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From the author of the National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing comes an emotionally charged, moving novel about four generations of Filipino American boys grappling with identity, masculinity, and their fraught father-son relationships. Watsonville, 1930. Francisco Maghabol barely ekes out a living in the fields of California. As he spends what little money he earns at dance halls and faces increasing violence from white men in town, Francisco wonders if he should’ve never left the Philippines. Stockton, 1965. Between school days full of prejudice from white students and teachers and night shifts working at his aunt’s restaurant, Emil refuses to follow in the footsteps of his labor organizer father, Francisco. He’s going to make it in this country no matter what or who he has to leave behind. Denver, 1983. Chris is determined to prove that his overbearing father, Emil, can’t control him. However, when a missed assignment on “ancestral history” sends Chris off the football team and into the library, he discovers a desire to know more about Filipino history―even if his father dismisses his interest as unamerican and unimportant. Philadelphia, 2020. Enzo struggles to keep his anxiety in check as a global pandemic breaks out and his abrasive grandfather moves in. While tensions are high between his dad and his lolo, Enzo’s daily walks with Lolo Emil have him wondering if maybe he can help bridge their decades-long rift. Told in multiple perspectives, Everything We Never Had unfolds like a beautifully crafted nesting doll, where each Maghabol boy forges his own path amid heavy family and societal expectations, passing down his flaws, values, and virtues to the next generation, until it’s up to Enzo to see how he can braid all these strands and men together.
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0 0~~Thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin Random House for the ARC!~~
4.5/5 stars rounded up!
It's all about that generational trauma, baby. But, for real, this was such an incredible book.
I read and own a copy of Patron Saints of Nothing but don't really remember it all that much. When I saw that Ribay was not only publishing one but two books practically back to back this year (His entry into the YA book Avatar: The Last Airbender series just officially released yesterday), I thought getting an ARC of this book would refresh my memory of Ribay and his writing.
I'm glad I did, because this is such a beautiful story about the strains between fathers and sons over four generations, where each POV is incredibly sympathetic and you understand why the father and/or was the way that they were. This so feels like a modern day take on the novel-in-stories concept I learned about in school, and it's so fitting that it's the best way to tell generational trauma stories such as this one.
I also loved how apparent the research and abundance of care Ribay put into his book. He gives a list of recommended reading of Philippian history, as well as resources such as mental health services specifically for Asian Americans. It just goes to show how deeply the author loves his culture and community; his acknowledgements about his dad and kid were particularly so sweet, too.
All in all, this is a fantastic book, and anyone who loves books about families spanning generations would absolutely eat this one up once it officially releases this August!
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