America Is Not the Heart

Extraordinarily well written. Hero's life, personality, and character are well developed, complex, and fascinating. All of the characters feel realistic and the plot was compelling. I loved the commentary and the beautiful family story here.

Philippines book around the world

I really enjoyed this. I have to admit that I enjoyed the first part of the story, Paz's story, the most and wish it would have returned to her point of view later in the book. Oh, well.
This is a story about life, in little details. It's about families (biological and created) eating together, having fun together, and being there for each other. It's about healing from trauma and growing. It's a charming romance.
I really appreciated it.
That said, I feel as though it was about a 100 pages too long, and could have been cut down, made tighter.
I haven't read anything in awhile that made me feel like I was a part of the family, maybe House of Broken Angels but I leave these characters behind knowing that I'm going to miss them. And that I need to try pancit immediately.

This book is about many things, but to me, it is about truth: seeing it, accepting it, and then living with it. As the narrative unspools Paz and Hero???s stories, they learn things about the world, and about themselves, they did not know, or thought they knew, and have to live with that new reality. What they have in common, though, is that no matter what they learn, no matter how drastically the landscape of their reality is altered, they do not give up. They forge on ??? perhaps not with their heads held high, or always for the right reasons, but they forge on regardless. They adjust, they settle the edges of themselves against the world, and they go on. It???s like the people who have since moved back to live in Pinatubo???s shadow, despite the ever-present danger of eruption. The world changes, sometimes drastically, but life goes on.

Full review (more a personal essay really) here: https://wp.me/p21txV-FT