Reviews

America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo

leslieasy's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

smallpantsluza's review

3.75

the ending of this book was heartwarming and sweet which was why i gave it a high 3. some of the parts didn’t quite catch my interest & i felt like i was more invested in the parts with hero & her family rather than hero and her friends. i liked it enough.

jacyjean's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

candacesiegle_greedyreader's review

4.0

Set in the unglamorous cities of San Francisco's East Bay, "America Is Not The Heart" follows Filipino immigrants as they dig in and take their place in their new country. It's the 1980s, and Paz uses her training as a nurse to leverage an escape from the poor rural Philippines. Her surgeon husband comes from a rich, corrupt family, but when he joins her in Milpitas, he becomes a security guard. They offer sanctuary to his niece, Hero, who has been rejected by her family after joining a revolutionary group as a doctor. She has been captured and tortured, and released suddenly with her thumbs broken and mind battered.

Hero's job is to help with Paz and Pol's daughter Roni, because the two of them work all hours of the day and night. With Roni, Hero begins to build relationships in her new world among East Bay Filipinos and Mexicans. Hero makes friends and ventures out. She loves to have sex with both men and women, but women are her favorites. How will that play in this conservative community?

"America Is Not The Heart" is fresh and compelling--why aren't there more novels about the Filipino experience?--and I would give it five stars except for the irritating amount of Tagalog and regional Philippine dialects that are poured into the text with no explanation. Since I read an e-review copy (thanks, Viking!) there may be a glossary in the hard copy, but most readers would be flipping back and forth so much that their reading pleasure would be badly compromised.

gabriellabuba's review

5.0

America is not the Heart Review

pmnl's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

monkeyjess's review against another edition

emotional informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

josephtrinidad115's review

funny reflective medium-paced

5.0

pancit canton fixes everything

ovaltineplease's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

lsparrow's review

4.0

I really loved this story. One part of history I want to learn more about the the history of the philipines - there is so much about indigenous cultures, colonization, freedom fighting that is not often told. This book tells some of these stories. I also liked the multi generational approach to this book and the queer stories that weave through. I did not always like the style of the narration in the writing but the stories and the characters were amazing.