Twelve-year-old Isabel "Isa" Ligaya is about to move from the Philippines to California. Her mother is balikbayan, a Filipino citizen living and working in another country, and has been in America for the past five years. She finally sends for Isa, who must leave her grandparents and their special garden. Her lolo tells her to look for something familiar in California to feel less homesick, but everything is new: new school, new food, new friends. Even her mom feels like a stranger, always busy working during the day and going to nursing school at night. Isa feels alone and out of place until she finally spots something familiar at school: a garden. Respicio's novel in verse tackles the emotional journey of sacrifice and opportunity that many new immigrants experience, as well as the plight of Filipinos living abroad to earn money. It is in good company with other novels in verse that detail the new immigrant experience through a child's eyes, such as Marilyn Hilton's Full Cicada Moon (2015) and Jasmine Warga's Other Words for Home (2019).

A tween girl finds ways to connect her old life in the Philippines to her new life in America.It's 1999, and 12-year-old Isabel Ligaya is leaving the one home she's ever known to live in San Francisco. She's excited but nervous to be reunited with Mama, who moved to the U.S. five years ago for work, hoping to provide better lives for Isabel and her grandparents. San Francisco couldn't be more different from the gardens and greenery she's used to. Feeling like she doesn't belong in this strange place with a mom she barely knows, Isabel searches for "the people / places / things / that feel like / home," just like Lolo, her grandfather, told her to. She finds solace in her school's forgotten garden, makes friends in the culinary club, and learns to grow and bloom in her new environment. Told in verse, this is a charming story of growth, family, friends, community, and finding connections between old and new. Isabel's thoughts, her intense and sometimes conflicting feelings about immigrating, and her changing relationship with her mother are beautifully expressed and relatable. Sprinkled throughout the text are details about Filipino American history and Filipino culture, language, and diaspora experiences. While most of the book is written in free verse, readers are also introduced to other poetic forms, such as acrostic and concrete poetry.Heartfelt and moving. (author's note) (Verse fiction. 8-12)

Understated verse and other poetic forms shape this reassuring 1999-set story of a persevering Filipina tween adapting to a new life. Twelve-year-old Isabel Ligaya lives with her jasmine-growing grand-parents in the rural Philippines. She was seven when her mother left for lucrative domestic work in America; now, after earning a nursing degree, Mama makes plans for Isabel to move to California. Her grandfather’s advice (“When things feel hard/ find the familiar./ The people/ places/ things/ that feel like/ home”) and her grandmother’s gift of a tiny glass bottle of soothing jasmine scent provide comfort. In San Francisco, she feels abandoned by her mother, who’s busy job-seeking and apartment-hunting, and when Isabel tries befriending classmate Melissa, who is also Filipina, Melissa’s friend Ashley swipes Isabel’s jasmine bottle and declares the contents “gross.” But soon Isabel discovers the school’s neglected garden, and tending to its ailing plants, as well as frequenting a welcoming Culinary Club and Asian American Senior Center, help her establish new friendships and a sense of purpose. Respicio (How to Win a Slime War) examines themes of racism, cultural heritage, and community building by focusing on positive occurrences in Isabel’s life, throughout offering solutions that model helpful next steps for readers in similar circumstances. Supporting characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. (Apr.)

Gr 3–7— A touching novel in verse for middle grade readers. In 1999, Isabel is happily living in the Philippines with Lolo and Lola. She enjoys gardening with her grandparents and spending time with her two best friends, but one thing is missing—her mother. Five years ago, Isabel's mother went to the United States to be a nanny in New York in hopes of making enough money for her family to have a better life. Now, it's time for Isabel to leave the Philippines to meet her mother in California. But Isabel doesn't want to leave the only home she's ever known. After a long flight, Isabel finally reunites with her mother, but everything is unfamiliar. Her mom is always busy, and Isabel misses her country, her friends, and most of all, gardening with Lolo and Lola. Even with the sadness and uncertainty Isabel feels, she eventually finds things that feel like home. Respicio's verse is powerful and will elicit a wide range of emotions in readers, especially those who have lived through something similar. She poetically incorporates the experiences and feelings immigrants may have when moving to a new country. Readers will relate to or learn a lot about Filipino culture. An author's note with further information is included. VERDICT A solid addition to libraries serving tweens.— Lisa Buffi