Welcome to Litsy!

A fantastic YA fantasy based on Argentinian folklore and tackling the topics of identity, immigration, gender norms, and belonging. I can't wait to read the sequel!

Wow! Great lessons. Loveable characters. Real issues. Imaginative. Great representation. Cool fantasy elements.

Another free book! This one is for participating in my county library's summer reading program. I've been wanting to read this since it came out and was super excited when I saw it was one of the prize books.

I 100% do not care that this is basically Harry Potter fan fiction. It's fantastic. Like HP with witches and werewolves. And there's a lot of Spanish so the #audiobook may or may not be your jam. Totally blaming @Catsandbooks for this latest obsession (thank you, btw).

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

#MarvelousMarch #Readathon Wanted to go to Gibbs Gardens to see the daffodils, but it was too cold! So I shopped for groceries and finished the tagged book and made taco soup.

And made it to the gym for yoga this morning! @wanderinglynn #bfc2022

@Andrew65

5/5 ⭐️ To replace the disappointing read for Argentina #FoodandLit I wanted to try another book. I'm so glad I picked this one! I really loved the world building and characters! I'm excited for the sequel!

Attended this event Sunday with some friends.

November reads read. It‘s been quite the month. I‘m satisfied to have read two books.

Excellent YA fantasy read. I loved the mythology, the language, and the world building. Of course like most YA there's a typical budding romance, but thankfully it's not a huge part of the story.

I do hope the next book gives some more history on the werewolves and witches though since this book just opened the door a bit.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #SeriesRead2021 @TheSpineView

“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….”

⭐️⭐️ Between a so so and a pan. This was disappointing as it felt like a Harry Potter knock off. The worst part was when the mc would in the moment compare herself to HP and his experiences. So disappointing because this fantasy tale based on Argentinian folklore with lobizons (werewolves) and brujas (witches) could have been great. On the positive this had awesome Latinx representation.

I enjoyed this book and all the paranormal adventure. Manu‘s eyes are different but she doesn‘t know anything about her nature until something happened to her mother and she has to discover her family history almost by her own. Very excited to read the second one. This author came to PR a couple of years ago during her first book presentation. 3.8⭐️

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I thought this was an interesting concept. Her periods are connected by magic and I wanted to know more about that. I thought this book was just okay and not super special. There were times I wished for more magic or action.
#bookstagram #bibliophile #bookreview #review #litsy #littens #audiobook

I can have low patience for typical YA tropes, and while this did have some teen angst/Twilighty moments, overall it was fantastic! Loved the writing, the use of dual languages, the idea of highlighting oppressed voices the way the author did, and the fun fantasy side to the otherwise-realistic world.

Really powerful and enchanting. I can't wait to tag the next one.

I'm glad I pushed through the angsty teen moments because I enjoyed the overall message of the book. Looking forward to the next installment.

Seems this novel was meant (targeted) for Spanish-speaking readers. There are quite a number of sentences (dialogues) in Spanish and yet, no translation for a few of them. Unable to follow some of the scenes because of this.

#GoodReads2020Challenge

I really enjoyed this book. As a 4th gen mixed raced person who grew up with no culture whatsoever, I find myself starved of anything remotely related, plus I love magical fantasy stories. Add in a little of "who am I? Where do I fit in this world of square boxes I don't match?" and I really had no choice but to love this book ? Seriously, love it so much, it is now among my top five of ultimate favorite books.

#magic #YA #werewolves #latinx

Finished in October 2020, Part 2:
#Lumberjanes issues 62-64 (which will be collected into the volume #MindOverMettle later in December) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#ADeadlyEducation (#Scholomance 1)⭐⭐⭐⭐
#Lobizona (#WolvesofNoWorld 1)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#SomeEnchantedEclair (#MagicalBakery 4)⭐⭐⭐⭐
#ScaryStoriesToTellInTheDark ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheSurvivalofMollySouthbourne (#MollySouthbourne 2)⭐⭐⭐⭐

My fav: hands down Lobizona. It's the kind of book I just want at my side even while not reading ❤

😍 I am in love with this book; it magical, it's Latinx, and very much about trying to find your place in a world that loves it's little boxes to place you in.

