Before Romina Garber became the bestselling author of eight books, she was a nine-year-old ESOL student in Miami listening to her teacher read Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends. Something stirred. Romina wrote her first poem in Spanish; her teacher submitted it to the Miami-Dade County F air, where it earned a first-place ribbon. “I never stopped writing after that,” she recalled. Born in Buenos Aires, Romina immigrated here as a child, attended Miami-Dade Public Schools and found her first professional voice at The Miami Herald, writing a column next to Dave Barry.  She joined me for Episode 27 of The Miami Book Hub podcast ahead of a Books Books celebration for Wolves of No World: Lobizona and Cazadora, now collected in a reversible two-in-one edition. It follows Manu, an undocumented Argentine immigrant in Miami whose mother’s arrest leads her into the Everglades and a hidden, all-Latino magic school of witches and werewolves. Manu does not fit its rigid gender binary. As Romina put it, the story moves from her residency being outlawed to her entire existence being outlawed. The book began as a 2008 manuscript – the magical story Romina said she needed as a teenager. A respected agent told her that teens here did not care to read about Argentine immigrants, dismissing Romina’s story along with Manu’s. She set it aside, then returned when the national climate made the book feel increasingly urgent. When Lobizona appeared in 2020, some readers called it dystopian. “Six years later, nobody asks me if it’s dystopian anymore,” she said. The fantasy grows from a real Argentine law rooted in folklore about seventh children and werewolves. But the deepest magic may be Romina’s attention to language. She spoke about replacing the label “illegal” with “undocumented” – a word that can mean not previously seen or recorded. “We’re all undocumented,” she said. “We’re all unique and special and new.” Then came the line that captured the entire conversation: “Books are empathy incubators.” St. Paul’s Read Brave program chose Lobizona for a citywide conversation during a painful period for immigrant families. Romina visited schools and watched a fantasy about witches and werewolves help young readers discuss fear, belonging and their neighbors. The reversible edition makes that journey physical: readers turn the book upside down as Manu crosses between worlds. Lobizona has been challenged in some districts and taught in many others. Whenever it lands on a syllabus, Romina hears from students—proof that the story once rejected has found its readers. Her advice to aspiring writers came from five completed novels that were rejected before her sixth changed everything: “The only one who can really reject you is you. Hang in there, keep writing, and hold on for your yes, because it really only takes one.” Romina Garber appears at Books Books in Coral Gables on Saturday, September 19, at 7 p.m. I hope to be there, and hope you will join me. Learn more about Romina Garber and her books at RominaGarber.com. Watch this episode and explore more conversations at TheMiamiBookHub.com. Please like, subscribe and share. And, as always… keep reading, keep writing and stay curious, Miami! Books as Empathy Incubators: Romina Garber on Magic and Miami By J. Adrian Betancourt Before Romina Garber became the bestselling author of eight books, she was a nine-year-old ESOL student in Miami listening to her teacher read Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends. Something stirred. Romina wrote her first poem in Spanish; her teacher submitted it to the Miami-Dade County Fair, where it earned a first-place ribbon. “I never stopped writing after that,” she recalled. Born in Buenos Aires, Romina immigrated here as a child, attended Miami-Dade public schools and found her first professional voice at The Miami Herald, writing a column next to Dave Barry. Her early certainty made me laugh at my own route. “Most writers I’ve met know from an early point,” I told her. “I’m the opposite…but now I’m hooked.” Romina joined me for Episode 27 ahead of a Books Books celebration for Wolves of No World: Lobizona and Cazadora, now collected in a reversible two-in-one edition. It follows Manu, an undocumented Argentine immigrant in Miami whose mother’s arrest leads her into the Everglades and a hidden, all-Latino magic school of witches and werewolves. Manu does not fit its rigid gender binary. As Romina put it, the story moves from her residency being outlawed to her entire existence being outlawed. The book began as a 2008 manuscript – the magical story Romina said she needed as a teenager. A respected agent told her that teens here did not care to read about Argentine immigrants, dismissing Romina’s story along with Manu’s. She set it aside, then returned when the national climate made the book feel increasingly urgent. When Lobizona appeared in 2020, some readers called it dystopian. “Six years later, nobody asks me if it’s dystopian anymore,” she said. The fantasy grows from a real Argentine law rooted in folklore about seventh children and werewolves. But the deepest magic may be Romina’s attention to language. She spoke about replacing the label “illegal” with “undocumented” – a word that can mean not previously seen or recorded. “We’re all undocumented,” she said. “We’re all unique and special and new.” Then came the line that captured the entire conversation: “Books are empathy incubators.” St. Paul’s Read Brave program chose Lobizona for a citywide conversation during a painful period for immigrant families. Romina visited schools and watched a fantasy about witches and werewolves help young readers discuss fear, belonging and their neighbors. The reversible edition makes that journey physical: readers turn the book upside down as Manu crosses between worlds. Lobizona has been challenged in some districts and taught in many others. Whenever it lands on a syllabus, Romina hears from students – proof that the story once rejected has found its readers. Her advice to aspiring writers came from five completed novels that were rejected before her sixth changed everything: “The only one who can really reject you is you. Hang in there, keep writing, and hold on for your yes, because it really only takes one.” Romina Garber appears at Books Books in Coral Gables on Saturday, September 19, at 7 p.m. I will be there – and, yes, I finally have the date right. Learn more about Romina Garber and her books at RominaGarber.com. Watch this episode and explore more conversations at The Miami Book Hub. Please like, subscribe and share. As always, keep reading, keep writing and stay curious, Miami! Learn more about the Miami-Dade Public Library System at MDPLS.org. Watch this episode and explore more conversations at TheMiamiBookHub.com. Please like, subscribe and share. And, as always… keep reading, keep writing and stay curious, Miami!The post Books as Empathy Incubators: Romina Garber on Magic and Miami first appeared on Miami's Community News. ...read more read less