Being an orphan
In Woman of Light, Luz's “Little Light” Lopez is an orphan. Many years prior, her mother and father had left her. And now, her brother leaves her too after being run out of town by a white mom. Her tender young age makes Luz an orphan. After her brother leaves, she has to fend for herself. She has no support system and no one who will help her survive and thrive. That, Fajardo-Anstine shows, is something many Native children had to deal with as their families dealt with health issues, racism, and violence. And that, Fajardo-Anstine argues, is a horrible inequity.
Poverty
Most of the characters in Woman of Light live in profound poverty. Many of the people who live in poverty are Native Americans or Mexicans. They are minorities and are treated as sub-humans. For them, poverty is a way of life. They don't have much if any, opportunity to better their lives and financial circumstances because of systematic racism. To escape poverty, they must escape the situation and place that they live in. In Luz's case, that means escaping her situation and escaping Denver.
Coming-of-age
Woman of Light is a coming-of-age novel. The novel's main character, Luz starts the novel as a young girl who is partially naive to the realities of the world. However, once her brother leaves, she starts to grow up—and she grows up fast. After her brother is run out of town by a large gang of violent white men, however, Luz starts to grow up very quickly. She does so out of necessity: if she doesn't grow up quickly, she will surely be a goner and will survive long in the difficult world. Woman of Light ultimately tells the story of Luz's journey from childhood to adulthood.