#magic #witches #werewolves

I enjoyed this one. Could have used a little more world building at times but I really enjoyed what we got and loved the ensemble.

Finishing #LatinxHeritageMonth (and celebrating my birthday!) by starting this book — so far, it‘s amazing!

#IntegrateYourShelf

This threw me off from the very start, even though I wanted to love it! Just couldn‘t deal with the reckless narrator anymore

Popped over to Women and Children First yesterday. With wanting to respect the limits of people in the store, I went in with a basic plan but also threw things on supermarket sweep style. May have to put myself on a buying ban until at least my birthday (outstanding preorders notwithstanding obviously) but we‘ll see. This was a restrained haul though.

Some people are illegal. Lobizonas do not exist. Manuela Azul is both.

This story follows an Argentina lore about the seventh child being a Lobizone or Bruja (werewolf or witch) which is based on genders, men are lobizones and women are brujas. I really loved this magical realism and fantasy world. The characters and space the author wrote were beautiful and very vivid.

I can‘t wait for the second book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just finished this book but had to share this part of the author‘s note at the back of the book. This part stuck with me because it‘s so true.

“The werewolves sing at the full moon,
The witches dance when the sky thunders.
If you come across one, let it not upset you:
The secret is in their eyes and the number seven.”

It‘s finally here! Today starts the celebration of Latinx Heritage Month! Sept 15-Oct 15.

This is my reading tbr for the month to celebrate. I‘ll be starting with the tagged book which I‘m so excited to start reading.

▪️Please do not read American Dirt to celebrate. If you want some recs that deal with the same issues I can give you some. 😊

What are you reading to celebrate Latinx Heritage?

#latinxheritagemonth

A corner in my office that makes me happy.

Just getting home from work AND have this package of birthday AWESOMENESS from @Gissy I‘m so thrilled, grateful excited! I love this so much! Thank you- and yes I would love a buddy ready- let me know when!!!

This is def a solid 4 stars for me (but I know there's some bigots 1-starring it so I've been rounding up to 5). I don't know that I've read a book with this sort of blend of topics and genres before. I really loved the main character. I can't stop looking at how she doesn't really belong in either world which has to be pretty difficult for people who immigrate to a new country and culture. Also, fuck ICE.

Me going into this: fuck ICE
So...should be interesting

Romina Garber takes the ideas of gender roles and identity, mixes them with South American Folklore, directly compares them with the issues many immigrants are facing today and delivers a masterfully put together book. See full review at VBC blog vampirebookclub.net #ya #folklore #vbc #arcreview

Manu lives in Miami with her mother and Pearla, an older woman who's taken care of her homeschool for a long time. As an illegal immigrant, she has to be very careful to stay hidden. Everything changes, though, when ICE comes for her mother.
Free for the first time ever, she has to figure out what to do next. She always knew she was different.... Maybe now's the time to find out why. A magical world of witches and werewolves await.

Guys! Who else is reading this? Part of me is loving it, and part of me is ticked that I don't remember more Spanish from grade school making Google translate my buddy. I mean, I can still get the gist of things, but I'd rather know what people are saying.

Got an #arc of this one from Wednesday books. Absolutely love it so far! Can't wait for it to come out so everyone can read it. #latinxbooks #amreadingyafantasy #latinxauthors

I harbor a soft spot for werewolves- more than vampires- & this YA fantasy is the first in a new series based on Argentine folk lore. Manu lives in Miami with her mother illegally & one fateful afternoon turns her whole world upside down. The book sets off a bit slow at the start, but by the end it‘s fast & leaves the reader anxious for a sequel! There are some familiar YA touchpoints here, but fresh twists too! #Butterfly #BloomingBibliophiles

Ripley insisted on helping me show off the books I plan on reading this month. #stayhomeandread #quarantinereads