Amazona

A raw story of the destruction of the rain forest and the displacement of so many people whose lives are intertwined with every root in that soil. This being a current occurrence of the today's world, it resonated a different way when I was reading.

The protagonist returns to bury her infant back in the ancestral ground and also to gather information to aid her and her people in getting back what is rightfully theirs. I would definitely recommend reading this.


Thank you NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read this.
#Amazona #NetGalley

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

This is a powerful and intensely thought-provoking graphic novel about an indigenous woman who is forced to flee her home, and yet who bravely returns to do the unthinkable: bury her child and find evidence needed to reclaim her people’s land.

I highly recommend this, but know that there are heavy topics discussed that may be triggering for some people.

Amazona is engaging and incredibly powerful. An important look at a terrible issue. Both heartbreaking and empowering.

A beautiful book, very artistic and week-crafted. Definitely one to share with readers young and old.

This was a beautiful read. The story was heartbreaking. My dad was born in Colombia but this was a part of the history of the country that I didn't know. The art was amazing, I loved the way that color is used throughout. I think this is a very mature read even for some YA readers. I would only recommend this to older teenagers!

Andrea, a young Indigenous Colombian woman, and her family were displaced from their village. Almost a year later, she has returned to the land to mourn her lost child. And she is also on a mission to prove the injustices her peoples have faced.

This was such a heartbreaking book about the horrors Indigenous peoples have faced at the hands of mining and energy companies. Even though it was a fictional account, these events are very real. The author’s note at the end shed light on recent events that have affected these communities.

Themes: Indigenous (Quechua) peoples of Columbia, gold mines and mining, family life

Content warnings: violence, forced displacement, racism, child death, sexual assault

While the Amazonian region of Colombia is sparsely populated, it is home to over 70 different Indigenous ethnic groups. The author, Canizales, is Columbian by birth, Majorcan (Spain) by adoption. Order this book — the author will be donating a portion of his royalties to Resguardo Indígena Nasa de Cerro Tijeras on behalf of Indigenous Women in Columbia.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Amazona by Canizales is an amazing graphic novel about indigenous resilience. The author is Colombian, and I could not find any information about whether he is indigenous or not, but since the main character is an indigenous Colombian woman, I would consider this to be an #ownvoices book. The story revolves around Andrea, whose indigenous community was kicked out of their land. Armed with a camera, she hopes to take photos that she can send to a lawyer so that they can hopefully get their land back. Will she succeed?

Overall, Amazona is simply a stunning graphic novel with an important message that everyone should hear. One highlight is the amazing artwork. The scenes in the dark jungle, when their land is being taken away, are scary and heartbreaking, and the dark colors reflect that. Another highlight is the socially conscious story. The author includes an Afterword at the end of the book where he talks about the trials that indigenous peoples have faced in Colombia. I learned a lot from this part, and from this book, that I had had no idea about. If you're intrigued by the synopsis, or if you want to learn more about indigenous peoples, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in May!

Wow....this book is a must-read as it shows the heartbreaking reality of displacement, racism, deforestation, loss, SA, and the like (triggering warnings) that shows the evils of greed (gold mining/profit) and how it affects so many people, especially, in this case, the Indigenous Colombian people who live there (as well as the natural world of the Amazonian rainforest). This book should be taught in schools to showcase Indigenous resilience, the importance of saving our planet, and so much more. I know I'll be buying myself a copy.

Thank you, NetGalley, Lerner Publishing Group, and Canizales, for the ARC for my honest review.

I just reviewed Amazona by Canizales. #Amazona #NetGalley

It is time for voices like these to be lifted and displayed. The art style and voice here is outstanding and gives the reader understanding and emotional reactions.

The artwork in this graphic novel is stunning. Most of it is in black in white, with flashes of red for objects of important significance. It tells the story of an Indigenous woman whose family was run out of their home in the Amazon by illegal miners. Their large family now lives many miles away in a ramshackle, tiny house in a large city. She returns to her family's sacred land to gather evidence against the miners, in hopes to get their land back.

The story along with the author's note at then end educates readers about Indigenous displacement in the Amazons. An important read.

This book was amazing. I really liked the unique drawing style, but more importantly it tells a powerful story about a young Indigenous Colombian woman who was forcibly removed from her home and trying to return. Indigenous voices tend to be overlooked and dismissed, so this book offers a powerful counterstory (to borrow a term from Critical Race Theory) about how colonization is still alive and well, but so are Indigenous people, and they deserve justice. A truly powerful, powerful story. To offer a content warning: It was intense and heavy, and did have scenes involving child death and sexual assault.

Amazona was a really beautiful book. The book covers a heavy topic and manages to include a lot of information in the pictures and writing. Canizales masterfully handles the topics in this book, both the principal story about Indigenous Colombians being forced from their land, and the main character’s journey. I’m so glad stories like this are being shared I can’t wait for Amazona to come out!

At first glance this seemed like it was just going to be a graphic novel about a family living in forest setting… I was wrong but in a good way. This story had so much depth to it and made you sit and think about how the world truly is and how people struggle everyday and we just do not see it. I tested up reading it but I can say that this is something I will want to read over and over again.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Learning Publishing Group and Canizales for the opportunity to read this and the work that was put into it.

