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mandirigma's review against another edition
4.0
The Son of Good Fortune tracks the life of Excel, a 19-year-old coming home to Colma (a small city famous for having within its limits more dead people than living) after nearly a year away in a desert town with his girlfriend. A life-altering thing happened in this desert town, and now he’s home to make ten thousand dollars to send back to his girlfriend. It’s a tough task made more difficult by the fact that he’s undocumented.
This was an excellent novel that really sunk into the normal aimlessness of any 19-year-old, the desire to be better than our circumstances, and the desperation and frustration of being undocumented. Neither Excel nor his mother, Maxima — a professional scammer, are perfect, but it’s easy to be sympathetic to their plight. They do what they can and will put up with what they have to to get by.
Reading this as a Filipino American who grew up around Tagalog, I really loved how Tenorio handled the language in this book. A lot was left untranslated but could be understood through context. It felt true to the Taglish our families actually speak, and while this book is timely and I feel it should be read by all young people, it felt like a book written for us and not something trying to cater to a wider audience.
This was heartbreaking at a few turns, but not melodramatic. The characters felt like real people and this was a very realistic look at the life of undocumented teens. It also pairs well with Jose Antonio Vargas’s Dear America.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was an excellent novel that really sunk into the normal aimlessness of any 19-year-old, the desire to be better than our circumstances, and the desperation and frustration of being undocumented. Neither Excel nor his mother, Maxima — a professional scammer, are perfect, but it’s easy to be sympathetic to their plight. They do what they can and will put up with what they have to to get by.
Reading this as a Filipino American who grew up around Tagalog, I really loved how Tenorio handled the language in this book. A lot was left untranslated but could be understood through context. It felt true to the Taglish our families actually speak, and while this book is timely and I feel it should be read by all young people, it felt like a book written for us and not something trying to cater to a wider audience.
This was heartbreaking at a few turns, but not melodramatic. The characters felt like real people and this was a very realistic look at the life of undocumented teens. It also pairs well with Jose Antonio Vargas’s Dear America.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
mandirigma's review
4.0
The Son of Good Fortune tracks the life of Excel, a 19-year-old coming home to Colma (a small city famous for having within its limits more dead people than living) after nearly a year away in a desert town with his girlfriend. A life-altering thing happened in this desert town, and now he’s home to make ten thousand dollars to send back to his girlfriend. It’s a tough task made more difficult by the fact that he’s undocumented.
This was an excellent novel that really sunk into the normal aimlessness of any 19-year-old, the desire to be better than our circumstances, and the desperation and frustration of being undocumented. Neither Excel nor his mother, Maxima — a professional scammer, are perfect, but it’s easy to be sympathetic to their plight. They do what they can and will put up with what they have to to get by.
Reading this as a Filipino American who grew up around Tagalog, I really loved how Tenorio handled the language in this book. A lot was left untranslated but could be understood through context. It felt true to the Taglish our families actually speak, and while this book is timely and I feel it should be read by all young people, it felt like a book written for us and not something trying to cater to a wider audience.
This was heartbreaking at a few turns, but not melodramatic. The characters felt like real people and this was a very realistic look at the life of undocumented teens. It also pairs well with Jose Antonio Vargas’s Dear America.
This was an excellent novel that really sunk into the normal aimlessness of any 19-year-old, the desire to be better than our circumstances, and the desperation and frustration of being undocumented. Neither Excel nor his mother, Maxima — a professional scammer, are perfect, but it’s easy to be sympathetic to their plight. They do what they can and will put up with what they have to to get by.
Reading this as a Filipino American who grew up around Tagalog, I really loved how Tenorio handled the language in this book. A lot was left untranslated but could be understood through context. It felt true to the Taglish our families actually speak, and while this book is timely and I feel it should be read by all young people, it felt like a book written for us and not something trying to cater to a wider audience.
This was heartbreaking at a few turns, but not melodramatic. The characters felt like real people and this was a very realistic look at the life of undocumented teens. It also pairs well with Jose Antonio Vargas’s Dear America.
jgziacono's review
4.0
A unique plot line with complex characters and stories that ended up being more touching than expected. Really made me think of how hard and terrifying it must be to "hide" as undocumented immigrants. This book turns the American Dream on its head. I went back and forth between audiobook and reading. Kept me busy and engaged on my long car ride.
ashod's review
5.0
Such a fun read. Highly imaginative and still totally conceivable. My favorite books are weird but not so weird they’re difficult to get through. Recommended if you like flawed but fun to root for characters.
njlanzetta's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars rounded down. The Son of Good Fortune tells the story of Excel, an undocumented Filipino teenager trying to make sense of his life with his stoic mother Maxima. It jumps back and forth in time from when Excel left home with his girlfriend Sab to live off the grid in the desert and when he comes back home to his mother. I loved the perspective of Excel dealing with his identity of being undocumented and having to "hide" his whole life. Maxima was an interesting character. She used to be a B-movie action star in the Philippines before moving to the US where she now scams men online for money. The ending was really disappointing to me, which was why this got 3 stars. I liked Excel's journey of trying to figure out his role in life and what to do and I love stories about immigrant experiences in America, but the ending fell completely flat for me.
Spoiler
Excel finds out everything Maxima has done is to provide a good life for him, but then at the end, she is going to leave him to go back to the Philippines? I feel like all of the progress their relationship made was undone by her planning to leave her 19 year old undocumented son alone in the US. That made me so mad.nic_t_dlr's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this a lot. Fun and entertaining read! Was not expecting any of those plot twists. A bit like a Filipino version of Ocean’s Eleven or the Italian Job with an undercurrent of a deeper, emotional, painful story.
laurenexploresbooks's review
4.0
Resiliency, fear of being discovered as undocumented, and the search for a better life are all key aspects of The Son of Good Fortune. Maxima is a clever, strong, and beautiful woman who used to be an action star, but left the Philippines after becoming pregnant with Excel and moves to Colma, California in hopes of better opportunities with her mentor Joker. Excel is trying to figure out who he is and how to pay back a major debt. He struggles with wanting to be seen but also having to hide who he is. Excel and Maxima are both flawed but thoughtful and resilient characters that highlight the complexities of undocumented families and the feeling of both love and anger at a parent. This work is complex, and highlights how undocumented individuals have limited opportunities in a country that is supposed to be a land of dreams. I highly recommend this debut novel. I received an advanced reader copy of this work in exchange for my honest review.
kidsquid's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-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
4.25
coffeeneur's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I found the actions of almost all characters in this bok believable, and I even related to some of their actions at that age. I was captivated by the relationship between Excel and Maxima. But with that, I still found the characters difficult to embrace. Maybe that was part of the point, I'm not sure. This is a story of circumstances, resilience, and growing up under serious structural limitations, and it kept me reading to the last page.