Name: We Belong
ISBN: 9780593112205

Cookie Hiponia Everman

Through a bedtime story to her daughters, a woman weaves together her immigration story and Pilipino mythology. Includes glossary, songs, and author's note.

We Belong

Krys C.

This was beautiful. So heartfelt and full of love and comfort, all the while encapsulating the experience of being an immigrant. It reads like an actual bedtime story to me. The verse writing was so whimsical and lyrical. A lot of themes were brought up here—grief, abuse, belongingness, motherhood, diaspora, the Philippines during Martial Law, the Spanish colonization and loss of culture—but the way the myth mirrored and intersected real life both softened the blow of such heavy topics for younger audiences, but made it much more hardhitting for older readers.

Rina

A middle grade novel I didn’t expect to love and relate to this much. The prose was great, a weaving of Philippine myth and history, particularly the Marcos era. It was both sad and sweet; I may have shed a few tears.

Sabrina D. 

A beautiful book that juxtaposes Tagalog myth with a story of growing up and coming to America. It’s a story about finding yourself and finding love and family. A must read for all ages.

We Belong

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