ISABEL IN BLOOM

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.