Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
A National Indie Bestseller
A Publishers Weekly Best YA Book of the Year
A Kirkus Best YA Book of the Year
An NPR Book We Love of 2024
A School Library Journal Best YA Book of the Year
A Booklist Editors' Choice
An ELLE Staff Pick of the Year
A 2024 BookBrowse Best YA Award Winner
A CALIBA Golden Poppy Winner
A 2025 Texas TAYSHAS Reading List Pick
A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Book of 2024
A Common Sense Media Best Book of 2024
A 2025 International Literacy Association Notable Book for a Global Society
Watsonville, 1930. Francisco Maghabol barely ekes out a living in California and wonders if he should've never left the Philippines. Stockton, 1965. 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 father, Emil, can't control him. However, when an assignment on ancestral history sends Chris to the library, he discovers a desire to know more about Filipino history. Philadelphia, 2020. 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.