Monica ate that book up in her youth. Although, this book also received similar banning treatment in its day.
This is a big part of the story as it is weaved into the Lobizona storyline with reference to full moons and menstruation correlation called lunaritis, also coined by her cheeky mami. Manu’s periods are so difficult that her mami gives her a special medicine. I mean, c’mon, reality, amirite?!
Did you know that currently, in 2023, Florida’s Govornor is pushing for a law to be passed that bans girls in schools from talking about periods? I meeeeaaan … que?
How is this happening? We’ve made it so far to take the stigma and shame off of not only periods but women’s rights in general. Yet here.we.are.
2. Addressing Issues of Immigration
Can you feel it? We’re getting into the thick of this novel. All of these reasons making Lobizona so special ultimately leads to two main storylines, immigration being one. The book’s main tagline is, “Some people ARE illegal. Lobizonas do NOT exist. Both of these statements are false”. And Manu is herself undocumented.
Garber seizes this opportunity to not only highlight the terrors of being torn apart from your family as an immigrant with America’s laws at the time; in an interview, Garber also mentions reference to Argentine history in La Guera Sucia (the Dirty War) in 1976, which also separated children from their families.
This can be a challenging topic to take on, especially in a YA book, where our country stands so divided on this topic. Garber found a way to address this hot topic through real life storytelling and fantasy. Lobizona beautifully paints a picture of what it’s like to be undocumented in both countries and not know where she belongs.
1. Assimilation and Belonging … A Story for the In-Betweenies
The second main topic of Lobizona is Manu’s coming of age story. From being uprooted in Argentina, to being sheltered all her life because of her appearance, to being forced to flee yet again, this time alone, to escape I.C.E. Where then, does Manu belong?
Where do the 1st & 1/2ish to 2nd generations belong? As a 40-year-old woman, this YA book hit me. I’ve been struggling with this thing called assimilation all my life and I’m not alone.
Assimilation is defined as “the absorption and integration of people, ideas, or culture into a wider society or culture” in a basic definition Bing search. This is us ya’ll! Where do we belong? Can we identify with two cultures? Hell yeah, we can. We’re the next generation with our roots in one country and our feet in another, and it’s up to us to create a new community and identity for the in-betweenies, just like Manu did.
Lobizona encapsulates my very being and reason for diving into blogging and for that I am truly grateful to this series. So, for all you beautiful souls out there, questioning your identity and where you belong, this book is for you!
Have you read Lobizona? How did you like it? Comment down below!