Amazona is an absolutely heartbreaking and gorgeous graphic novel exploring indigenous exploitation and a search for redemption. The art is so emotionally evocative, you can see and feel the pain and determination of the main character. The story is heartbreaking, but accessible, and I think would be a wonderful addition to any person or organization's shelf.

Amazona is a worthy addition to the growing collection of stories about people being displaced around the world. The author lays out a terrifying picture of the conditions indigenous people in Colombia are forced into after their land is stolen from them at gunpoint. Andrea, the protagonist, demonstrates the utmost bravery in making a daunting journey back to her ancestral lands to gather evidence for the tribe's lawyer. No matter the trial she faces, she continues on guided by the protection of her ancestors and the spirit of the jaguar.

While not a real person, Andrea is based on real people and Amazona on real events. The author clearly has strong feelings about what has happened and pulls no punches in their writing. I appreciate that there is still room for personal reflection and an opportunity for redemption when Andrea comes across someone from her youth. He is in a position to kill her but has a recollection of his first encounter with Andrea that gives him pause. It felt as though this moment created a space in which all of us can find hope for a better future - one that does not forcibly remove people from their homes.

This graphic novel is short, but tells a strong story of the effects violence that indigenous people face as their homes continue to be taken from them by those looking to make a profit. Amazona tells the story of a young indigenous woman named Andrea to returns to her village near the Amazon Rain Forest after being displaced due to illegal mining operations to bury her infant daughter. Some of the strongest parts of the artwork are the black background during violent events (such as Andrea’s displacement and her daughter’s death) to contrast the white backgrounds during the present day story and positive(ish) flashbacks. With shorter stories there’s often a desire for more, of feeling like there isn’t enough, but this wasn’t the case here. That isn’t the case here. Although there isn’t a happily either after ending—there’s not a “set” ending of what happens next (partly because in real life it’s hard to know what’s next for displaced indigenous people in these situations) but it leaves in a place of hope and empowerment, and I think that’s so important.

This graphic novel is excellent, and the author and artist Canizales, is a Columbian native.
The story follows Andrea, an indigenous woman who was forced to leave her tribal ancestral home after men come to drive them out to start a mine.
A year and a half later, Andrea is making the journey back to her village to bury her baby daughter who passed away after she fled. Andrea has another secret motive as well, to document what has happened to her village. Nobody outside Columbia knows how many tribes have been dislocated in the same way her community was, so she returns to bury her daughter with the ancestors, and see what is left of her home.
This story is true, and it hurts my heart to learn the devastation of the Amazon rainforest, and the horrific details of what happens to innocent people who would live in peace, save the greed of others.
Definitely worth reading, and learning more about the exploitation and degradation of of the lands and peoples of the Columbian Amazon.
I would recommend this to older teens and adults since there are some very mature themes,.

This is a truly stunning masterpiece of a graphic novel. Andrea, a young displaced indigenous Colombian woman, returns to the home from which she was driven eleventh months prior. She is there to mourn her lost child and do what she can to stop the illegal mining that is casting the indigenous residents of the Amazon into exile. An emotional and thought-provoking tale, AMAZONA will quickly capture, and then break, your heart. The art is extraordinarily distinctive and expressive, capturing the horrors visited upon Andrea individually and her people collectively. I will not forget this one.

This is a difficult book for me to review - not because it was bad because it most certainly is not. It is magnificent. It is so honest and raw and brutal all while being filled with love and hope and grace that I wept through much of it. It is a book that is best gone into blind - the less you know about what this book is about, the more powerful the punch it brings, and trust me, that is a very good thing. It is heartbreakingly real [it is fiction based on many true stories from the Indigenous who have been displaced again and again and again], it is filled with courage and bravery and loss and all that comes from all of those emotions.

Everyone should be reading this. People being forcibly removed from their homes is still happening and this needs to be talked about and the people responsible need to be dealt with and that starts with all of us. We need [and CAN] to make a difference. We can be brave too.

Thank you to NetGalley, Canizales, Sofia Huitron Martinez - Translator, and Lerner Publishing Group/Graphic Universe for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This slim volume packs a powerful punch. This engaging story is based on true events and will hopefully help draw public awareness to the plight of native people who are being violently displaced in Columbian rainforests. The illustrations, using only a soft red and black and white, were beautifully done and the text flowed smoothly even in translation. This is a short graphic novel that will stick with the reader long after the last page.

TW: Attempted Rape

Everyone should read this story.

Big shout-out to netgalley for lending me a digital copy of this book.

The art was magnificent, as was the storytelling. I am crying at 10:30 in the morning and further researching ways that I can possibly aide Indigenous people of the Amazon.

The story is further reminder that Indigenous lands and Indigenous people must be protected and respected, and that non-Indigenous people are not fucking owed anything. If the story makes a non-Indigenous person uncomfortable, then it's doing the job right. History has been told by the colonizers, and it's way past time that has changed.