#MMGM: Isabel in Bloom by Mae Respicio
ABOUT THE BOOK
A Filipina-American girl discovers a connection between her two homes through a culinary garden in this middle grade novel that celebrates nourishment and growth—both in our lives and in nature.
Twelve-year-old Isabel is the new kid in her San Francisco middle school. It’s the first time in many years that she’ll be living with her mother again. Mama's job in the US allowed Isabel and her grandparents to live more comfortably in the Philippines, but now Isabel doesn't really know her own mother anymore.
Making new friends in a new city, a new country, is hard, but joining the gardening and cooking club at school means Isabel will begin to find her way, and maybe she too, will begin to bloom.
In this beautifully rendered novel-in-verse, Mae Respicio explores how growth can take many forms, offering both the challenges and joy of new beginnings.
REVIEW
The way Isabel takes the initiative in finding a place to belong after arriving in the United States makes for an inspiring read. Flying to meet her mother in the U.S. by herself pushes Isabel into a world that is unfamiliar. Luckily she has her mother and other relatives and Native Filipinos to help her settle into her new home. Having not seen her mother much in the last five years, Isabel's uncertainty about her mother is completely understandable. The struggles she has adjusting to a new place, a new language, inspired empathy from me as I read. The use of free verse poetry allows Isabel's feelings to manifest themselves front and center. The symbolism to be found in the use of headings for the sections of the book works beautifully as Isabel finds a way to bloom in her new 'soil'. It's delightful the way Isabel uses her talents, interests, and knowledge to make a place for herself both at school and with her mother. Not only is this a fabulous immigrant story but also a great story about activism and stepping up to make the change you want to see. Isabel makes a great character, realistic and likeable. This book highlights the power to be found in novels-in-verse and what makes it such a great storytelling form.
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