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melodys_library's review against another edition
1.0
100% would never recommend this book.
I hate giving negative ratings to memoirs, but this book was the worst I’ve ever read. The only reason I actually finished it is because I requested my library branch to purchase it, and I completely regret it.
The author is very repetitive - every chapter seemed like a carbon copy of the one before it. I thought this book would be more introspective, but it read more like an itinerary of things she did in and judged about the Philippines. Also, I was deeply hurt and shocked by how many times the author referred to aspects of Filipino culture being “strange” or “weird.” Just because something is different than what you’re used to doesn’t give you the right to label them this way.
I hate giving negative ratings to memoirs, but this book was the worst I’ve ever read. The only reason I actually finished it is because I requested my library branch to purchase it, and I completely regret it.
The author is very repetitive - every chapter seemed like a carbon copy of the one before it. I thought this book would be more introspective, but it read more like an itinerary of things she did in and judged about the Philippines. Also, I was deeply hurt and shocked by how many times the author referred to aspects of Filipino culture being “strange” or “weird.” Just because something is different than what you’re used to doesn’t give you the right to label them this way.
enemiestowriters's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
mandirigma's review against another edition
3.0
Admittedly I err on the side of generous with my star reviews, but I really had a lot of trouble connecting to this book.
The book is about the author's experience serving in the Peace Corps in the Philippines, the country her father came from. I appreciate and acknowledge that this was about an experience that is different from my own (I'm not biracial and I never had the opportunity to spend an extended period of time in the Philippines), but as a Filipino American, parts of the book bothered me that I think could've been worked out by a few beta readers.
Mostly, I got the feeling that she was annoyed constantly by the whole experience, by the people, the weather, the place she lived, the questions, the cultural norms, etc. And I really think it's because each chapter was basically a vignette of a thing that happened on her trip, that needed more weight and interrogation and perspective.
The thing is, I'm certain that if I could spend just a few years living in the Philippines (and thus, without the all the history and context of spending my whole life there), I'd probably be annoyed by all the same things, but what would that say about me? What would it say about the culture that was lost, or morphed when my parents moved to America? I think I was hoping for her to contextualize those experiences more.
The book is about the author's experience serving in the Peace Corps in the Philippines, the country her father came from. I appreciate and acknowledge that this was about an experience that is different from my own (I'm not biracial and I never had the opportunity to spend an extended period of time in the Philippines), but as a Filipino American, parts of the book bothered me that I think could've been worked out by a few beta readers.
Mostly, I got the feeling that she was annoyed constantly by the whole experience, by the people, the weather, the place she lived, the questions, the cultural norms, etc. And I really think it's because each chapter was basically a vignette of a thing that happened on her trip, that needed more weight and interrogation and perspective.
The thing is, I'm certain that if I could spend just a few years living in the Philippines (and thus, without the all the history and context of spending my whole life there), I'd probably be annoyed by all the same things, but what would that say about me? What would it say about the culture that was lost, or morphed when my parents moved to America? I think I was hoping for her to contextualize those experiences more.
uhhmelissuh's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
does an amazing job at capturing the essence of filipino culture / life in the Philippines. a must read for Fil-Ams !
maybesomegoodreads's review against another edition
i chose to read this book for AAPI month because i could tell by the synopsis that it’d be something i would relate to. although i’m mixed, i grew up with strong a filipino culture presence in my household. i traveled to the philippines by myself at 18 years old and it was a precious experience that changed my life. i thought i’d be hit with culture shock, which was partly true, but ultimately the culture was very familiar and i easily felt like i was in my element.
in the beginning, i thought i was sorely mistaken for choosing this book. deborah emanates a certain annoyance and hatred for the filipino culture as she spends her first months in the philippines. her description of everything that annoyed her was something that i contrastingly experienced with so much love in my heart. she simply couldn’t relate, and i was offended. unlike deborah, i was raised with my filipino roots already planted in my household. she was not given that luxury (sadly, but it’s not her fault). as her journey continues on, she starts to go through an identity crisis, trying to understand where she belongs most. she emphasizes how being mixed-race led her to a feeling of either being “too” filipino or not being filipino “enough”. i think that’s something most mixed-race people can empathize with. at the end of deborah’s journey, i was glad to finally be able to connect with her in that learning how beautiful it is to embrace your heritage, and that ultimately, we define our own cultural identity. i’m proud of her for sticking to her journey, no matter how difficult it was or how foreign it felt.
in the beginning, i thought i was sorely mistaken for choosing this book. deborah emanates a certain annoyance and hatred for the filipino culture as she spends her first months in the philippines. her description of everything that annoyed her was something that i contrastingly experienced with so much love in my heart. she simply couldn’t relate, and i was offended. unlike deborah, i was raised with my filipino roots already planted in my household. she was not given that luxury (sadly, but it’s not her fault). as her journey continues on, she starts to go through an identity crisis, trying to understand where she belongs most. she emphasizes how being mixed-race led her to a feeling of either being “too” filipino or not being filipino “enough”. i think that’s something most mixed-race people can empathize with. at the end of deborah’s journey, i was glad to finally be able to connect with her in that learning how beautiful it is to embrace your heritage, and that ultimately, we define our own cultural identity. i’m proud of her for sticking to her journey, no matter how difficult it was or how foreign it felt.