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A review by abby_breathesbooks
Isabel in Bloom by Mae Respicio
5.0
I sent this message to two of best friends yesterday:
"Filipino books are so emotional for me. ðŸ˜"
Allow me to explain.
I am a second-generation immigrant. My mom immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in 1987. I was born a year later.
Growing up, my mom didn't really teach me about our culture. Here and there I would get snippets. I grew up with a Filipino community. Titas. Rosary parties. Filipino food. Shoes piled outside the door with sounds of laughter and my Tito singing karaoke. Tagalog being spoken around me. Watching my mom packing balikbayan boxes...
But I always felt like I kind of existed in those spaces, no one really took the time to teach me about our culture.
Instead, my mom said/did things that made me feel like we needed to ensure we were "American enough" (hilarious because as I grew older she would say I was too "Americanized" like it was a curse word).
How does this relate to Isabel in Bloom?
In a note "About Writing the Book," Mae Respicio notes "the complexities of mother-daughter relationships."
I battle such a resentment towards my mom for not teaching me anything, but I also understand her position and how she must have felt being here all alone...
I see this battle in Isabel where she teeters from resenting her mom to understanding her mom.
In this beautiful middle grade book written in verse, we follow 12-year-old Isabel as she leaves her home in the Philippines to join her mom (who has been living in the states for the past 5 years) in California.
Filipino books like Isabel in Bloom are so emotional for me because I stop to Google "Jasmine Sampaguita," the national flower of the Philippines or ask my Filipino bestie what "manang" means... And I get so heartbroken that I don't know simple things such as these... But at the same time, I'm so thankful books like this exist. I cry seeing myself and my family represented within the pages - this means so much to a girl who always felt like that my culture was something to be hidden, rather than celebrated and taught. This is healing. This is a Filipino diaspora story. 💕
"Filipino books are so emotional for me. ðŸ˜"
Allow me to explain.
I am a second-generation immigrant. My mom immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in 1987. I was born a year later.
Growing up, my mom didn't really teach me about our culture. Here and there I would get snippets. I grew up with a Filipino community. Titas. Rosary parties. Filipino food. Shoes piled outside the door with sounds of laughter and my Tito singing karaoke. Tagalog being spoken around me. Watching my mom packing balikbayan boxes...
But I always felt like I kind of existed in those spaces, no one really took the time to teach me about our culture.
Instead, my mom said/did things that made me feel like we needed to ensure we were "American enough" (hilarious because as I grew older she would say I was too "Americanized" like it was a curse word).
How does this relate to Isabel in Bloom?
In a note "About Writing the Book," Mae Respicio notes "the complexities of mother-daughter relationships."
I battle such a resentment towards my mom for not teaching me anything, but I also understand her position and how she must have felt being here all alone...
I see this battle in Isabel where she teeters from resenting her mom to understanding her mom.
In this beautiful middle grade book written in verse, we follow 12-year-old Isabel as she leaves her home in the Philippines to join her mom (who has been living in the states for the past 5 years) in California.
Filipino books like Isabel in Bloom are so emotional for me because I stop to Google "Jasmine Sampaguita," the national flower of the Philippines or ask my Filipino bestie what "manang" means... And I get so heartbroken that I don't know simple things such as these... But at the same time, I'm so thankful books like this exist. I cry seeing myself and my family represented within the pages - this means so much to a girl who always felt like that my culture was something to be hidden, rather than celebrated and taught. This is healing. This is a Filipino diaspora story. 💕