by Romina Garber
Wednesday Books
8/4/2020, hardcover
SKU: 9781250239129
Some people ARE illegal.
Lobizonas do NOT exist.
Both of these statements are false.
Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who's on the run from her father's Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida.
Until Manu's protective bubble is shattered.
Her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, and finally without shackles, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past--a mysterious Z emblem--which leads her to a secret world buried within our own. A world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong.
As Manu uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it's not just her U.S. residency that's illegal. . . .it's her entire existence.
Target age: 12 to 18
Reviews:
"In a timely work of magical realism featuring references to Borges and Garcia Márquez, Garber tackles issues of nationalism, identity, and belonging...This layered novel blends languages and cultures to create a narrative that celebrates perseverance." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (Starred Review)
"Garber's gorgeous novel combines the wonder of a Hogwarts-style magic school with the Twilight-esque dynamics of a hidden magical species that has strict rules about interacting with the human world." - BOOKLIST (Starred Review)
"This genre-bending mashup will win over fans of swoon-y, suspenseful paranormal dramas." - KIRKUS
"A politically exigent #ownvoices novel...with a rich exploration of hybrid identities, it's an astute and absorbing piece of magical realism." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Lobizona somehow loves its genre while simultaneously tearing it apart with werewolf claws, reveling in earthy magic and righteous anger." - NPR.org
"Steeped in Argentine folklore of lobizonas (werewolves) and brujas (witches), this is such an important story to tell, and it's also an engrossing read." - BUZZFEED
"Lobizona by Romina Garber is the kind of book that digs its claws into you and leaves marks so you don't forget what you just experienced...With Lobizona, Romina Garber is poised to become a strong literary voice of this era." - THE NERD DAILY
About the Author:
Romina Garber (pen name Romina Russell) is a New York Times and international bestselling author. Originally from Argentina, she landed her first writing gig as a teen--a weekly column for the Miami Herald that was later nationally syndicated--and she hasn't stopped writing since. Her books include Lobizona and the Zodiac quartet. When she's not working on a novel, Romina can be found producing movie trailers, taking photographs, or daydreaming about buying a new drum set. She is a graduate of Harvard College and a Virgo to the core.